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Welcome to:Ancient Origins Boutique
We specialize in picking artifacts from the finest private collections from around the globe.We're well known among many prominent collectors and are now available to everyone on !
Our mandate is to keep history alive by ensuring these precious items get passed along to a new generation of collectors.Category: Neolithic or Copper Age
Country of Origin/Culture: Iberian Peninsula
Approximate Age Range:5,500 to 3.25"
Provenance: purchase from a private European collection.
Comments:Very detailed owl/eye idol from Spain. The idol depicts a stylized owl/human figure with 2 large star shaped eyes, small upside down triangle beak, round human mouth, human arms with hands and human-like hair. The piece is decorated with tiny round dots. This is an extremely fine example due to the incredible details and decorations. The rear design will remain forever unknown as most of it is unfortunately not intact. There does appear to be a pyramid shaped structure or perhaps a large X, your guess is as good as mine. This example is more human than owl-like in its features.Are these idols to do with fertility? No one really knows, but the 2 theories are, these were children's toys, made by children, which I personallyfind hard to believe, if you look at many examplesof these, you see the second theorymakes more sense. The second theorybasicallysays that these are an adaptation of an eastern religion or beliefsthat these representthe souls of the ancestorsbecausein Mesopotamiathey believed that the owl was the death bird that carried the soul to the afterlife. I think thistheory is closer to the truth than the children's toy theory. I think this tradition actually originated from the vastlyoverlooked Vinca culture, which is much older than Mesopotamianculture. The vinca's had a thing for birds in a big way. This is a truly spectacular example and due to it's incredible details and it is made from stone, which most are not. The piece appears to have been broken at the bottom in the past, but luckily the best part has remained. This would make a great addition to your collection!
Ancient Origins Boutique stands by all of our picks and always try and provide the best information possible, based on the information we are provided with from the original collector.As always we offer a full 30 day money back guarantee on all items we sell...We always guarantee the authenticity of each piece forlife or your money back.
We try to make all our pieces affordable and we are always open to offer so please do so!
Questions are always welcome and if your looking for more items similar to what we offer, please ask. We constantly have new pieces arriving and don't always have time to put everything up.We are based in Canada and ship worldwide and do offer a combined shipping and handling discount on multiple purchases.Expedited and upgraded postal services are available upon request at anadditionalcost to the buyer.
Please be aware that the buyer is responsible for all fees, taxes, and duties associated with their country's custom policy's or trade agreements.