Iberian Peninsula to the indus

partially broken over one ear: the 
finely striated hair is combed in a 
long lock falling over the chest, in a 
very rare arrangement, which occurs 
more frequently on images of male 
youths (
cat. 95–96
). The attitude and 
composite technique is well known 
from a number of Oxus statuettes, 
but so far, the Ligabue figure is the 
only one whose garment has been left 
smooth instead of being engraved 
with the woollen fleece derived from 
the Sumerian Kaunakes. The bold 
diagonal lines on the chest and across 
the back create a balanced geometric 
volume. The whole figure achieves an 
expression of calm confidence and 
aloof presence.
C.A.

---

243
242
87
Seated “oxuS lady”
Eastern Iran, Central Asia
Oxus Culture (ca. 2200–1800 BC)
Chlorite, H. 22 cm, W. 8.5 cm
Private Collection, Paris
88
Seated “oxuS lady”
Eastern Iran, Central Asia
Oxus Culture (ca. 2200–1800 BC)
Lapis lazuli, limestone, H. 16 cm 
Private Collection, London, inv. 2243

---

245
244
89
“oxuS lady”
aS figure-of-eigHt
MoSaic inlay
Eastern Iran, Central Asia
Oxus Culture (ca. 2200–1800 BC)
Faience, limestone or shell, H. 13 cm, 
W. 8 cm
Private Collection, UK
The rhythmically flowing tufts of the 
woolly garment in both figures are 
derived from Sumerian 
kaunakes
. 
Both are made in siliceous faience, 
a vitreous artificial material moulded 
and coloured with metallic oxides, 
according to an early pyrotechnology 
invented at about the same period 
in Syro-Mesopotamia and the Indus. 
It was adopted by Oxus craftsmen 
to produce statuettes (
cat. 90, see 
also no. 98
), ornaments and mosaic 
panels, comparable to the “Standard 
or Ur” (British Museum).
1
This figure-
of-eight plaque, masterfully designed 
in dynamic curves and symmetric 
counter curves, may have been part 
of such a mosaic panel, with inlays 
for the head and hair. Similar mosaic 
panels with designs of mythological 
monsters have been found in the 
site of Gonur. A faience statuette 
from Gonur is comparable to 
cat. 
90
, a figure obtained from a double 
mould, leaving the inside hollow and 
showing where the different parts were 
assembled before firing. 
C.A.
1
Caubet 2012.
90
Seated “oxuS lady”
Eastern Iran, Central Asia
Oxus Culture (ca. 2200–1800 BC)
Faience (body), limestone (head),
H. 9 cm, W. 8 cm
Ligabue Collection, Venice

---

247
246
91
StaMp Seal WitH Winged 
“oxuS lady” on a SnaKe
Eastern Iran, Central Asia
Oxus Culture (ca. 2200–1800 BC)
Copper alloy, Diam. 5
Ligabue Collection, Venice
The cloisonné technique is typical of 
Oxus stamp seals
1
: the metal is cut out 
in silhouette. One side is modelled 
in low relief, with a tenon to hold the 
seal. The reverse is partitioned and 
may have contained coloured inlays. 
The elegant body of the “Oxus Lady”, 
her legs joined in a long narrow skirt, 
is adorned with sickle-shaped wings 
which designate her as a divine spirit 
of air. She is seated on the coils of a 
snake, an indication of her mastering 
the forces from the Earth and the 
Underworld. 
C.A.
1
Pittman 2013.
92
axe WitH a Seated Male 
figure
Eastern Iran, Central Asia 
Oxus Culture (ca. 2200–1800 BC)
Copper alloy, silver incrustations,
H. 17.8 cm, W. 7.8 cm
Ligabue Collection, Venice