Large Anatolian Idol
Large Anatolian Idol
Kusura Type, 2700-2100 B.C.
H: 18.5 x W: 7.3 cm
Marble
Anatolian
2700-2100 B.C.
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A highly simplified anthropomorphic idol carved from creamy marble. The form is largely abstracted, with a round ovoid (the head) at the top of a slender neck, with two triangular projections (arms) on either side of a rounded body. The piece is extremely thin depth-ways, creating a clear facing orientation. Kusura Type idols are also known as ‘violin idols’ as their form resembles that of the instrument.
The form of the Kusara Type idols remained consistent throughout the Bronze Age, and coexisted with more naturalistic depictions of the human body, attesting to a clear intention behind their abstraction. The stylised figures are thought to represent a crouching female, and are typically association with a ‘mother goddess’ and fertility. Their purpose remains a subject of debate among scholars, but their presence in sanctuaries and tombs suggests that they were used as votive offerings and grave goods.
Ägypten, Orient und die Schweizer Moderne: Die Sammlung Rudolf Schmidt (1900-1970), Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Basel, 25 March-31 July 2011, no. 54.
A. Weise (ed.), Ägypten, Orient und die Schweizer Moderne: Die Sammlung Rudolf Schmidt (1900-1970), exhibition catalogue, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Basel, 25 March-31 July 2011, no. 54, p. 159.
Previously in the Private Collection of Dr. Rudolf Schmidt (1900-1970), Solothurn, acquired on 8 June 1935, accompanied by dated acquisition list entry (incorrectly described as a Cycladic idol).
Thence by descent to his sister, Erica Peters-Schmidt (1899-1988), Kilchberg, photographed by Silvia Hertig, Archäologisches Institut der Universität Zurich in 1981/1982.
Thence by descent to her son.
Thence by descent, accompanied by inventory entries dated to 9 December 1990, 8 May 2005, and 16 January 2014.
ALR: S00264819, with IADAA Certificate, this item has been checked against the Interpol database.
Dr. Rudolph Schmidt (1900-1970) and his sister Erica Peters-Schmidt (1899-1988) were born into the Müller family of well-known Solothurn industrialists and collectors on their mother’s side. Both Schmidt’s uncle, Josef Müller, and his aunt, Gertrud Dubi-Müller, acquired large collections of paintings, and hosted high-quality exhibitions. Their collection, which included works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Cezanne, Fernand Leger and Henri Matisse, was in large part bequeathed to the Kunstmuseum Solothurn. Josef Müller was also an avid collector of non-European tribal art, and his collection became a foundational part of the Musée Barbier-Mueller in Geneva (founded by Josef’s daughter and son-in-law).
Rudolf Schmidt’s own collecting began following a trip to Iran, which sparked his interest in Luristan bronzes and led to the formation of his Near Eastern art collection in the early 1930s. From the late 1930s onwards, Schmidt expanded his collection into the field of Egyptian antiquities as well. He acquired pieces from dealers such as Nicolas Koutoulakis and Eli Borowski, and soon formed a notable collection of Egyptian stone vessels. Unique amongst Swiss collectors, Schmidt’s collection also encompassed Greek, Roman, African and pre-Columbian art, alongside modern Swiss paintings by artists such as Ferdinand Hodler, Giovanni Giacometti, and Cuno Amier.
Schmidt was also a notable patron of the arts, lending his collection to many exhibitions during his lifetime and bequeathing a large number of important Luristan bronzes to the Rietbeg Museum in Zurich (published in 1992 in Judith Rickenback’s Magicians with Fire and Ore. Bronze Art of the Early Mountain People in Luristan, Iran). Upon his death in 1970, the collection was left to his sister Erica. Peters-Schmidt donated her brother’s collection of over 340 Near Eastern cylinder and stamp seals to the Biblical Institute of the University of Fribourg in 1981, and gave other portions of the collection to the University of Fribourg and the Archaeological Museums in Zurich, Solothurn, and Basel.
