The Great Mother

THE GREAT MOTHER

The 39 cm high terracotta sculpture was discovered in a house of the Neolithic settlement “Tumba” Madjari near Skopje in 1981.

The  Great Mother is represented as Goddess of fertility and is in the role of family shrine that keeps peace in the home. She is also represented as a protector of the home and family and mother provider.  In Macedonia the Great Mother (Magna Mater) was the most worshiped cult in the Neolithic. The earliest depiction dates from the period of 6500 – 3500 BC.

The Great Mother has been artistically conveyed trough an anthropomorphic cylinder on rectangular base – a house. Her stretched hands are laid upon the roof as if she emerges from it. The figure is schematized with emphasized eyes, coiffure in the fashion of the time, small breasts and hands ornamented with plastic bracelets.