Ancient Figurines and Statues

Unique figures from various cultures, including ancestral and ritualistic sculptures crafted from wood and ceramics, showing intricate details.

Sandstone statuette of the female figure from Mali, West Africa. Dated 280 AD.

Ancestor Figure (DebataIdup)

Male Figure, early 1800s. Republic of the Congo, Teke, 19th century. Wood and organic materials; with base: 44 x 7 x 7 cm (17 5/16 x 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 in.).

Drummer. Mexico, Nayarit, Nayarit, 200 BCE-500 CE. Ceramics. Burnished and slip-painted ceramic

Standing figure, c. 1150-500 BCE, 9 x 3 1/4 in. (22.9 x 8.3 cm), Clay, pigment, Mexico, Middle Pre-Classic

Standing Female Figure

Seated Male Holding Chiefs Baton, 200 BC-AD 300. Mesoamerica, West Mexico, Nayarit. Ceramic, pigment; overall: 23.5 x 12 cm (9 1/4 x 4 3/4 in.).

Figurative Element from Ceremonial Drum ?: Seated Female and Child. Culture: Mbembe peoples. Dimensions: H. 42 1/2 × W. 13 × D. 9 1/2 in. (108 × 33 × 24.1 cm). Date: 15th-17th century.This spectral relic of a maternity figure was carved hundreds of years ago by a Mbembe artist working at the confluence of two major sculptural traditions - those of Cameroon and Nigeria. It is one of only a dozen related works that may have been created as early as the seventeenth century making them the oldest wood sculptures to have survived south of the Western Sudan. Each of these figures was originally an integral part of a monumental carved drum positioned at the epicenter of Mbembe spiritual life. The exposure of all of the surviving examples to the elements over extended periods of time has resulted in intensive weathering that has become a dramatic dimension of their aesthetic. This is one of three Mbembe depictions of the subject of mother and child - each of which is unique. This interpreta

Figure, 400-799, 8 3/4in. (22.2cm), Ceramic, Mexico, 5th-8th century

Seated Figure

Sandstone statuette of the female figure from Mali, West Africa. Dated 280 AD.

Ancestor Figure(Bulul)

Terracotta statuette of a woman with child ca. 1900-1600 B.C. Cypriot The seated mother with a cradle on her lap is a rare subject in White Painted Ware figurines. The figurine was originally attached to a large vase or a flat platform.. Terracotta statuette of a woman with child 241094

Ballplayer Figurine 750 CE-1450 Veracruz. Ceramic and pigment . Veracruz, Classic

Cultura Huasteca. Diosa de la Fertilidad. Museum: MUSEO ARQUEOLOGICO, Mexico D. F., CIUDAD DE MEXICO.

Seated figure, 3rd century BCE - 6th century CE, 13 x 8 1/4 x 7 1/4 in. (33.0 x 21.0 x 18.4 cm), Ceramic, pigment, Mexico, 3rd century BCE - 6th century CE

Male Figure. Greece, Hellenistic period, 3rd-1st century B.C.. Sculpture. Bronze, cast

Rustic Dancer China Eastern Han dynasty (25-220) View more Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story #8987. Overview: Han Dynasty - Human Representations 0:00 RWSkip backwards ten seconds. FWSkip forwards ten seconds. 0:00 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to download the audio instead. View Transcript. Rustic Dancer. China. Earthenware with traces of pigments. Eastern Han dynasty (25-220). Tomb Pottery

Bes with a tambourine. Dimensions: H. 4.8 cm (1 7/8 in.); W. 1.7 cm (11/16 in.); D. 1.9 cm (3/4 in.). Date: 664-30 B.C.. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Standard of a Ram Headed God. Egypt, Khnoum, 26th Dynasty - Ptolemaic Period (664 - 30 BCE). Sculpture. Bronze

Figure of a LutePlayer

Pulque Maker 100 B.C.-A.D. 300 Jalisco. Pulque Maker. Jalisco. 100 B.C.-A.D. 300. Ceramic. Mexico, Mesoamerica, Jalisco. Ceramics-Sculpture

Kneeling Female Figure 2nd century San Sabastìan. Kneeling Female Figure. San Sabastìan. 2nd century. Ceramic. Mexico, Mesoamerica, Jalisco. Ceramics-Sculpture

Seated Female Figure, c. 100 BC-AD 300. Mexico, Nayarit, Chinesco Style. Earthenware with burnished, colored slips and resist patterning; overall: 23.5 x 16 x 14 cm (9 1/4 x 6 5/16 x 5 1/2 in.).

Ancestor Figure (AnaDeo)

Stone Figure

Seated Male Figure Leaning Forward with Arms Crossed over Knees. Nayarit; Nayarit, Mexico. Date: 100 AD-300 AD. Dimensions: H. 17.8 cm (7 in.). Ceramic and pigment. Origin: Nayarit state. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

FIGURA DE MADERA SIMILAR A LAS ENCONTRADAS EN LAS RUINAS DE CHAN-CHAN- TRUJILLO - PERU 1100-1470 DC. Location: MUSEO DE AMERICA-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.

Ceramic vessel, erotic art Virú culture 100BC-200AC Perú.

Monuments 151 and 152 of Tonina. Tonina, Chiapas, Mexico. Classic recent (600-900 AD). Limestone. The quote from a book of Tonina extraordinary examples of sculpture in the round while the reliefs are dominant in the rest of the Mayan area.

Seated Figure 3rd-8th century Teotihuacan. Seated Figure. Teotihuacan. 3rd-8th century. Stone. Mexico, Mesoamerica. Stone-Sculpture

Female Figure. Culture: Michoacan (). Dimensions: H. 4 15/16 x W. 2 1/8 x D. 1 1/4 in. (12.6 x 5.4 x 3.2 cm). Date: 11th-16th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Sitting human figure (whistle). Ceramic. Colima style. Late Preclassic Period (400 BC-100 AD). Western Mexico. Museum of the Americas. Madrid, Spain.

Statuette of Lamgi, king of Mari, 2500-2400 b.c., from Mari, Tell Hariri (Syria)

God Ganesha 601 CE-800 CE Cambodia. Sandstone .

Seated Figure. Mexico, Basin of Mexico, Teotihuacan, Teotihuacan, 150-350 CE. Ceramics. Ceramic with postfire applied pigment

StandingSoldier

Standing Female Figurine, 1200-400 BC. Mesoamerica, Tlatilco. Ceramic with pigment; overall: 9 x 4.7 x 2.6 cm (3 9/16 x 1 7/8 x 1 in.).

Model Figure of a Man, 1980-1801 BC. Egypt, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, 1980-1801 BC. Painted wood; overall: 22 x 5.2 x 3.6 cm (8 11/16 x 2 1/16 x 1 7/16 in.).

EXVOTO DE GUERRERO. IBERICO.(DEPOSITO: MUSEO ARQUEOLOGICO NACIONAL).

Female Figure. Culture: Colima. Dimensions: H. 4 15/16 in. (12.6 cm). Date: 2nd century B.C.-A.D. 3rd century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Olmec figurine, made from terracotta. From Mexico or Guatemala. 1500-600 BC

Standing Ceramic Female Figure 5th century B.C.-A.D. 4th century Bahia. Standing Ceramic Female Figure 313556

Female Figure. Mexico, Basin of Mexico, Teotihuacan, Teotihuacan, 400-600 CE. Ceramics. Burnished ceramic with slip

Figure with Spear and Shield, 100, 9 1/4 x 5 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (23.5 x 14.0 x 16.5 cm), polychromed earthenware, Mexico, 2nd century

Male Figure 500 B.C.-A.D. 250 Xochipala The male figure made in the unusual Xochipala style is seated on his left heel and pulls his right leg up, as if preparing to rise. His body, wrapped tightly in a striped garment, faces front while his head turns slightly to his right. His facial features are very delicately modeled; he has a slight furrowed brow, elongated open eyes, a broad nose and very full, open lips. In his right ear he wears a red plug (the left one is missing) and over his upper chest and shoulders is a broad collar consisting of many trapezoidal adjoining elements. His hair, indicated by striations, is cut short in three tiers and painted black.. Male Figure. Xochipala. 500 B.C.-A.D. 250. Ceramic. Mexico, Mesoamerica, Guerrero, Balsas River region. Ceramics-Sculpture

Female figure Late Period ca. 664-332 B.C. View more. Female figure. ca. 664-332 B.C.. Terracotta. Late Period. From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Tomb MMA 517, MMA excavations, 1922-23. Dynasty 26-30

Power Figure, 20th century, 16 1/4 x 4 1/2 in. (41.3 x 11.4 cm), Wood, horn, feathers, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20th century

Baked clay sitting figure, 4th millenium BC. Artist: Unknown

Female Figure. Culture: Tlatilco. Dimensions: H. 5 in. (12.5 cm). Date: 12th-9th century B.C..This solid, hand-modeled ceramic figurine is buff in color and painted with a red pigment. It is adorned with nose and earplugs, coil necklace, ankle bands, and a tall, wrapped turban with a central ornament. The arms are short and extended forward, while the legs are set apart with the toes pointing downward. Traces of face and body paint are still apparent. Sculpted some three millennia ago in the Valley of Mexico, this figurine belongs to a group of ceramic effigies known collectively as the Tlatilco "pretty ladies." Depicting females with large heads, small waists, and prominent hips, these handheld sculptures present a fairly standardized body type and are typically fired to red, buff, or brown tones. As the popular embodiments of an ideal feminine form, the Tlatilco "pretty ladies" are part of a centuries-long tradition in which eccentricities and religious imagery predominate. Featuri

Female Figure with Bowl 1875-1899 Nigeria (Object made in), Africa (Object made in). This figure was made for a shrine dedicated to one of the Yoruba orisa (deities)ópossibly Shango, who is associated with the power of thunderstorms, warriors, and kings. The womanís expression of concentration, her crisp features and incised details, and the energetic pose of the child are characteristic of the acclaimed sculptor Abogunde of Ede. The figure is at once an offering, a container for offerings, and the representation of a devotee presenting an offering.. Wood, beads, and traces of pigment . Abogunde of Ede

Magical figure of captive. Dimensions: H. 8.8 × W. 4.3 × D. 4.7 cm (3 7/16 × 1 11/16 × 1 7/8 in.). Dynasty: Dynasty 12-13. Date: ca. 1981-1650 B.C.. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Male Figure. Italy, 7th-6th century B.C.. Sculpture. Bronze

Standing Figure

Figure Pendant 13th-15th century Taíno This stone pendant, worn by Taíno leaders and healers, features a crouching anthropomorphic figure known as a zemí. Zemí (or cemí) is a term used by Taíno peoples, the diverse societies that inhabited the Antilles archipelago before European contact, that linguistically relates to a quality akin to sweetness. Zemí refers not to an object or image but to an immaterial, spiritual, and vital force pertaining to deities and ancestors. There are several known zemí identities recorded by the Spanish, some of which have been linked to archaeological images.. Figure Pendant. Taíno. 13th-15th century. Stone. Dominican Republic, Caribbean. Stone-Ornaments

Ancestral ShrineFigure. Artist: Master of the Kneeling Female Figure with Vessel, Yombe, active 19th-early 20th century

Mexico - Olmec civilization (9th-4th century b.C.) - La Venta - Terracotta child statue

Seated Figure with Sores. Mexico, Nayarit, 200 BCE-500 CE. Ceramics. Slip-painted ceramic with postfire pigment

Officer 5th century China. Officer. China. 5th century. Earthenware with pigment. Northern Wei dynasty (386-534). Tomb Pottery

Standing Female Figure. Mexico, Northern Veracruz, Huastec (), 100-600 CE. Ceramics. Slip-painted ceramic

Monkey, 1615-1868. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Wood; overall: 55.3 cm (21 3/4 in.).

Standing Female Figure. Africa, Burkina Faso, Lobi peoples, circa 1900. Sculpture. Wood

NA, Mexico, Yucatan, Merida Mayan artifact displayed at Museo Regional de Antropolgia

Anthropomorphic figure made from wood. Dated 20th Century

Ballplayer 12th-9th century B.C. Tlapacoya. Ballplayer. Tlapacoya. 12th-9th century B.C.. Ceramic. Mexico, Mesoamerica, Puebla. Ceramics-Sculpture

Warrior Figurine with Removable Headdress, 600-900. Mexico, Yucatán, Jaina Island region, Campeche, Maya style (250-900). Earthenware with pigment; overall: 26.1 cm (10 1/4 in.).

ESTATUA DE AKENATON. IMPERIO NUEVO. PERIODO EL-AMARNA. XVIII DINASTIA HACIA 1350 A.C. ALTURA 25,5 C. Location: NEUES MUSEUM. BERLIN. DEUTSCHLAND. AKENATON. AMENOFIS IV.

Female Figure, early 20th century, 7 15/16 x 3 1/2 x 2 15/16 in. (20.16 x 8.89 x 7.46 cm), Wood, metal, cloth, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20th century

Seated Figure Vessel

Geometrically Patterned Female Figure, 400-100 BC. Mesoamerica, Guanajuato or Michoacán, Chupícuaro. Ceramic, slip; overall: 15.6 x 8 x 5.7 cm (6 1/8 x 3 1/8 x 2 1/4 in.).

Statue from the ancient Athens. Dated 5th Century BC

Rattle in the Form of a Crouching Yaksha (Male Nature Spirit) 1st century B.C. India (West Bengal, Chandraketugarh). Rattle in the Form of a Crouching Yaksha (Male Nature Spirit). India (West Bengal, Chandraketugarh). 1st century B.C.. Terracotta. Shunga period. Sculpture

Standing Male Figure

Figure, 19th-20th Century, 12 1/2 x 2 7/8 x 2 13/16 in. (31.8 x 7.3 x 7.1 cm), Wood, Burkina Faso, 19th-20th Century

Figure of a Kneeling Woman ca. 1500 Dogon (Soninke) peoples Both Dogon oral traditions and archaeological evidence attest to the settlement of Mali's elevated Bandiagara Escarpment by Dogon migrants during the early sixteenth century. This unusual work may date to that period given that the arid climatic conditions were conducive to preservation of wood sculpture. Stylistically, its oblong face, protruding eyes and mouth, straight nose and raised cicatrices at the temples, relate this sculpture to a group of works identified by specialists as "Soninke" or "Djennenke." These terms describe works produced by a network of related cultures that developed in the Inland Niger Delta region between the 12th and 17th century.. Figure of a Kneeling Woman. Dogon (Soninke) peoples. ca. 1500. Wood. Mali. Wood-Sculpture

Block statue of an unknown person. From the 13th century.

Terracotta statuette of a gladiator 1st-2nd century A.D. Roman The gladiator wears protective body armor and carries a shield and short sword. He can be identified by the helmet with eyeholes as a secutor, who was usually matched against a retiarius wielding a trident and net. Such a pair mimicks the contest between a fish and a fisherman.. Terracotta statuette of a gladiator. Roman. 1st-2nd century A.D.. Terracotta. Imperial. Terracottas

Mexico - Olmec civilization - Fictile figure

MaternityFigure

Bust of Tirthankara Rsabhanatha, 800s-900s. Central India, Chandela Dynasty, 9th - 10th Century. Stone; overall: 51.4 x 39.4 cm (20 1/4 x 15 1/2 in.).

Terracotta statuette of a gladiator. A Secutor, with armour, shield, short sword and helmet. Roman 1st-2rd c. AD.Metropolitan Museum. NY. USA.

Stone mask depicting a man face. Teotihuacan, Mexico (300-650 AD). Funerary art. Museum of World Cultures. Barcelona, Spain.

Clay figure, from Mohenjo-daro, Pakistan. Indus Valley Civilisation, mid 3rd millennium BC.

EquestrianFigure

Female Dancer (Tomb Figurine) 206 BCE-75 BCE China. Gray earthenware with slip coating and polychrome pigments .

Pre-Columbian Art. Maya-Toltec. Head of the god of rain. Dated between eleven to twelve. centuries. It comes from Chichen-Itza (Mexico). Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. United States.

Furniture leg () with a recumbent lion supporting a deity ca. 9th century B.C. Iran Excavations at Hasanlu in Iran yielded a large number of carved ivory fragments, many in a distinctive style found only at this site, which probably decorated wooden furniture or were used as small precious objects such as boxes. The citadel at Hasanlu was attacked and destroyed around 800 B.C., most likely by military forces of the powerful state of Urartu, centered in present-day Armenia, eastern Turkey, and northwestern Iran. In the fire that destroyed the citadel, many objects were crushed and shattered. The blackened appearance of most of the Hasanlu ivories is due to their exposure to high temperatures at the time of the citadel’s destruction.This large sculpted piece of ivory was probably either a furniture leg or a handle to an implement. At top are the feet of a deity who stands on the back of a roaring lion, carved in the round. The section directly below this is missing, leaving the tang tha

Cihuateteo. Museo Nacional de antropologia. Estado de Mexico D.F. Mexico.

Statuette of the god ancient Egyptian God Osiris. Bronze. Late Period (715-332 BC). In a bloody battle, Seth dismembered Osiris and spread his remains all around Egypt. Isis searched for the fragments to make a mummy and thus bring her beloved husband to life once again

Statuette of the god ancient Egyptian God Osiris. Bronze. Late Period (715-332 BC). In a bloody battle, Seth dismembered Osiris and spread his remains all around Egypt. Isis searched for the fragments to make a mummy and thus bring her beloved husband to life once again

Intermediary figure in wood. Used as a go-between to link people to forces in nature and as a way of prevventing infertility and disease. Baule Tribe, Ivory Coast, Africa. 20th Century

Terracotta anthropomorphic pot created by the Mangbetu people of the Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dated 20th Century

Upper part of a statuette of the Mother of the Apis 664-200 B.C. Late Period or Ptolemaic Period The Apis bull was associated with the god Osiris and with Ptah, and with royal mythology. Isis, the wife of Osiris, was also mother of his son Horus who became the living king when Osiris became the dead king, symbolizing the chain of Osiris and Horus manifestations of the Egyptian king. In the Apis mythology, Isis was identified with the Mother of Apis. At Saqqara where the living Apis bull was regally housed and cared for, the cow who was his mother was likewise well tended.The Mother of Apis is usually identified by her long cow horns, which differ from that of Apis. Those are missing here, but may have been made in another material as part of a crown with two long feathers and inserted in the top of her uraeus modius. She nurses a child who would be the young Apis/Horus.. Upper part of a statuette of the Mother of the Apis. 664-200 B.C.. Yellow faience. Late Period or Ptolemaic Period.

China: Northern Qi Dynasty Tomb Guardian, Tomb Of Lou Rui, Shanxi Provincial Museum, Taiyuan, 570 CE. The Northern Qi, also known as the Qi, Later Qi or Gao Qi, was an imperial Northern dynasty during the Northern and Southern Dynasties era. Founded by Emperor Wenxuan (Gao Yang) in 550 CE, the Northern Qi was a successor state to the Eastern Wei dynasty. Of three main states in China at the time (the others being the Northern Zhou and Chen dynasties), the Northern Qi was intially the strongest, but it was plagued by violence, corruption and incompetent emperors, and soon was conquered by the Northern Zhou in 577 CE.

Figure of a Standing Warrior. Nopiloa; South-central Veracruz, Mexico. Date: 600 AD-900 AD. Dimensions: H. 17.8 cm (7 in.). Ceramic and pigment. Origin: Veracruz state. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Vessel figuring a seated man. Painted ceramic. Colima style. Ancient/ and Middle Classic Period (100-700 AD). Western Mexico. Museum of the Americas. Madrid, Spain.

Pakistan, Mohenjo-daro, Bust of a Priest King wearing a cloak decorated with clovers, Harappan period, Steatite once coated in pink paste

ESCULTURA DE ARCILLA. Author: ANTONIO BALLESTER BALLESTER.

Seated figure in painted ceramics, depicting a pregnant woman (Mexico, Gulf Coast) and naked female figure, ceramics (Mexico or Guatemala). Late Preclassic Period (400 BC-100 AD). Museum of the Americas. Madrid, Spain.

Footsoldier, one of a pair, 2nd century BCE, 19 1/4 x 7 x 4 1/4 in. (48.9 x 17.78 x 10.8 cm), Earthenware with traces of pigments, China, 2nd century BCE, These two footsoldiers accurately depict the military attire of the late Bronze Age and early Han period. One wears a chest protector of plate armor and both are attired in high boots and padded garments whose added bulk, especially the collars and sleeves, provided a barrier to arrows and other weapons. The hands of each soldier extend to grasp weapons now missing and the tunic of one displays colorful ribbons which may have indicated his rank.

One of Two Painted Clay Statues of an Unknown Woman 2000 B.C. Babylonian

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