Monstrous male figure
Unknown Artist
ca. late 3rd–early 2nd millennium BCE
Medium
Chlorite, calcite, gold, iron
Dimensions
4 1/8 × 2 1/16 × 1 3/8 in. (10.4 × 5.2 × 3.5 cm)
Classification
Stone-Sculpture
Culture & Period
Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex · Bronze Age
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, 2009 Benefit Fund, Friends of Inanna Gifts, and Mr. and Mrs. Horiuchi Gift, 2010
Accession Number
2010.166
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enigmatic *Monstrous Male Figure* hails from the Bactria-Margiana Complex (BMAC), Bronze Age civilization that thrived in Central Asia around 2300–1700 BCE, spanning modern-day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, northern Afghanistan. Carved during the late 3rd to early 2nd millennium, this small stone sculpture (just over 4 inches tall) a fantastical being, likely embodying supernatural or protective forces central to BMAC rituals and beliefs. The culture, also known as the Oxus Civilization, is renowned for its urban centers like Gonur Tepe and intricate artifacts that bridged Mesopotamian, Indus...