Bactrian Idol

Four piece carved serpentine and white stone idol of a seated figure. The artwork is composed of a D-shaped flat steatite base with radiating chevron panels imitating sheepskin, with a square socket to one edge; a bifacial scaphoid-section, serving as the figure’s upper body and decorated by a similar chevron ornament, terminating with a shallow socket on the upper edge; a separately carved white stone female head and neck, with delicate and refined facial features, large almond-shaped eyes, superbly chiseled nose, ears and lips; an independently sculpted hair-piece worn as a wig on an otherwise completely shaven scalp. This type of very intriguing stone statuette, is a very distinctive and rare object of the prehistoric civilization of Bactria. Such statuettes seldom exceed the 20cm in height and they are created as composite, with their head, and also quite often a cap or another headdress, being carved separately from the body. In the vast majority of cases, these statuettes are carved out of two or more different types of stone, green chlorite or steatite being usually employed for the body parts, with the head carved separately of white limestone and occasionally in green chlorite. The article of clothing worn by these figures is a type of garment which closely resembles the Mesopotamian kaunakes. The word kaunakes derives from Ancient Greek and denotes a woolen mantle woven in a tufted fabric with a pattern suggesting overlapping petals or feathers, either by sewing tufts onto the garment or by weaving loops into the fabric. This article of clothing originated in the Sumerian civilization around 2500 BC and was originally the actual sheep’s fleece with the skin turned inside and the wool combed into decorative tufts on the outside. These garments were initially only used as skirts and were pinned in place and extended from the waist to the knees or, or for more important persons, to the ankles. The upper part of the torso was bare or clothed by another similar sheepskin simulating the curling fleece fur cloaking the shoulders. From about 2500 BC a woven woolen fabric replaced the sheepskin, but the tufted effect was retained, either by sewing tufts onto the garment or by weaving loops into the fabric. Bactrian men of that period were generally clean-shaven and both sexes seem to have worn large wigs, exactly as in ancient Egypt. There is no real evidence for the function these figurines had in Bactrian society and their significance is unclear. It is very possible that they were used in a religious context, either been offered as votive or serving a cultural purpose, or they could have had a funerary purpose, reflecting the deceased. This group of stone figures is invariably referred to in the archaeological literature as female, and are represented as seated or squatting on a platform and wearing a robe decorated with a pattern imitating sheep’s fleece. Most known examples have highly stylised armless bodies and legs sometimes represented by a protruding ledge or base. Bactria or Bactriana was the ancient Greek name of a historical region in Central Asia, extending in what are today the modern-day countries of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This region played a major role in Central Asian history and the civilisation which flourished in the area was contemporary with the European Bronze Age, and was characterised by monumental architecture, social complexity and extremely distinctive cultural artefacts. Some scholars identify these statuettes as elite members of this early society, while others consider their compelling monumentality to signify that these female figures are depictions of one and the same or different goddesses, the accuracy behind their appearance and role being still under debate. – (PH.0174 B)