Page 18 - Highlights of the Collection

Woman dressed
in a woollen garment

Central Asia, Bactria, 2300-1700 BCE
H. 25.3 cm, chlorite, calcite

Bactrian idols where the face has been fashioned with
such skill are rare. Frequently deposited in tombs,
these figures ensured that the dead were protected in
the afterlife. Although having lost its calcite arms and
the stone inlays highlighting the eyes, this statuette
is a masterpiece of its kind. Like the other forty
examples known today, it consists of several moving
parts (headdress, head, dress) made of materials with
contrasting colours: green chlorite and white calcite.
As seen in other known statuettes with traces of paint,
the neckline of the robe, most likely concealed under
a large necklace or breastplate, suggests that these
idols were covered with ornaments and enhanced
with colours.