A Neolithic Stone Figure of a Woman, circa 1st half of the 6th Millennium B.C.

of steatopygous form, reclining in a graceful attitude on her left side and resting on her elbows, her oval face with wide mouth and nose and large prominent eyes; traces of red ochre.

Elie Borowski, Basel, 1960s
Ben Heller, New York
California private collection (Sotheby's, New York, December 9th , 2003, no. 62, illus.)

Note that legs are fragmentary and that top of head is chipped away. Surface of stone slightly weathered in areas.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Analysis of the stone suggests that it is a dark porphyric lava (dacite or quart-andesite), a type of volcanic rock common in Anatolia.

For a very closely related example in terracotta see E. Godet et al., A Private Collection, a catalogue of the Henri Smeets Collection, Weert, The Netherlands, 1975, no. 1, illus. (J. Thimme, Kunst der Kykladen. Kunst und Kultur der Kykladeninseln im 3. Jahrtausend, Karlsruhe, 1976, no. 556, illus., and Sotheby's, London, The Smeets Collection of Antiquities, November 7th, 1977, no. 29, illus.).

Eric Godet (op. cit., no. 1) notes that similar figures in terracotta were found on the site of Hacilar "usually distributed round the hearths and never side by side with objects of everyday use, athough they were sometimes associated with grains. This feature, together with the exaggerated forms of the body and certain attitudes in some statuettes, weaning, holding their breasts, or trampling a leopard underfoot, have led some authorities ro regard them as fertility symbols, although there are no conclusive grounds for this interpretation." On the Hacilar examples see J. Mellaart, Excavations at Hacilar, 1 and 2, Edinburgh, vol. 2, 1970, pls. CXLIX and CL.