This remarkable clay figure of a woman resting is from Malta, and dates from around 3500 BCE. It can be seen today in the archaeological museum in Valetta. She’s tiny, only about 4 inches or 10 cm long, but the representation is still powerful and evocative. Figures of women with full figures were interestingly common in what remains of Neolithic anthropomorphic sculptures. The famous ‘Venus’ of Willendorf is probably the most famous of these. Here, we see one of her lovely ancestors. She belongs to, or was a kind of goddess for, a civilization of temple builders on Malta who build huge religious complexes out of the limestone of the island. If you’ve never been to Malta, put it on your bucket list!