Tortoise figurine
Unknown Artist
ca. late 3rd millennium BCE
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
0.91 x 1.3 x 2.01 in. (2.31 x 3.3 x 5.11 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Sculpture
Period
Early Bronze Age
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1972
Accession Number
1972.222.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate tortoise figurine, crafted around the late 3rd millennium BCE during the Early Bronze Age,ails from the Ancient Near East—a cradle of early urban civilizations like Mesopotamia and the Levant. Measuring just under 2 inches long, this ceramic sculpture captures the creature's sturdy shell and compact form with remarkable simplicity, likely hand-modeled from local clay and fired to endure millennia. Such small figurines were common in this era, possibly serving as votive offerings, amulets, or symbols in daily rituals, reflecting humanity's early fascination with the natural world....