This large and powerful ceramic sculpture is a votive figure from the middle of the first millennium BC, and represents a deity in the Phoenician pantheon. It is extremely unusual in terms of its size and manner of representation. Firstly, it is very stridently male – most figures tend to be female – with a powerful head and muscular proportions. Secondly, it is bare-headed and lacks the usual detailed drapery folds. It appears to be wearing a tunic that stops at the knees, making the legs seem somewhat short. The arms have been severed at what was probably the elbow, which brings more attention to the sculpture’s monolithic presence and the austere potency of its facial features. The head is angular and strongly modelled, with a strong nose and chin, and protuberant ears. The eyes and mouth are somewhat worn with the action of water. The smoothed details add to the powerful presence that the piece possesses, which has much in common with the Archaic Period Greek statues which the Phoenicians helped to inspire. The back of the piece is almost completely plain, implying that it was always meant to be viewed from the front rather than in the round, which is appropriate for figures destined for shrines.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East