1106 - Neolithic steatopygous female figure in white marble, Eastern Europe / Black Sea region, c. 5000–3000 BC.

Neolithic steatopygous female figure in white marble, Eastern Europe / Black Sea region, c. 5000–3000 BC. Carved white marble. Measurements: approximately 23.5 cm high × 9.5 cm wide at the arms. Neolithic female figure of highly stylized and elongated form, with a schematic head lacking defined facial features, small breasts, crossed arms over the torso, narrow legs and rounded feet. According to the documentation, the figure belongs to a broad cultural area extending from the Mediterranean and south-eastern Europe through the Balkans to the western Black Sea region and northern Greece, with formal affinities to certain Neolithic Aegean and Cycladic-type figures, particularly in the crossed-arm pose and simplified treatment of the body. The type is associated with so-called steatopygous or “Mother Goddess” figures, traditionally linked with fertility, fecundity and possible votive, ritual or funerary functions. The surface retains small pits, fine veins and traces of ancient polishing and tooling. Condition: completely intact and in excellent state of preservation, with no restorations or repairs indicated; slightly cleaned, while retaining deeper surface weathering. Provenance: Poland-Greece family collection; important Greek collection of R. W. B. Pardiak, from the 1960s to 2000; previously in a private Greek collection by descent, acquired prior to the 1960s, with a reported find or excavation before the 1930s in the Balkan area, eastern Black Sea region and northern Greece. Exhibited at the Yanto Alexander Fine Art Foundation, Amersfoort, The Netherlands. The documentation also includes parallels with Neolithic marble figures dating to the 5th–4th millennium BC and a comparison with a steatopygous idol sold by Pierre Bergé & Associés in 2016. Lot located in an international warehouse (within the EU). Intra-EU shipping: no import duties apply within the EU. An export permit from the country of origin may be required.