Double cruciform figurine from Cyprus

On this double cruciform figurine of the Chalcolithic period (3900-2500 BC) from Cyprus, the smaller figure stands on the head of the larger one. The lower figure is headless, whereas the figure above has no facial expressions. Both stand on tightly bent legs and lack breasts and pudenda. Cruciform figurines in prehistoric Cyprus were usually made of picrolite (a green-blue soft stone), as in this example, but also of harder stones such as diabase and steatite. They are schematically rendered, with or without anatomical details, have a small head on a long neck, outstretched arms and flexed knees in a deep crouching position (perhaps of parturition). Double figurines are rare. They are thought to represent a mother and child or the supernatural birth of the smaller figure from the head of the larger one. The provenance of this particular example is the Paphos region, where most picrolite figurines of Chalcolithic date have been found. Many picrolite figurines have been found in graves, although examples are also known from domestic assemblages, indicating that they were not intended exclusively for funerary use.