Mother Goddess

A small clay "Mother Goddess" figurine from Anatolia.  Her large breasts and wide hips have linked he with both agriculture and fertility.  Her seated position between two lionesses suggests she is a person of power.

Some have thought that the round shape resting between her legs is the head of a child being born (and near her feet), or the skull of a revered ancestor.

The find is from Çatalhöyük, from the Neolithic Period.

It is currently (October 2021) on display at the Istanbul Airport Museum.  In the past, this artifact was on display in the Museum of Ancient Civilizations in Ankara.