A very fine Assyrian statuette of the fertility goddess Astarte, moulded from terracotta. The goddess is portrayed standing frontally, with a slender body that accentuates a sensual appeal. She is depicted with her hands cupping her breasts, referencing nursing mothers and connections to fertility and childbirth. The figure is also adorned with a pair of anklets. The face reveals two large almond-shaped eyes, unfortunately, the remaining facial features are damaged and indistinguishable. The piece has a smooth and unadorned back which curves upwards at the feet. The statuette has been broken and repaired at the ankles, crack and glue residue still visible. Earthly encrustations and signs of wear as consistent with age, such as scratches, chips, particularly at the top of the figure and the reverse, and pitting, to the surface. Astarte is often associated with the goddess Ishtar (Akkadian) or Inanna (Sumerian). She was the most important female deity in Mesopotamia through the second millennium BC. She was identified with the planet Venus and with the sunrise, and was recognised as the goddess of both sexual love and warfare. The Greeks identified her with Aphrodite. She is commonly depicted naked sometimes with the presence of lions or with wings and a headdress consisting of a solar disc and crescent moon. These figurines served as votive offerings for conception and childbirth, or as amulets to ensure pregnancy and protection during birth. Measurements (circa): (circa) L 13cm x W 3.6cm Provenance: From the collection of a London gentleman, bought 1970s and by descent.