Terracotta Seated Figure with a Long Snout

The Thinker

The pose is unmistakable: knees drawn up, elbow resting on the knee, hand lifted to the face. It is the posture of someone lost in thought, and it gives this strange creature a surprisingly human mood.

Yet the face itself is pure invention. A long snout curves forward and upward like a horn, the crown of the head bristles with spikes, and round ears stand out like discs. It belongs to no single animal, and perhaps it is not meant to.

Seen from the front, the snout rises above an open mouth, and the hands come together beneath it. From the sides, the figure turns its head away, as if listening to something we cannot hear.

Below, columns of small stamped rosettes run down the body like strings of beads. A little spout on the shoulder reminds us that this thoughtful figure is also a working vessel.

A footed globular vessel surmounted by a seated figure with a long, curving snout and an open mouth. The head is crowned with conical spikes and set with round, pierced ears. One hand is raised to the face; the knees are drawn up and the ankles are hung with rings.

Vertical bands of stamped rosettes divide the body of the vessel. A small round spout projects from the shoulder.