Figurine

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

At the time that this fragmentary figurine was produced, peoples in Iran had been creating mold-made plaques of nude female figures for over five hundred years. Nude female figurines may originally have been inspired by Mesopotamian productions, but quickly acquired distinctive forms. In the latter half of the second millennium B.C. these figures were depicted grasping their breasts between their thumbs and four fingers. Enough of this figure is preserved to see the emphasis placed on adornment (she wears a rosette necklace, bracelets, and herringbone-patterned shoulder bands that cross through a central piece). Rows of circles running across the pelvis are probably part of the stylized pubic triangle, seen on other figures of this period. In the past, such figures have been interpreted as fertility figures. However, due to their frontal poses, exaggerated body parts, provocative gestures, and richly adorned bodies, they could be interpreted as erotic images.

Ancient Near Eastern Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art cares for approximately 7,000 works ranging in date from the eighth millennium B.C. through the centuries just beyond the emergence of Islam in the seventh century A.D. Objects in the collection were created by people in the area that today comprises Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean coast, Yemen, and Central Asia. From the art of some of the world's first cities to that of great empires, the department's holdings illustrate the beauty and craftsmanship as well as the profound interconnections, cultural and religious diversity, and lasting legacies that characterize the ancient art of this vast region.

Metropolitan Museum of Art