Near Eastern Limestone Kneeling Worshipper

This rare statuette is among the earliest pieces of evidence of a typical Middle Eastern cultural tradition of offering one’s own image in a sanctuary to perpetually honor their deity. This woman, wrapped in a long tunic, is kneeling, but the lower part of her legs and her little feet are visible under the body. In front of her chest, her hands hold a flat object.

The statuette is a magnificent testimony of the devotion of a woman who lived five thousand years ago.

The Gilbert collection, Cambridge, Massachusetts, acquired in New York, 22 October 2000