Vinca Idol (4500–3500 BCE): Art, History and Details

Vinca Idol (4500–3500 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This statuette, probably a cult idol, dates to the Neolithic Era which saw the development of farming and human technology. It is extraordinarily well preserved and derives from the settlement at Vinca in modern Serbia. This flourishing culture was the largest known in Europe at that time, extending along the Danube into the Balkans and Central Europe. Thousands of clay statuettes have been discovered in the region's Vinca settlements suggestive of the intense magic-religious practices within the Vinca culture. This statuette is anthropomorphic, or human-shaped, and is presumed to have been used for ritual purposes. The use of red paint is typical of Vinca Neolithic figurines, and few have survived in such excellent condition.

Object facts

• Title: Vinca Idol
• Date: 4500–3500 BCE
• Culture: Serbia, Vinça culture, Neolithic Era
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: fired clay with paint
• Dimensions: Overall: 16.1 cm (6 5/16 in.)
• Collection: GR - European Bronze Age
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 2000.201

A detail from the museum

If you look closely, you can see remnants of red pigment on this diminutive figure.

Collection credit

Gift of Bruce Ferrini

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.