Standing Male Figure

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Artist
NameUnknown
Basic Info
PeriodHittite Empire period
Created inAncient & Byzantine World, Asia, Anatolia
Century2nd millennium BCE
CultureSyro-Hittite
Dimensions6.9 x 3 cm (2 11/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
Harvard Museum
DepartmentDepartment of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics
DivisionAsian and Mediterranean Art
Contactam_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Context

This vertical statuette is shown either sitting or standing upon a cylindrical base that must have been the casting vent for its manufacture. Two small stubs representing the legs or feet project diagonally forward. The body is featureless. Two arms curl forward horizontally from the shoulders with the left one being more outstretched than the right. The head is a misshapen mass with an irregular downward-pointing feature that may represent a beard; two pellet-shaped eyes project from the front of the head, and two oval projections at the sides represent ears. A short, rod-like form ending in a curving tip surmounts the head. This figure, possibly miscast, represents another variation in the standard repertoire of Late Bronze Age Syro-Hittite votive statuettes. Most likely, it represents a male deity. David G. Mitten

TechnicalDetails

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