Male Figure of Spike Type

418109
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Artist
NameUnknown
Basic Info
Alternative TitleMale Figure
PeriodHittite Empire period
Created inAncient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Century2nd millennium BCE
CultureSyro-Hittite
Dimensions8.4 x 3.9 cm (3 5/16 x 1 9/16 in.)
Harvard Museum
DepartmentDepartment of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics
DivisionAsian and Mediterranean Art
Contactam_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Context

This statuette of rudimentary cruciform shape has a spike-shaped body. The left hand is slightly expanded at the end, perhaps representing a fist. The body is otherwise featureless. The head is oval and narrows into a point. There is a large pellet-shaped nose and what appears to be a horizontal groove representing a mouth just above the chin. Slight oval projections at the sides of the head represent ears. There may be a partial perforation in the right ear. This crude spike-bodied figure with its large head clearly belongs to the large number of similar figures produced in costal Levantine workshops as votive statuettes during the Late Bronze Age. David G. Mitten

TechnicalDetails

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Louise M. and George E. Bates