Ancient Near East, Holy Land, Tell Brak, Middle Uruk Period, ca. 4th millennium BCE. An intriguing gathering of two hand-carved stone figures. One figure is an "eye idol," so named because of the pair of enormous globular eyes situated atop a slender neck projecting upwards from its thin, rectangular body. The second figure is a crouching frog pendant, formed from a chalky white stone, with a teardrop-shaped body, recessed back legs, a conical head, a pair of shallow drilled eyes, and a biconical suspension hole drilled through its mouth. Tell Brak was a major Mesopotamian city in northeastern Syria, located on a trade route between the Tigris river valley north to Anatolia, the Euphrates, and the Mediterranean Sea. The most famous building excavated at this huge site was the Eye Temple, where thousands of figures made of stone with incised eyes have been excavated. Archaeologists believe that these were placed there as offerings. Size of largest (eye idol): 1.875" W x 2.375" H (4.8 cm x 6 cm).

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#136288

Both figures have surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, fading to some incised details, small nicks to bodies and heads, and some darkening to exterior stone color, otherwise intact and very good. Nice earthen deposits throughout.