IL Archive The name that crossed millennia
EN

Independent research archive Texts · Ideas · Civilizations

Menu

Entity · Concept

Judean pillar figurines

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Clay female figurines with pillar bases in Judah, especially widespread in the eighth/seventh centuries BCE; identity and function not determined by form alone.

Female pillar figurine from Lachish, ceramic, about eighth–seventh century BCE; Metropolitan Museum 34.126.53, height 18.4 cm. Actual artifact; attribution to Asherah is unresolved
Female pillar figurine from Lachish, ceramic, about eighth–seventh century BCE; Metropolitan Museum 34.126.53, height 18.4 cm. Actual artifact; attribution to Asherah is unresolvedThe Metropolitan Museum of Art · Gift of Harris D. and H. Dunscombe Colt, 1934 · Public domainObject record

Text

Moulded and hand-shaped heads occur, with arms supporting the breasts. The group generally lacks names identifying Asherah. Motherhood, fertility, protection and healing interpretations require context and comparison. [1]

Photograph: actual Lachish object, Metropolitan Museum 34.126.53, about eighth–seventh century BCE, height 18.4 cm. Documented artifact does not settle goddess identity or establish exclusively female users. [1][2]

References and notes

  1. Erin Darby. Fatal Attraction: Obsession, Aversion, and the Femme Fatale of Ancient Judah. Bible Interp, February 2015. Author’s main article read: head types, context/redeposition, critique of inferring deity identity or user gender from form, proposed protection/healing. Proposal not imposed as the sole function of all objects. Complete book not read. Return to the text ↑
  2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nude female figure, object 34.126.53, collection record 323163. Ceramic, Lachish, about eighth–seventh century BCE, 18.4 cm; public-domain image. Artifact identity/image rights separated from proposed mother-goddess or Asherah attribution. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 11 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

Suggest a correction · Suggest a source for this record

Cite this record

IL Archive, «Judean pillar figurines», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/judean-pillar-figurines