Seated Female Figure

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Seated Female Figure

Northern Afghanistan, Ancient Bactria, circa 2500-1500 B.C.
Sculpture
Chlorite and limestone
5 × 3 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (12.7 × 8.89 × 6.35 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by Phil Berg (M.2000.1a-f)
Not currently on public view

Curator Notes

This statuette of a sitting woman, often called a "Bactrian" goddess or princess, is an outstanding example of stone carving and the only statuette of its type that still seems to preserve both arms a...
This statuette of a sitting woman, often called a "Bactrian" goddess or princess, is an outstanding example of stone carving and the only statuette of its type that still seems to preserve both arms and legs. In contrast to many similar statuettes, the faces of which have lost most of their original detail, this sculpture has fine facial features, including small eyes and ears and a linear nose. Also evident is the distinctive layered wool textile, known as kaunakes in southern Iran and Mesopotamia, which is commonly associated with the garment of deities and princesses in the ancient civilizations of Elam and Sumer. The figure shares its overall composition with a well-known group of figures associated with the Bactrian-Margiana civilization in central Asia in the third millennium BC; for this reason, such objects are frequently referred to as "Bactrian."
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Bibliography

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  New York: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
  • Mousavi, Ali. Ancient Near Eastern art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2012.
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art.  New York: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
  • Mousavi, Ali. Ancient Near Eastern art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2012.
  • Blondet, José Luis. Six Scripts for Not I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE-2020 CE). Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2020. 

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