Syro Hittite Bird Face Goddess

Ca 2nd Millennium BC
A hand-modeled buff terracotta votive figure representing a female fertility deity or priestess, emblematic of the northern Mesopotamian and Syrian bronze-age traditions.

The figure displays the hallmark avian or "bird-faced" stylized countenance, dominated by a pinched, projecting beak-like nose and large, expressive applied pellet eyes with pierced central pupils. Surrounding the head is an elaborate, coiled or bulbous coiffure, deeply punctuated with small circular indentations indicating curled hair locks or an adorned textile headdress. At the back of the head, the hair sweeps outward into a wide horizontal crest, pierced through with multiple puncture rows.

Around the neck rests a high, tiered torque or bead choker, below which drapes an expansive pectoral necklace (or layered collar) adorned with rows of punctate detailing that cascade over the upper chest. Short, stylized arms wrap inward to clasp beneath the breasts. The lower torso transitions smoothly into a flattened, columnar slab typical of votive figurines from workshop centers along the Euphrates River valley.

Such idols served personal devotional and apotropaic functions within household shrines and tomb assemblages, invoking divine protection, abundance, and fertility
Size 4-1/2 in H. + black base. Repaired and missing below knees.
Provenance: Ex Daryl G Kulok Collection; NY and CT