Ancient Statues and Figures

Historical sculptures and relics reflecting various religious figures and deities, highlighting cultural heritage and artistic expression.

Statue with characteristics of God of Fire, detail

Buddha Shakyamuni

A Rishi or Hindu Sage 1200. This forest-dwelling ascetic gazes in serene contemplation.

Head of a Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin). Culture: China. Dimensions: H. 21 5/16 in. (54.1 cm). Date: early 6th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Detail of a Kwakiutl tribe Native American grave marker. Artist: Unknown

Statue with characteristics of God of Fire, detail

Figure: Male Attendant 18th century Edo peoples At its origins, the centralized city-state of Benin was founded by Edo-speaking peoples. The accounts by official court historians and descriptions provided by visitors evoke a vibrant cultural center continually redefined by its leadership through shifting internal and external power dynamics. According to oral tradition, circa 1300, Edo chiefs are reputed to have reached out to the leader of neighboring Ife, Oranmiyan, to establish a new divinely sanctioned royal dynasty. Since then, the investiture of Benins rulers to the title of obas has conferred upon them at once a role of chief priest officiating in important religious ceremonies and presiding over an elaborate structure of palace officials. During the fifteenth century reign of Oba Ewuare, Benins armies were formed and the fortification of its capital with a massive wall undertaken. In parallel, delegations of Portuguese traders assiduously sought to secure exclusive commercial

Bronze head of a Buddha. Dated 14th Century

Statue of Bahia, high priest or shaman, from Manabi, Ecuador, Pre-Columbian civilization

A Rishi or Hindu Sage 1200. This forest-dwelling ascetic gazes in serene contemplation.

Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, tribal art, anthropomorphic headrest, Luba people

Guardian figure of ancestor, dayak Bidayuh culture,Sarawak, Malaysia.

Ceramic vase depicting the Mayan rain deity, Chaac, Yucatan, Mexico. Dated 1250-1550 AD.

Isis goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious belief, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis is often depicted as the mother of Horus, the falcon-headed deity.

Stone statue of Toteoinna, mother of gods, from Texcoco, Mexico

Funeral set, female mask and female cap with fins. Golden metal, 1st quarter of the 12th century, Liao dynasty (907-1125), interior Mongolia or Liaoning. Paris, Cernuschi museum. 51556-9 Ailette, Asian art, Chinese art, funeral art, Mongolian art, beyond, bronze gilding, female headdress, funeral costume, custom, belief, liao dynasty, woman, female mask, funeral mask, death, funeral adornment, rite, rite Funeral, 12th XII 12th 12th 12th century, Firm eyes

Antike Maya Jade Gottheit Figur - Präkolumbianische Skulptur A green jade sculpture of a Maya deity, dating back to the 3rd-6th century. Copyright: xZoonar.com/GallóxGusztávx 22550051

mounted warrior. Nigerian, 19th century

Statuette of Osiris with the epithets Neb Ankh and Khentyimentiu, donated by Padihorpare ca. 588-526 BC Late Period This elaborate figure of Osiris is shown in his typical shrouded form, wearing his tall plumed crown and holding the crook and flail of kingship. These elements were overlaid with gold leaf, as was his face, neck, curled beard of divinity, broad festival collar, and pectoral, the latter of which bears an image of the solar bark. The upper part of the body is covered with a bead net pattern, and a divine falcon is depicted on the back, with its wings wrapped around the lower body. At the waist is an amulet in the form of a winged Ma'at, goddess of order, who holds ankh signs. A cartouche enclosing the name of Osiris adorns the knees, with two cobras wearing the red and white crowns, respectively, at its base. At the god's feet is a winged beetle with a sun disk in its forelegs and a shen ring in the rear legs. On the base are nine bows, representing the traditionalenemies

Praying Priest Figure from Hafaga 3rd Century BCE Mespotamian Art Sculpture

Ritual Figure, Pueblo tribe, 14th century, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA, North America,

Figure 5th-7th century Coptic. Figure 474319

Fertility Goddesses ca. 2700-3000 B.C. Baluchistan. Fertility Goddesses 64453

Buddha, 600s. Thailand, probably Shri Thep, Mon-Dvaravati style. Sandstone; overall: 132.7 cm (52 1/4 in.); without tang: 114.2 cm (44 15/16 in.).

Head of a bodhisattva late 5th century China. Head of a bodhisattva 42714

Shabti (Funerary Figurine) of Nebseni 1570 BCE-1292 BCE Egypt. To assure themselves a comfortable afterlife, Egyptians stocked their tombs with at least one figurine called an ushabti, who acted as a servant in the afterlife. The message carved on each of the figurines explained that if the deceased is called on to do any work in the afterlife, the ushabti will respond with ìHere I amî and will do the job. Some tombs had as many as one ushabti for every day of the year and another 36 overseers to keep order. All but the poorest citizens provided themselves with some kind of funerary furnishings. Products for burial and the labor to produce them made up a large industry in Egypt.. Wood (tamarisk) and pigment . Ancient Egyptian

Chancay-Maske Chancay mask, central coast of Peru, year 1000 to 1470 AD, wood, MuEC, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain LicenseRF Copyright: xZoonar.com/Tolox 23171224

Headdress (Ago Egungun) 1850-1899 Nigeria (Object made in), Abeokuta (Object made in), Africa (Object made in). Egungun, a widespread Yoruba masquerade, is staged to honor the ancestors and the newly deceased, who continue to influence the lives of their kin. Organized at funerals, on family occasions, and during annual or biennial festivals, the different types of egungun are each associated with a distinctive cloth costume, some of which include a wooden mask or headdress. The tufted hairstyle of this example mimics the flap of a hunterís cap that hides protective medicines.. Wood and pigment . Yoruba

Carving mask. Aztec culture.

Rzeźba bogini Nut. unknown, author

Asia,China, Hong Kong, Sheung Wan, Upper Lascar Row, antique shop, Buddha statue,

Male Head (Buddha Shakyamuni). Sri Lanka, 3rd-4th century. Sculpture. Terracotta with sand core

The Buddha Ckyamuni depicted in a stupa railing. Kushan dynasty (1st-3rd AD) red sandstone, sculpture from Mathura in India

post-classical, Mayan, Anthropomorphic (ceramic) incense burner alluding to the four cardinal points and the centre of the cosmos. Mayapan, Yucatan, Mexico. 1250-1550 AD

Male Figure with Raised Arms 14th-17th century Dogon peoples The Dogon live in the elevated rocky heights of Mali's Bandiagara Escarpment. They rely on agriculture and manage to wrest subsistence crops from poor soil in an area that receives little rain. This monumental figure is one of the largest Dogon sculptures known. The region's dry climate has preserved Dogon works far longer than is usual for African wood sculpture, and radiocarbon testing of this work suggests that it may date as far back as the fifteenth century.Dogon sculpture is primarily concerned with the spirits responsible for the fertility of both land and people. These include a family's real and mythical ancestors, the souls of women who died in childbirth, and water spirits. While the exact functions and meanings of individual works often remain obscure, scholars agree that Dogon sculptures were created for shrines.The most distinctive subject rendered by Dogon sculptures is that of a single figure standing with rai

Pendant with figure Ancestral Columbia River, Native American 3rd-13th century This is the largest and most elaborately carved standing figure from an understudied culture that flourished in the Pacific Northwest during the first millennium. Its author depicted prominent knees, elbows, and splayed feet as well as a skirt or loincloth, similar to later braided grass skirts from the region. The figure wears a large headdresswhich resembles later known headdresses with earflapsadorned with alternating bands of sunbursts and triangles and fields of vertical incisions. Although the figures function is unknown, the intricate headdress and body markings suggest that it could be the portrait of a specific individual. View more. Pendant with figure. Ancestral Columbia River, Native American. 3rd-13th century. Bone and pigment. Possibly made in Oregon, United States; Possibly made in Washington, United States

Head of a Buddha or a Jain Tirthankara ca. 2nd century India (Uttar Pradesh, Mathura). Head of a Buddha or a Jain Tirthankara 38235

Candi Sukuh is a 15th-century Javanese-Hindu temple located on the western slope of Mount Lawu on the border between Central and East Java provinces. Candi Ceto is a 15th-century Javanese-Hindu temple also located on the western slope of Mount Lawu on the border between Central and East Java provinces.

North America, Mexico, Exhibit in the pre-Hispanic display of the Museum of Anthropology.

Egyptian Mummy. Coffin lid, priest named Denytanamun, 21st Dyn. 1000 BC. Thebes.

Mayan ceramic female figurines representing a sea goddess. From Jaina, Mexico 600-900 AD

The Lewis Chessmen, (Norwegian), c1150-c1200. Artist: Unknown

Mboko (Female Cup Bearer), 19th century, 11 5/16 x 4 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (28.73 x 12.07 x 16.51 cm) (including attached base), Wood, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 19th century, Among the Luba, diviners act as mediators between the spirit world and the living, using a mixture of white kaolin clay and medicinal herbs as part of their practice. This substance is stored a figure like this one, called a mboko. They are carved in the shape of a female figure because the Luba believe that women have a special connection to the spirit world, based on their sacred power to bear children. In the case of the mboko, the figure represents the wife of a contacted spirit.Mboki are also used during the ceremonies for the induction of a new chief. They serve as proof of the chief's authority and are displayed at his door. If lost or damaged, the chief's mboko must be quickly replaced, for it provides protection and prosperity to the community.

Crucifix, 13th century, copper and enamel, Limousin workshop, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Santiago de Compostela, province of La Coruña, Galicia,.

Buddha statue from the 15th century, Myanmar, Asia,

Jar in the shape of the maize god, made from Clay between 650-1,100 years ago. From the Chimu culture, Peru, South America..

Tlingit or Tlinkit human-shaped helmet and collar 18th Century The Tlingit are an indigenous people of Alaska, North, America, American,

Mmwo-Maske zum Gedenken an die weiblichen Vorfahren Mmwo mask to commemorate female ancestors, Igbo, Nigeria, 20th century, carved and painted wood, MEB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain LicenseRF Copyright: xZoonar.com/Tolox 23171341

Bust of a Bodhisattva 9th-10th century Indonesia (Java). Bust of a Bodhisattva 38282

HANUMAN DIOS MONO INDIO - PROCEDENTE DEL ALTAR DE UNA VAISHNAVA. Location: VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM. LONDON. ENGLAND.

Censer. Representation of the god of sacrifice and war. Maya art. Ceramics. GUATEMALA. PETEN. Tikal. National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

Yakshi, figurine, folk, 7th century A. D collected at Muttom near Boluvampatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, South India, India, Asia

Gelede mask, mid 20th century, 10 1/4 x 12 x 8 3/4 in. (26.04 x 30.48 x 22.23 cm), Wood, pigment, Benin, 20th century, The short beard, pointed nose, and wrapped turban decorated with amulets represent a Muslim cleric. For more than three centuries, Yoruba people have been in contact with Islam and many now practice the faith, occasionally incorporating it into local religious traditions. This mask, for instance, appeared in a performance called Gelede, which celebrates the power of women. The finely carved details and evidence of repainting suggest this was a highly respectedand well-usedmask.

Egyptian statuette of Ptah. Artist: Unknown

Mayan God of Rain worshiped by the Mayans along the Gulf of Mexico 300-900 AD. Baked clay

Wooden clan headdress from the Tlingit tribe of indigenous people from Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Dated 19th Century

Male Face Mask (Chihongo) Made 1850-1900 Angola. The Chokwe use masquerades to engage with their ancestors, encouraging them to guide, protect, and educate the living. Chihongo is the male equivalent of the female mwana pwo mask. The male maskís feathered headdress, red coloring, scarification patterns, stylized beard, and filed teeth evoke wisdom, leadership, and status. While both mask characters partake in performances during male initiation rites, chihongo appears at other events where a chiefís affirmation is desired.. Wood, raffia, burlap, turaco feathers, guinea fowl feathers, and pigment . Chokwe

Tibetan Garuda mask exhibit at the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China.

Four-armed figure of Avalokiteshvara. 12th century. Khmer empire. Sandstone. Dallas Museum of Art. State of Texas. United States.

Amulet - Nefertum. unknown, author

Bodhisattva Lokisvara from Prei Kmeng, Cambodia 7th Century.

Stone Huaxtec female deity

Mayan deity statue from Mexico isolated on white background

14th Century Visoki Decani Monastery in Kosovo and Metohija, Serbia. - (May not be used in defamation towards Serbian culture)

Head of a Buddha (Fotuo). China, Early Tang dynasty, about 618-700. Sculpture. Carved granite

China,Hong Kong,Lantau,Tai O Fishing Village,Kwan Tai Temple,Temple Guardian Statue

Ancient statue of Horus, Egyptian god of the sky, protector of children

Moche, Death Mask, Burials, Huaca Dos Cabezas-Jecetepeque, Peru

Ritual ancestor figure from the Tami Island, Huon Gulf, Papua New Guinea. Dated 1899

A lively wooden carving face on a totem pole by ancient native indian american, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada isolated on white background with

Head of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Culture: Thailand (Lopburi). Dimensions: H. 17 in. (43.2 cm). Date: late 12th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Mumia kota. unknown, author

Shabti of the High Priest of Amun, Painedjem II Third Intermediate Period ca. 988-966 B.C. This small figurine is a shabti from the burial of a High Priest of Amun (HPA) named Painedjem (II) who lived during the 21st Dynasty at Thebes. During this era, control of Egypt was divided between kings in the north, who ruled from Tanis in the Nile Delta, and the High Priests of the great state god Amun, ruling from Thebes in the south. Painedjem II was the son of a previous High Priest of Amun, Menkheperre, and gained the title for himself following the short reign of his brother, Smendes (Nesbanebdjed) II.The funerary figurines known as shabtis can be seen as avatars of the deceased that could be called upon to perform manual labor in the afterlife. By the 21st Dynasty, as many as 401 shabtis (a worker for each day of the year plus an overseer for each 10-day week) could be included with burials. Worker shabtis can be identified by the farming tools they hold, whereas overseer shabtis typica

Jade funerary mask, Late Classic 600-900, Tikal, National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Ceibal, Petén, Guatemala, Central America

Power Object (bocio), 10-1/2 x 14 x 10 in. (26.7 x 35.6 x 25.4 cm), Terra cotta, wood, cloth, mud, beads, metal, Benin, For the West African Fon people and their neighbors, reality consists of complexly interwoven vital powers that emanate from gods, spirits, and ancestors. Followers of the Vodun religion believe that these sacred forces can be placated, domesticated, and even manipulated through the use of objects. Vodun objects, like this elaborate figure, are often displayed on a small platform in plain view in a public courtyard. They function as temporary abodes of the sacred forces, that ward off evil and provide aid and protection.

House Post Figure (Amo) ca. 1800 Maori people, Te Arawa Large communal meeting houses served, and continue to serve, as important focal points for the community among the Maori people of New Zealand (Aotearoa). Richly adorned with carvings depicting ancestors and figures from Maori mythology, the meeting house functions as council chamber, guest house, community center, and gathering place for the discussion and debate of important issues. Meeting houses are particularly important as places where the local group's history, customs, and genealogy are preserved and passed down to succeeding generations. The structure of the meeting house itself represents the body of a primoridial ancestor the ridge pole of the roof is the spine, the rafters the ribs, the gable boards on the exterior the outstretched arms, and the gable ornament at the peak of the roof the face. The interior is extensively decorated with carved panels and other architectural members depicting powerful ancestors, both m

trifont image, Romanesque church of San Martin de Tours of Artaiz, Unciti valley, Artaiz, Navarra, Spain.

Anglo-Saxon stone cross-shaft fragment from the shaft of a larga, free-standing stone cross, carved with Christian imagery. The swirling vines evoke the concept of Christ as the 'True Vineí, while the archer shooting his arrow may symbolise the spread of Godís 'Divine Word'. AD 800

Standing man holding statuette of Nebethetepet or Nehemetaui 600-200 B.C. Late Period-Ptolemaic Period This small figure depicts a man in a wrapped fringed garment, and whose shaven skull could indicate he is a priest. He carries a figure of a goddess. The goddess's headdress is the sound box of a sistrum indicating she is either Nebethetepet - an aspect of Hathor - or the goddess Nehemetaui, the spouse of Thoth.. Standing man holding statuette of Nebethetepet or Nehemetaui 587739

AncestorAltar

Head of a Male Deity ca. 11th century Burma. Head of a Male Deity 38321

Image of a Noble Boy 14th century Indonesia (Java). Image of a Noble Boy 39070

MASCARA DEL TIBET. Location: VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM. LONDON. ENGLAND.

Egyptian Ushabti or Ushabti. The Ushabti also called Ushabti or shawabti, was an Ancient Egyptian funerary figurine

Thoth Amulet 664-30 B.C. Late Period-Ptolemaic Period Amulets often represent deities in order to invoke their protection and specific powers. Such amulets were used by the living and often placed on mummies as well. The piece here depicts the god Thoth as a man with an ibis-head. Thoth was the god of knowledge and writing, and he was thought to have healing powers. Thoth amulets were popular mummy amulets, which possibly relates to his healing powers and to his role as recorder of the final judgment, in which it was determined if the deceased had lived a virtuous life.. Thoth Amulet 573393

Smiting god figure ca. early 2nd millennium B.C.. Smiting god figure 322597

Stone Huaxtec female deity of Tlazolteotl

Kneeling Figure 19th century Thailand or Laos. Kneeling Figure 39309

Mbulu-Ngulu, reliquary figure for ancestor worship. 19-20th century. Carved wood and metal. Kota people.

Prestige Stool: Figures 15th-19th century Dogon or Tellem peoples () Elaborate ceremonial stools of this kind were owned by the hogon, the supreme religious and political leader in each Dogon community. The design and elaboration of such works draw inspiration from Dogon cosmology. It has been proposed that the very structure of the dual disks of the seat and base may echo the arrangement of heaven and earth. Some sources have identified the four figurative supports as protagonists from the Dogon account of Creation. According to this reading of the imagery, the following characters are visually evoked: a set of twins, direct descendants of Nommo, the first living being; a crocodile, Nommo’s saurian messenger; and two figures framed by two snakes that recall the origins of mortality.. Prestige Stool: Figures. Dogon or Tellem peoples (). 15th-19th century. Wood, sacrificial patina. Mali. Wood-Furniture

A child god, probably Harpokrates 1st century B.C. or earlier Ptolemaic Period This small statuette of a child god was found in the catacombs of the Falcon Complex in the Sacred Animal Necropolis at North Saqqara, where offerings made in the shrine were buried after an undetermined period. Inscribed material suggests this branch of the catacombs was sealed in about 89 B.C., dating the statuette to that time or earlier. Although child gods are difficult to distinguish from one another in the absence of an inscription or highly specific iconography, the falcon spread across the back of this figure's headcloth tends to support his identification with Horus-the-Child, that is, Harpokrates, as indeed does the particular deposit context at Saqqara, since falcon was the sacred animal of Horus.. A child god, probably Harpokrates 547905

Female Figure of the Dokathismata Type. Unknown

Tall, Three Thousand Year Old Bronze Statue, Sanxingdui Three Star Mound Museum, Guanghan Chengdu Sichuan, China. This tall statue was discovered in a pit with elephant tusks. The statues have been carbon dated to the 11th-12th Century BCE

In Egyptian mythology, the god Amun Re was the great god of Thebes. This ancient Egyptian statue depicts him wearing the solar disk with two tall plumes. Amun Re was the patron of the pharaohs and the god of fertility.

Horus-Dziecko. unknown, author

Carved wooden mask with animals , Masks, Tlingit Indians, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Tichnor Brothers Collection, postcards of the United States

Head of Osiris wearing Atef Crown 600-550 BC Late Period (Saite) The god Osiris is identifiable by the tall white crown with plumes at the sides and the royal uraeus he wears as king of the afterlife.This very beautiful head may date to the second half of Dynasty 26.. Head of Osiris wearing Atef Crown. 600-550 BC. Greywacke. Late Period (Saite). From Egypt. Dynasty 26

Left to right: Egyptian gods, Sekhmet; Ptah and Nefertum

Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, the 'Temple of the Great Buddha Relic of Lampang', dates back to the 15th century and is a wooden Lanna-style temple found in the Ko Kha district of Lampang Province. It stands atop an artificial mound, and is surrounded by a high and massive brick wall. The temple itself doubles as a wiang (fortified settlement), and was built as a fortified temple.

Icon depicting St Eudocia framed by a polychrome marble mosaic, from the church in the monastery of Faith, Istanbul, Turkey. Byzantine Civilization, 10th Century.

The ushabtis. The figurines were meant to accompany the dead to the underworld.

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