FEMALE IDOL AMULET in black stone (jasper or steatite type) representing a female figure symbolising "maternity" in a reclining position, very schematic legs, folded over the lower abdomen at the back, the buttocks are well marked, the hands on the shoulders seem to be spreading a garment to expose this maternity, well marked breasts, pregnancy and swollen uterus. Anatolia, Western Asia Chalcolithic period, late 5th to early 4th millennium. Height: 4.3 cm - Width: 3.4 cm (Very good condition) Provenance: reputed former Mariaud de Serre collection. Galerie Noujaïm at the Louvre des Antiquaires, acquired in 2010. collection A.R. Additional information: From the end of the Neolithic period around 6000 BC, female and male figurines appeared throughout the Near East, particularly at the Catal Hoyuk and Haçila sites in southern Anatolia. Representations of pregnant women could be used as protective amulets during childbirth.