Canaanite Stone Male and Female Nude Caryatid Sculpture

Ancient Near East, Holyland/the Levant, Canaanite people, ca. 1st millennium BCE. Finely carved from a yellow calcite stone, a striking sculpture depicting a nude couple standing back to back with arms at their sides. The anatomy of both the female and the male forms is skillfully modeled. Note how the woman's plaited tresses fall to her voluptuous breasts; her hips are wide and curvaceous; her navel and pubic triangle are vividly rendered; and the male's genitalia is clearly delineated as well. Note also that the man's narrow waist as well as the couple's back to back pose points to an Egyptian influence. Their erect poses suggest that they may represent a model for a caryatid, an ancient figurative architectural support created to replace a standard column or pillar. Size: 1.6" W x 4.25" H (4.1 cm x 10.8 cm); 6.05" H (15.4 cm) on included custom stand.



Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex private DK collection, New York, USA, acquired in 2000s



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