Neolithic Vinča Statuette

Culture: Southeastern Europe/Danube Culture

Period: 5500-4500 B.C.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 14.9 cm high

Price: Reserved

Ref: 5248

Provenance: From the Vinča collection of Dusan Jovanovic (1956-2015), since the 1970s in Austria. Accompanied by a TL test.

Condition: Intact

Description: Exceptionally beautiful and well preserved clay figure of the Vinča culture with black and red pigmentation. The triangular, mask-like head is slightly tilted to the left. The forehead is pointy, the nose long and wedge-shaped. The eyes are semi-circularly incised, the pierced ears protruding and once possibly held jewellery of a different material. Striking is the red coloured, stringy hair. The figure has its arms bent outwards and the hands pushed to the hips. She wears a form-fitting gown that is abundantly decorated at the front and back, and has bracelets on her arms and legs. The buttock is far protruding, the belly slightly bulging. Vinča figures such as the present one were used for ritual purposes. The hand position and rounded belly of the present model indicate a fertility cult. The masked faces of the Vinča idols are controversially discussed in literature. Some interpret them as bird faces like those known from many Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures. However, more recent interpretations see them as ram heads, which would make sense given the emerging domestication of animals at that period and their worship at the same time. Probably from the Supska-Stublina region. With a thermoluminescence test dated 8 October 2024 confirming the age of the statuette. Mounted.