Illyrian amber figures are a group of small human and animal figures made out of amber. They were made from the start of the
Iron Age around 1000 BC and their production continued down through the millennium. They are found in nearly all of
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...
from
Slovenia in the north to
Albania and
North Macedonia in the south. The sites with the most figures found are
Ripač in
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
(15 figures in total of animals and humans) and
Ormož in Slovenia (10 human and 13 animal figures). The purpose of these figures is still a mystery and they could as well have been Illyrian deities, figures to represent the cult of the dead or simply children's toys. Amber was a plastic that Illyrians were very fond of and many of their jewellery and decorative objects were made of amber. For these figures it is hard to say that they are artistic objects.
References
{{Illyrians
Illyrian art
Ancient art