Label Text:
This sculpture is an interpretation of a type of prehistoric female figurine found in different forms and materials across the globe. Produced by communities that often had no contact with each other, those figurines vary in style and material. Many are made of stone, wood, bone, or clay. They often represent the female body in a semi-abstract manner without personalizing it. Archaeologists are still uncertain about who made these artifacts and why they were created. Were they images of fertility goddesses or female ancestors? Did they function as religious or household objects, or both? Although this particular sculpture has a known author and was created relatively recently, like with its prehistoric predecessors, little is known about Rhea Zinman’s intention in producing it. Born into a New York-based Jewish family on the eve of World War I, she spent most of her life in the city. She created sculptures primarily in her apartment in the Bronx, where she had a small kiln. Among the themes Zinman explored were connections between generations and, as she put it, “universal insights and spiritual meanings.” Untitled and undated, this enigmatic work engages in a dialogue with the Mead’s female figurines from ancient Mediterranean (1973.106.a-e) and Pre-Columbian cultures (1952.134), as well as with works by the contemporary American artist Al Hansen (2018.106) and the anonymous Indian artist Princess Pea (2023.02). It addresses the theme of female (self-)representation across different cultures, while also highlighting the persistence of cultural memory and the incompleteness of our knowledge of history.
Maria Timina, 2025
Subjects:
Terra-cotta Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2024.28 |
