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Head of a Ewe
Sumeria
Protoliterate period (c. 3500–3000 B.C.)
c. 3200 B.C.
Sandstone
5 3/4 x 5 1/2 x 6 1/8 in. (14.6 x 14 x 15.6 cm)
AP 1979.38
This realistic ewe’s head comes from a full sculpture of a sheep that was probably displayed in a temple, but its precise ritualistic purpose is unknown.

Jar with Sculptural Rim
Japan
Jomon period (c. 10,500–300 B.C.)
2500–1000 B.C.
Low-fired clay
16 9/16 x 14 15/16 in. (42 x 38 cm)
APx 1974.03
Jomon, meaning “cord-marked,” refers to the impressions left from rolling braided or twisted ropes across the surface of moist clay vessels in the Neolithic period in Japan, which is thus known as the Jomon period.

Female Figure
Bastis Master
Cycladic (c. 2500–2300 B.C.)
Early Cycladic II phase
c. 2500–2300 B.C.
Marble
16 1/4 x 5 13/16 in. (41.2 x 14.7 cm)
AG 1970.02
This statuette of a female figure was produced by the Early Bronze Age culture that flourished in the Cyclades Islands of Greece in the second half of the third millennium B.C.

Storage Jar
China, Gansu province, Yangshao culture
Neolithic period, Banshan phase (c. 2600–2300 B.C.)
c. 2500 B.C.
Low-fired earthenware painted with iron oxide and manganese pigments
H. 14 in. (35.6 cm); Diam. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm)
AG 1987.01
Large storage jars, painted with a free hand in imaginative geometric designs, are commonly found in Neolithic tombs in Gansu province, located in west China.

Group Statue of Ka-nefer and His Family
Egypt, probably Saqqara
Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5 (c. 2465–2323 B.C.)
c. 2465–2323 B.C.
Limestone, with traces of original painted decoration
13 5/8 × 5 3/4 × 8 7/8 in. (34.6 × 14.6 × 22.5 cm)
AP 2005.03
This highly important tomb sculpture shows a seated court official accompanied by his wife and son.

Storage Jar
China
Neolithic period, Machang phase (c. 7000–2000 B.C.)
c. 2200 B.C.
Low-fired clay with iron oxide and manganese pigments
H. 15 in. (38.1 cm); Diam. 16 in. (40.7 cm)
AP 1985.16
Large storage jars, painted with a free hand in imaginative geometric designs, are commonly found in Neolithic tombs in Gansu province, located in west China.