Anatolian Fertility Figurine in the Walters Art Museum, September 2009

"Tel Halaf" Fertility Figurine


Creator: Syrian (Artist)

Period: 5000-4000 BC

Medium: terracotta with traces of pigment (Ceramics)

Accession Number: 48.2741

Measurements: 3 3/16 x 1 15/16 x 2 1/8 in. (8.15 x 5 x 5.46 cm)

As early as the 7th millennium BC, cultures in the Near East began to create organized settlements with well-developed religious and funerary practices. The Halaf culture of Anatolia (central Turkey) and northern Syria arose around 5000 BC and produced remarkable female figurines with distinctive fertility attributes. This statuette is seated with legs extended, her arms cradling her protruding breasts. Bands of pigment emphasize the full, rounded forms of her limbs and suggest facial features, a necklace, and loincloth.

Text from: art.thewalters.org/detail/34867/tel-halaf-fertility-figur...