A pottery stylized female seated figure. She sits tall with her heavy legs extended before her and cradles her round, protruding breasts in her arms. Her thin, cylindrical head is decorated in umber to show the facial details with additional stripes around the body.
 
Circa 5500-4500 BC
 
Fine condition: Reassembled at the legs, with possible additions.
Height 8.5 cms (3.3 ins).
 
Provenance : Private estate Cheshire, UK with original receipt from Vanessa Purcell & Co (member of the Antiquities Dealers Association), dated 11/08/1995.
 
As early as the 7th millennium BCE, cultures in the Near East began to create organized settlements with well-developed religious and funerary practices. The Halaf culture of Anatolia (southern Turkey) and northern Mesopotamia is named for Tell Halaf in modern day Syria and is one example of such sophisticated early cultures. The Halaf culture flourished during the 6th millennium BCE and was notable for its ceramic productions, both its intricately painted pottery and remarkable female figurines.