id: 161638 accession number: 2000.202 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2000.202 updated: 2023-03-15 15:46:40.232000 Vinca Idol, 4th millennium BC. Serbia, Vinça culture, Neolithic Era. Fired clay with paint; overall: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Bruce Ferrini 2000.202 title: Vinca Idol title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 4th millennium BC creation date earliest: -4000 creation date latest: -3000 current location: 106A Migration Period & Coptic creditline: Gift of Bruce Ferrini copyright: --- culture: Serbia, Vinça culture, Neolithic Era technique: fired clay with paint department: Greek and Roman Art collection: GR - European Bronze Age type: Ceramic find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: This figurine depicts a female deity with a protruding belly and plump buttocks. digital description: wall description: This statuette, probably a cult idol, dates to the Neolithic Era which saw the development of farming and human technology. It is extraordinarily well preserved and derives from the settlement at Vinca in modern Serbia. This flourishing culture was the largest known in Europe at that time, extending along the Danube into the Balkans and Central Europe. Thousands of clay statuettes have been discovered in the region's Vinca settlements suggestive of the intense magic-religious practices within the Vinca culture. This statuette is anthropomorphic, or human-shaped, and is presumed to have been used for ritual purposes. The use of red paint is typical of Vinca Neolithic figurines, and few have survived in such excellent condition. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.202/2000.202_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.202/2000.202_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2000.202/2000.202_full.tif