Replica of buying Neolithic Votive Idol in Polished Slate and with Symbolic, Geometric, Anthropomorphic Female Deity Representations

The Original:
Chronology: 3000 to 2500 bC

The Reproduction:
In polished slate, carved with flint tools.

Dimensions:
Height: 17.5 cm / 6.9 inch
Top Width: 4.0 cm / 1.6 inch
Bottom width: 8.0 cm / 3.2 inch
Weight: 180 gr / 0.40 lbs


Although their meaning remains largely an enigma, objects considered votive are, as a rule, of exceptional beauty and attractiveness and without apparent practical applicability.

For periods without writing, these are the "documents" available to archeology that allow us to suggest clues, not only about their economy, technology and aesthetics, but also about the ideas and beliefs of the societies that created them.

In this context, schist plates are objects of great artistic and symbolic richness, typical of the Late Neolithic and Copper Age in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Usually rectangular or trapezoidal in polished schist (profusely decorated with geometric and anthropomorphic patterns) and with perforations at the top, so it is assumed that they were used around buying the neck, as pendants. This aspect has led many archaeologists to suggest that they represent a Neolithic deity, but more recent studies also suggest that the patterns may have served to represent the owner's family line.

Our reproductions are representations of shale plates deposited in monuments in the south of Portugal and Spain - their territory by excellence. We look for natural shale sources whose stone is as close as possible to the quality used in prehistory and we use stylets with a flint tip for engraving.