Bactrian Ovoid Votive Idol

  A votive idol of ovoid form, carved in cream and pink stone, with a flat base and two small holes at the top. It was made by the Bronze Age civilisation of Bactria, in Central Asia, between the late 3rd and the early 2nd millennium BC. The Bactrian culture is part of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), identified by the archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi in 1976. It flourished between about 2200 and 1700 BC in a region that today spans Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan. Its fortified cities, bronze tools, jewellery in semi-precious stones and carved stone seals reveal a wealthy and sophisticated society, at the crossroads of nomadic and agricultural traditions. Idols held a central place in Bactrian art. Abstract and geometric forms such as this ovoid, along with cylinders and discs, are thought to have had a religious or ritual meaning, although their exact role remains a subject of scholarly debate. The pure, almost modern simplicity of the form and the warm veining of the stone give this piece a striking sculptural presence.