Goddess on the Throne
Goddess on the Throne (; ), is a terracotta figurine found at the site of the Tjerrtorja spinning mill in Pristina, the capital city of Kosovo, in 1956. The seated terracotta figure is a well-preserved specimen of small Neolithic plastic Vinča culture (also known as Turdas culture in Kosovo). It measures  high and is dated to 5700–4500 BC.

The figurine represents a female deity, reflecting the cult of the great mother idol. It is preserved in the Kosovo Museum, which has adopted the idol as its logo. One of the most precious archaeological artifacts of Kosovo, it has also been adopted as the symbol of the city of Prishtina.

The figurine was discovered by experts from the National Museum of Serbia in 1956. Goddess on the Throne was borrowed in late 1998 by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Gallery for their exhibition titled Arheološko blago Kosova i Metohije - od neolita do ranog Srednjeg veka (Archeological Treasure of Kosovo and Metohija - from the Neolithic Period to Middle Ages). Following the Kosovo War, the figure was kept in Belgrade. In 2002, the-then President of the Coordination Center for Kosovo and Metohija Nebojša Čović returned the figurine to Pristina as "a sign of goodwill towards Kosovo Albanians". This occurred after the insistence of then UN overseer Michael Steiner. There are presently 1,200 artifacts from Kosovo which remain in Serbia, despite appeals for their return by Kosovo. 

The figurine became a symbol of the culture of Kosovo Albanians.

Gallery

References

External links
 The Goddess on the Throne 
 'Tjerrtorja' Archeological Site (listed since 1955)

6th-millennium BC works
5th-millennium BC works
1956 archaeological discoveries
Vinča culture
Terracotta sculptures
Figurines
Sculptures of goddesses