Bidspirit auction | Neolithic Ancient Anatolian Man-Bear stone

Neolithic Ancient Anatolian Man-Bear stone seated figure, 3000-2500 BC - Neolithic Ancient Anatolian Man-Bear stone seated figure, 3000-2500 BC. Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey, Anatolia, Early Bronze Age, ca. 3000 BCE to 2500 BCE. A fascinating stone sculpture of a seated figure of minimalist form. Shown seated, the ancient figure presents a round head with bulging eyes and an open mouth. The body features clearly articulated limbs, as well as incised fingers and toes. Stone votive idols like this one are known in a variety of fascinating forms throughout the pre-literate ancient world. People in the past, as today, had a clear desire to portray human forms and did not feel constrained by naturalism. There are some repeated motifs, such as emphasized arms, as seen here, which researchers have interpreted to mean an act of supplication (communicating with a deity) and wide eyes - also on this figure - are interpreted the figure's attentiveness to the God. Thought to represent worshippers, these petite figures would have served as household objects for altars, and many have been found in ancient tombs. Size: 0.9” W x 2.6” H (2.3 cm x 6.6 cm) Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010 Condition Report: Some light surface wear, commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and very nice with liberal remaining detail. Research of the nature of the stone: There appears to be some traces of old tools around the outside of the arms and legs, as well as on the neck. As for the type of stone, that’s a bit difficult to determine. We hit it with the XRF Gun (X Ray Fluorescent Spectrometer) and got the following composition: 66% Light Elements (elements with an atomic number less than 11), 17.96% Calcium, 6.7% Magnesium, 5.51% Silicon, and 2.14% Aluminum (The remainder were parts per million of Iron and other elements). The gem tester, which tests how quickly heat travels through the stone tested this between the levels of Chrysoprase, Emerald, Nephrite and Quartz, Amethyst, Citrine. Based on this, I think we’re safe saying it’s a type of igneous rock and possibly can be called porphyry(?) A list of minerals containing these elements can be found here: https://www.mindat.org/chemsearch.php?cform_is_valid=1&inc=Ca%2CMg%2CAl%2CSi%2C&exc=&class=0&pic=0&sub=Search+Minerals&cf_pager_page=1. The research is continuous. One of the ways is to go through many rocks and minerals eliminating and choosing the right one by location, appearance, etc. We may be able to narrow it down.