Anthropomorphic Stand with Horns and Bearded Face

Anthropomorphic Stand with Horns and Bearded Face
Basalt
H. 22 cm; Diam. 20 cm
Rasm Ḥarbush, Golan Heights, 4500–3600 BCE
Israel Antiquities Authority: 1987-911, exhibited at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Photography by Elie Posner © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

This cult stand features small horns placed on a bowl, prominent round eyes, and a beard below the nose. Examples of this type of object, also interpreted as pillar figures or idols, have been discovered primarily in domestic contexts. The exaggerated facial features and their prominent location within houses suggest that they were perceived as symbolically seeing, hearing, and smelling everything that happened around them, thus playing a significant role in the daily life of communities that shared similar customs and beliefs.