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Phoenician Mother and Baby Figurine
Circa 7th-6th Century BC
Description: Sensitively rendered statuette of a woman having successfully given birth. The woman is portrayed with large breasts and swollen stomach, her head turned slightly downward to her right. She wears an Egyptian-style wig. Soft facial features are gently rendered with small eyes and a delicate nose. She holds her baby cradled in one arm with the other hand supporting its head and neck. The figure of the child is dominated by a large oval-shaped head with delicate features. The stylized body is plank-like. A large opening in the underside of the figure as well as in the chair upon which she is seated. Made from finely grained pink clay left unmodeled on the back with an integral square base.
Height: 4.4 in. (11 cm)
Condition: Intact and overall nicely preserved. A chip to the bottom edge of the baby's body.
Provenance: Formerly in an East Coast, USA private collection.
Reference: See Treasures of the Holy Land: Ancient Art from the Israel Museum (Metropolitan Museum 1986), no. 88 for a comparable figure of a pregnant female in the Israel Museum.
Background: Similar squatting pregnant figures are well known from Phoenician sites along the eastern Mediterranean and in Cyprus. It is believed that they may be amuletic to encourage a safe delivery or may represent a deity associated with childbirth.
Price: $ 1,900
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