9th-8th century BC. An eastern Mediterranean or Syrian bronze statuette or idol formed as a female figure standing with hands placed on the hips, wearing a long ankle-length tight-fitting gown with a thick frontal pleat; a long piriform face with stern expression, hair in a bobbed style; a raised collar above the neckline of the gown, with bracelets (or hems?) to the elbows, domed breasts and raised chevron detailing; feet placed together and attachment lugs beneath; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. Haynes, S., Etruscan Civilisation: A Cultural History, Hong Kong, 2000, p.24 and p.82; cf. Dr. Northover's detailed metallurgical report notes the high silver content of the bronze, which is more often associated with items of the 2nd millennium BC than of the early 1st. He therefore proposes a Mesopotamian source for the figure - or rather, for the metal in which it is cast. Stylistically, the figure shares many features with Mediterranean bronze items of the early 1st millennium.460 grams total, 27.5cm including stand (10 3/4"). From the private collection of Colonel R., circa 1960s; thence by descent; previously in the private collection of Colonel Brugelli (Office of the Muslim Officers after the cession of Alexandrette to the Turks), 1938; accompanied by a positive metallurgic analytical result, written by Metallurgist Dr. Peter Northover (ex Department of Materials, Materials Science-Based Archaeology Group & Department of Materials, University of Oxford), and French cultural passport no.156068; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by IADAA certificate number no.14042020/1045. The statuette is of a type found throughout the eastern Mediterranean region from antiquity, relating to the worship of a ubiquitous female divinity whether as a nourishing maternal figure or, as in the present example, as the slender female form emphasising her sexual allure by placing her hands on her hips. [A video of this lot is available to view on TimeLine Auctions website.]