|
Although its small size belies its visually
powerful impact, this female idol with its
inherent monumentality is rendered with a
serene dignity worthy of a cult image. The
goddess is depicted seated on the ground with
her feet drawn up under her thighs in such a way
that her garment becomes stretched out between
her legs by her spread knees in order to form a
very prominent, ledge-like lap. The garment is
the kaunakes of the ancient Near East designed
from a fleecy sheep skin, the tuffs of hair
indicated by the intricately incised linear network
covering the entire surface of the idol. Three
large, unadorned triangles ornament the front of
her lap and two similarly sculpted, but ovoid-like
projections join at her neck to form a V-shape
revealing a flat, darker plane below, perhaps
indicative of a smoothly woven under garment.
The idol is completely enveloped in the costume
with the exception of her head and neck, created
from a single piece of alabaster. The details of
the head, and in particular of the features of the
face, are rendered with a miniaturist, jewel-like
precision.
In 2003 one inventory calculated that there were
at least thirty-eight examples of such Bactrian
idols known. Although the number of examples
inventoried since that time has increased, the
total number of such Bactrian idols remains
relatively small. Nine examples have been
founded in southeastern Turkmenistan and two
more in Pakistan. The discovery of a silver pin
depicting a kaunakes-clad woman sitting on a
small backed chair and of silver vessel depicting
a second, similarly dressed female figure,
kneeling on the ground, at the site of Gonur-
depe in Turkmenistan suggests that the origin of
such figures is to be sought in that area.
The eleven examples just cited, although
discovered in archaeological contexts, were not
accompanied with related finds sufficient to
define the nature of the kneeling women
depicted in the kaunakes. Although some
scholars prefer to identify them as elite members
of this early society, other scholars, noting their
compelling monumentality, suggest these female
figures are depictions of one or more goddesses.
Indeed, their faces are imbued with the look of
divine authority. The use of different colored
stones in their design would seem to support
such a divine interpretation for such spiritually-
charged beings where the focus of one’s
attention comes to rest on their head and
face.
Recent Carbon 14 dating of some of the organic
material found in association with some of the
excavated examples suggests a chronological
position for the group in the early second
millennium BC about 2000-1800 BC. The use of
different colored stone is apparently consistent
with this dating. The technique appears to be
used for the creation of composite figures of
approximately the same dimensions excavated
at Ebla.
In its simplicity and in its inherent
monumentality, the figure resonates with
contemporary aesthetic taste. As such, this idol
reveals the timelessness of the mother goddess
and her continuing ability to command both
attention and respect.
- (LO.603)
|
