by Amanda Mikolic, Curatorial Assistant

Image courtesy Cleveland Museum of Art.

More than 5,000 years ago, in what is now modern Turkey, Stone Age sculptors were carving small, sleek, surprisingly modern-looking human figures. With their heads tilted back, eyes staring upward to the sky, these statues are known as “stargazers.” Only about 30 are known to exist, including Statuette of a Woman: “The Stargazer” at the Cleveland Museum of Art. One of the earliest sculptures of the human figure in the museum’s collection, this example is even rarer as it is one of the few that is whole and unbroken. It is a visitor favorite at the CMA and a highlight of the “must cma” campaign featuring some of the most beloved artworks in the museum’s world-renowned collection.

Video courtesy Cleveland Museum of Art.

Although diminutive in size, Stargazer has a monumentality that belies her 6 3/4-inch height. In form she is pure and simple and highly stylized. She is recognizably human but only in the barest sense. Her oversized and oval-shaped head is tilted dramatically backward and sits on a slender bird-like neck. Her nose is an elongated ridge, and small, circular eyes are done in the slightest of relief. She has no mouth. Her gender is made evident by the incised lines in the pelvic area. These same lines define her legs until you reach the feet, which are held tightly together at the figure’s narrowest point. She is carved out of translucent marble that emulates soft flesh when polished, adding to the mystical quality of the figure.