A very fine Assyrian statuette of the fertility goddess Astarte, moulded from terracotta. The goddess is portrayed standing frontally, with realistic facial features and a slender body that accentuates a sensual appeal. She is depicted wearing a headdress while her hands cup the breasts, referencing nursing mothers and connections to fertility and childbirth. The piece has a smooth and unadorned back, and the base is rounded, hence the piece is unable to stand unaided. The facial features are still clearly incised, retaining remarkable detail. 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): L 12.8cm x W 4cm Provenance: From the collection of a London gentleman, bought 1970s and by descent.