Squatting female figurine

The repertoire of figurines in the Cypriot Chalcolithic period (3900-2500 BC) includes various types, such as schematic, cruciform and steatopygous. In the last type, which is the most naturalistic, the female figure is normally represented in a squatting pose, with conspicuous genitalia and the arms on the chest or the usually swollen abdomen. These features undoubtedly allude to the fertility of the figures represented, even though their precise symbolism remains elusive (according to some researchers the state of pregnancy is rendered). The example here, in black steatite, was probably used as a pendant-amulet, as indicated by the two small suspension holes at the point where the elbows bend. The figurine comes from the Paphos region, from where more finds of that type are known. Similar figurines in clay have been found in pits - possibly of ritual function - under the floor of a house in the so-called "Ceremonial Area" at the site of Kissonerga-Mosphilia and have been dated to the Middle Chalcolithic period (circa 3000 BC).