STONE "BABAS" (WOMEN)
STONE "BABAS" (WOMEN) comprise one of the most interesting and original collections of Dnipropetrovsk Historical Museum, as well as one of the largest collections of stone statues in Ukraine, which consists of over 80 pieces. Among them are anthropomorphic Stellas belonging to the Eneolithic period (3rd millennium BC), both primitive and unique, having no analogues in any European museums. One statue is of the idol Kernosiv (middle of the 3rd millennium BC) which is unique for its antique origin, perfect technique and rich variety of surface pictures. Scythian statues of the collection are very different in style, some of them being quite perfect-made, as, for example, the so-called "round sculptures*. Those latter most often depict armed warriors. However, the most widely represented in the collection are Turkic-Polovets statues dated the 12th and first half of the 13th centuries. They were dedicated to ancestors - to those who were bringing in fertility and wellbeing. They used to constitute an indispensable part of funeral sanctuaries, and used for immolation and ritual burnings. Nowadays we face the problem of preserving the stone "babas", and encounter the immediate necessity of their restoration, as well as the construction of pavilion-lapidarium, emphasises author L. Churylova.
