Pendant with Near Eastern Goddess (Astarte?)

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Pendant with Near Eastern Goddess (Astarte?)

Place of OriginPossibly Syria

Dateabout 1500 BCE

DimensionsL: 7.7 cm (3 in.)

MediumTranslucent dark blue glass, mold-pressed.

ClassificationJewelry

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.195

Not on View

DescriptionA blue glass pendant depicting a standing female figure in three-quarter relief, possibly representing Astarte or Ishtar. The figure stands on a square plinth, holding her breasts. Her hair is arranged in vertical plaits, pulled back from her forehead and falling behind her ears. She wears a broad, curving necklace and a horizontal headband. The underside is flat but somewhat uneven, extending beyond the figure’s form. A transverse thread hole, likely drilled from both sides, runs through the piece. The pendant was cast in an open one-piece mold, leaving a raised moldmark to the right of the shoulder. It was probably fire-polished, with stress marks visible on the underside. The surface has pitting and some weathering, but remains well preserved.

Label TextThis Bronze Age glass pendant, dating to around 1500 B.C., is one of the earliest glass objects in the Museum’s collection. Part of a small group of goddess pendants (1923.195, 1923.214, 1923.218), it depicts a standing female figure, possibly associated with fertility and protection. She holds her breasts, a widespread gesture in ancient depictions of fertility, childbirth, and motherhood. These pendants have been found in Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Mycenaean Greece, particularly in temple precincts at sites like Megiddo, Lachish, and Beth Shean, indicating a cultic or votive function. While often linked to Ishtar (Astarte), their lack of clear divine attributes suggests they were more broadly symbolic of fertility and protection. Similar figures exist in metal and pottery, reflecting a shared religious tradition. This pendant was cast in an open, one-piece mold, with a raised moldmark on the shoulder and a thread hole for suspension, indicating it was likely worn as an amulet. Its widespread distribution suggests interconnected trade networks across the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East.Published ReferencesRiefstahl, Rudolf M., "Ancient and Near Eastern Glass," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News 4, no. 2, 1961, p. 28, ill.

Riefstahl, Ruldolf M., "The Complexities of Ancient Glass," Apollo 86, 1967, p. 429, fig. 3.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Art in Glass: A Guide to the Glass Collections, Toledo, Ohio, 1969, p. 18, ill.

Barag, Dan P., "Mesopotamian Core-Formed Glass Vessels (1500-500 B.C.)," in A. Leo Oppenheim, Robert H. Brill, Dan P. Barag, and AAxel von Saldern, Glass and Glassmaking in Ancient Mesopotamia, Corning, N.Y., 1970, pp. 188-189 and 199.

Grose, David F., "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 71, fig. 3.

Grose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-Formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.C. to A.D. 50, Hudson Hills Press in Association with the Toledo Museum of Art, New York, 1989, cat. no. 1, p. 58, repr. (col.) p. 39, drawing, p. 397.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, repr. (col.) fig. 2.1, p. 20.

Page, Jutta-Annette, "Glass as jewels: an uneasy relationship", in GlassWear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry, Stuttgart, Arnoldsche, 2007, p. 48, fig. 1, p. 49 (col.).

Lierke, Rosemarie, Die nicht-geblasenen antiken Glasgefaesse, Offenbach/Main, Deutsche glastechnische Gesellschaft, 2009, p. 16, repr. (col.).