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Lot Essay
The Vinca culture represented one of the earliest settled farming communities of south-eastern Europe, dating from the 7th-5th Millennium B.C. The best known site is that of Vinca-Belo Brdo, 15 km from modern- day Belgrade. The Vinca period saw the development of unprecedented levels of settlement in terms of size and density in Neolithic Europe and these clay statues, of various sizes, suggest a highly sophisticated magic-religious practice within the Vinca culture, and are presumed to have had some kind of ritual purpose.
The anthropomorphic form of this example with its rounded chest and wide hips would suggest a female representation. The use of red paint is typical of Vinca Neolithic figurines and the incised decorative swirls and zigzags emphasising the curves of the figure, may represent her dress or long tunic overlapping a fine skirt. Although the large size of this female figure is unparalleled, see M. Gimbutas, The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe: 7000 to 3500 BC myths, legends and cult images, London, 1974, nos. 95-101 for similar figures.
The anthropomorphic form of this example with its rounded chest and wide hips would suggest a female representation. The use of red paint is typical of Vinca Neolithic figurines and the incised decorative swirls and zigzags emphasising the curves of the figure, may represent her dress or long tunic overlapping a fine skirt. Although the large size of this female figure is unparalleled, see M. Gimbutas, The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe: 7000 to 3500 BC myths, legends and cult images, London, 1974, nos. 95-101 for similar figures.