History or Herstory? From the goddesses of old through the "Technicolor unattainable" of the movie star, the images of women have been reflective of an ideal filtered through artistic ability and the conventions of civilizations often dominated by men. Sculpture, painting and photography capture this ideal and hold it through time.



This Neolithic Mother Goddess from Tell Halaf circa 5000 BCE, with minimal restoration, represents the goddess as a wide-hipped (steatopygous) female with conical breasts and a stylized head. During that era, 5500-4500 BCE, the feminine reigned supreme. The area is now known as Syrian Kurdistan.