A Fine Mesopotamian ‘Eye Idol’

Object Description

A Fine Mesopotamian ‘Eye Idol’
Red Quartzite
Northern Mesopotamia
Circa 3200 BC

Size: 3.5cm high, 3cm wide, 2cm deep – 1½ ins high, 1¼ ins wide, ¾ ins deep

Object History

Provenance:
Sold Pierre Berge, Paris, 27th – 28th October 2006, lot 484; property of a Private Foundation
Ex Rupert Wace Ancient Art Ltd, 2018
Ex Private collection

Object Literature

Literature: A larger terracotta version is in the Louvre, Paris (collection number
AO30002)

Carved from a red quartzite, the body of flattened bell shaped form, topped with a pair of ‘oversized eyes’ formed of two hollow rings.
So-named for the disproportionate size of the ‘eyes’ and the eye imagery found in the decoration of the temple of Tel Brak where many were found, these simple but beautiful idols represent the human figure.They were left as votive offerings in the temple, probably intended to symbolise the donor dedicating their offering in thanks or appeal to the gods. Their simple abstraction lends them a ‘contemporary’ and ‘modern’ feel.

Object Details