The Nabataean Terracotta Figurines

Abstract

The terracotta figurines, just like other cultural materials, are uniform in their distribution. The Nabataean Terracotta figurines were found, so far, almost everywhere in both public and private places. Terracotta figurines are works of art moulded by specialist workman, who is usually a member of the common citizens. The moulds were produced by good artists and used in the mass production of the proper figurine types. The group of terracotta figurines included in this study varies in their shapes, styles and sizes. They could be classified into two major groups, the anthropomorphic and the zoomorphic figurines. In general, the terracotta figurines were evidence of the wide cultural connection of the Nabataeans with the Hellenistic Greece, Egypt and Parthia. Despite all the cultural influences of Egypt and Greek on the Nabataean terracotta figurines, it is noticeable that the clay figurines reflect a degree of local autonomy and show an original local school of art, which was a continuation of the figurine types in Trans-Jordan during the Iron Age including the Persian Period. The Nabataean terracotta figurines as a result of this study can be evidence of the interaction between the religious ideas prevailing in the surrounding area of Trans-Jordan during the Iron Age, and the religious ideas of the Arab tribes in the Arabian Peninsula