Iberian Peninsula to the indus

Bibliography
: mecquenem 1943; mallowan 1947; to-
bler 1950; caubet 1991; Breniquet 1996; fortin 1999; 
Azara 2003; margueron 2004; caubet 2006; cluzan, 
Butterlin 2014.
their own after deposition in place; the “eye” figures are made of thin,
flat plaques, 
always so small they can be held in the hand. this points to a different interaction 
between the worshipper and the image. the eye images gaze upwards, towards 
heaven. the standing spectacle figures look ahead, confronting the spectator, perhaps 
the worshipper, or standing forever in attendance to an immanent entity.
the 
eye idols proper
present small variations as to the proportions of the body 
and the height of the neck. the majority are carved from gypsum alabaster, a stone 
found in the Zagros mountains, while a few are made of bone (
cat. n° 55-56
). exam-
ples may have tiny feet and breasts, others wear an elaborate conical coiffure set 
directly on top of the eyes. double figures appear side by side, like siamese twins or 
in a mother and child arrangement, a small figure of identical contour being carved 
in relief on the body of the larger figure (
cat. n° 54
). this may be a forerunner of 
the later idols from Kül tepe in Cappadocia, dated to the end of the third and early 
second millennia (
cat. n°53)
. 
unlike the eye idols, the 
spectacle type
varies greatly in size, ranging from less 
than 3 cm to up to 30 cm. the body may be globular with a squat convex profile, 
topped by tiny loops for the eyes. taller examples present a tapering or concave 
profile, without a neck; the loops on top are cylindrical and thick. the range of ma-
terial is vast, using a manmade mix such as terracotta or faience, as in the examples 
excavated in tell Brak and susa; a majority are carved in gypsum alabaster, like the 
eye idols proper; there are examples made of coloured stones and of shiny stones 
like rock crystal (
cat. n° 51
) and obsidian, a natural glass originating from volcanic 
regions in eastern turkey (
cat. n° 60
). Basalt, a volcanic stone from northern syria 
(
cat. n° 62)
, was used for large pieces. there are examples of multiple figures pos-
sessing two or more bodies, attached to each other by the flank like siamese twins, 
each with their double loops (
cat. n° 57
).
spectacle idols have been interpreted as utilitarian artefacts in relation to the 
textile industry, a hypothesis contradicted by the small size of some examples, which 
would rend them unworkable, and the fragility of the material. the pieces that have 
been scientifically excavated come from a cultic context, together with the eye idols 
proper. Both types must have been a comparable means of expressing the super-
natural through highly schematic and stylized forms, while the contemporary uruk 
style sculptures are more narrative and realistic.
C.A.
Following pages
Excavation at Uruk, Southern 
Mesopotamia, the legendary city
of the hero Gilgamesh

---

195
194

---

197
196
53
eye idol WitH inner
SMall idol
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC 
Gypsum alabaster, H. 4.2 cm
Ligabue Collection, Venice
Bibliography:
Ligabue, Rossi Osmida 
2006, pp. 122–123.
54
eye idol WitH inner
SMall idol
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC 
Gypsum alabaster, black paint,
H. 6.6 cm, W. 4.5 cm
Private Collection, Paris
55
eye idol
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Bone, black paint, H. 4.2 cm, W. 1.7 cm
Ligabue Collection, Venice
56
eye idol WitH pointed Head
Western Asia 
3300–3000 BC 
Bone, H. 8 cm, W. 3.5 cm
Private Collection, Paris
57
eye idol WitH tWo HeadS
Western Asia 
3300–3000 BC 
Gypsum alabaster, black paint,
H. 5 cm, W. 4 cm
Private Collection, Paris

---

199
198
58
Spectacle idol,
gloBular Body
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Gypsum alabaster, H. 8 cm, W. 6 cm
Private Collection, Paris
59
Spectacle idol,
convex Body
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Gypsum alabaster, H. 9 cm, W. 7.8 cm
Ligabue Collection, Venice
60
Spectacle idol, 
quadrangular Body
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Obsidian, H. 7.2 cm, W. 5 cm
Private Collection, Germany
61
Spectacle idol,
HigH cylindrical Body
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Rock crystal, H. 3 cm, W. 1.5 cm
Private Collection, Paris 
62
Spectacle idol, 
rectangular Body,
HigH necK
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Basalt, H. 20 cm, W. 10
Private Collection, Paris
63
Spectacle idol
WitH concave Body
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Grey limestone, H.
18 cm, W. 14 cm
Private Collection, Paris
64
quadruple Spectacle idol
Western Asia
3300–3000 BC
Greenish stone (steatite?), H. 2 cm
Private Collection, Paris

---

201
200
the GoddeSS
And the ruler
Standing nude “King-prieSt” 
Southern Mesopotamia
Uruk period (ca. 3300–3200 BC)
Musei Civici agli Eremitani – Museo 
Archeologico, Padua
(cat. 66, detail)
T
he fourth millennium Bc is a pivotal age in the history of human civilisation, 
when a number of institutions which have been part of the way of life of 
the Western world for the following millennia, some of which are still part, 
in modified shapes, of our modern way of life, appeared for the first time. in fact, 
it witnessed the emergence of the first urban centres and of complex political or-
ganisations (so-called proto-states) based on the concentration and redistribution 
of agricultural products and on the control of manpower by a central authority. 
these ancient city-states were ruled by a dynast (the “king”) and managed by 
a hierarchy of officials by the help of complex procedures of accountancy and 
control, the final outcome of which was the invention of writing at the end of the 
millennium. Southern mesopotamia is traditionally considered the cradle of these 
innovations. they, however, did not occur in isolation, but in the framework of a 
wide-ranging network of long-distance connections, which span from egypt to the 
whole of the near east and, beyond this, possibly even to central Asia and the 
eastern mediterranean. 
the city of uruk (Warka) in Southern iraq is the most impressive example of an 
early urban centre: by the end of the fourth millennium it reached a size of over 200 
hectares, and was the seat of a richly equipped ceremonial quarter of monumental 
buildings. from uruk come, as well, the earliest written texts known so far. uruk 
gave its name to a culture,
which spread its influence over vast sectors of the near 
east, from southeastern turkey to northern syria, northern iraq and Western iran, 
possibly through the foundation of “colonies” located along the main communication 
routes.
these radical changes in the social and political organisation were matched by 
equally radical changes in the spiritual life of the mesopotamian populations. By 
means of what must have been a considerable intellectual and creative effort, a new 
system of values was elaborated, which ideologically supported the hierarchical 
order of the centrally administered city-states. this was expressed and propagated 
through a system of visual symbols, some of which have come down to the present 
day. narrative art makes its first appearance, in the form of complex images carved 
on stone stelae or around the surface of cylindrical objects: stone vessels (like the 
famous “Warka vase”) (
fig. 1)
and especially cylinder seals (miniature stone cylin-
ders used for rolling on wet clay in order to leave a mark indicating ownership of 
or authority on sealed goods). 

---

203
202
1
Monumental vase with cultic scenes 
in relief
Uruk, Southern Iraq
Ca. 3300 BC
Gypsum alabaster
National Museum of Iraq, Baghdad
(after Crüsemann, Van Ess, Hilgert, 
Salje 2013, figs 9.1, 9.9)
old conceptions of the divine take for the first time clearly anthropomorphic shapes 
in this period. different personalities of deities thus start to emerge, which will later be 
organised in a proper