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HOME :
Near Eastern Art :
Miscellaneous : Man/Bird Votive Figure With An Intaglio
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Man/Bird Votive Figure With An Intaglio - D.0135
Origin: Lake Van, Anatolia
Circa: 4000
BC
to 3000
BC
Collection: Near Eastern
Style: Neolithic
Medium: Dickite
Location: United States
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| Description |
A mysterious token from the dawn of Western
civilization, this stone votive was offered
thousands of years ago at the shrine of a
powerful god. Along with a cache of similar
objects, it was discovered along the shores of
Lake Van in Turkey. The deity whose favor it
sought was apparently a nature god, associated
also with fertility and rebirth. This superb statue
which resembles a rooster in profile, depicts the
head of a votary which springs from the back of
the bird. His head, when seen in profile,
becomes the body of a bird. In this ancient cult,
the bird seems associated with the idea of the
soul, perhaps a transformation in the afterlife.
The image engraved on the bottom of the votive
depicts a waterfowl. Pressed into soft wax or
clay, it would have produced multiple images to
please the heavens. The effect of this rare
sculpture is powerful and haunting. It touches a
chord deep in the soul, something ancient but
not completely forgotten.
- (D.0135)
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