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Date : approx. between 2000 and 1600 B.C.
Sizes : 8 cm x 16 cm x 4 cm
Material : Modeled engobe terracotta
Acquisition : Geldakis (1908)
| Item 57 on 94
Oriental Antiquities
Container (Purchase)
Vitrine : V02
Area related
Chypre
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| Description |  |
The first terra-cotta figurines appeared in Cyprus during the Chalcolithic period (3000-2300 BC). In the Early Bronze Age (2300-2000 BC), they took the form of flat clay plaques with incised decoration. In the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC), they begin to show evidence of modeling and to diversify in form with the appearance of women carrying children, who represented concepts such as femininity, maternity, and child care.
In the Middle Bronze Age, the schematic forms of these rectangular plank-shaped figures progress towards a certain realism : the legs and arms are modeled, while the body takes on a certain thickness. The female figures bearing children in their arms date from this period, as do the figures of infants alone in their cradle. These figurines, which become more numerous in the Late Bronze Age (1600-1050 BC), are probably expressions of the idea of fertility.
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