3734 – Clay Headless Goddess Figure
- Physical description:
- A stylised female figure (probably a Goddess) sitting with her legs under her and her hands on her legs. She is portrayed in a rounded form with exaggerated lower body, legs and arms, and small feet and hands. She has no head. Made from reddish clay or terracotta.
- Museum classification:
- Goddess
- Size:
- 90 x 120 x 100
- Information:
For many years, this object was displayed inside the Shrine.
This is a very nice and very accurate replica of an extremely important Neolithic Goddess figure (c.3500 - 2500 BCE), which was found below some steps in the Hagar Qim Temple on the Island of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago.
It is not entirely clear whether the head was broken off and lost or whether the figure never had a head.
Figures of this kind are sometimes described as obese human figures, but in this case it seems clear that this rounded figure is not supposed to resemble a human. She is the Earth represented in a female form - not a female human. She resembles a hill, or perhaps, if Neolithic people knew that the Earth is round (which is by no means impossible), Planet Earth itself.
- Resource:
- Object
- Materials:
- Ceramic (clay or terracotta)
- Copyright ownership:
- Potterware, Malta
For many years, this object was displayed inside the Shrine.
This is a very nice and very accurate replica of an extremely important Neolithic Goddess figure (c.3500 - 2500 BCE), which was found below some steps in the Hagar Qim Temple on the Island of Gozo in the Maltese archipelago.
It is not entirely clear whether the head was broken off and lost or whether the figure never had a head.
Figures of this kind are sometimes described as obese human figures, but in this case it seems clear that this rounded figure is not supposed to resemble a human. She is the Earth represented in a female form - not a female human. She resembles a hill, or perhaps, if Neolithic people knew that the Earth is round (which is by no means impossible), Planet Earth itself.