Related Directory Categories
- Figurines (265)
- Figurines (106)
- Figurines (34)
- Department 56 (30)
- Department 56 (29)
- Fairies and Fantasy (18)
- Organizations (16)
- Limoges and Miniature Boxes (15)
- Pewter (14)
- Royal Doulton (12)
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Figurine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the indie band, see Figurine (band)
A figurine (a diminutive form of the word figure) is a statuette that represents a human, deity, or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone. More recent creations are made of ceramic, metal, glass, wood, and plastic.
Figurines and miniatures are used in board games, such as chess. and tabletop role playing games. Figures with movable parts, allowing limbs to be posed, are more likely to be called dolls or action figures; or robots or automata, if they can move on their own.
The terms inaction figures (originally used to describe Kevin Smith's View Askew figurines) and staction figures (a portmanteau of static and action figures coined by Four Horsemen artists to describe Masters of the Universe figures) have been used to refer to figurines of comic book or sci-fi/fantasy characters without movable parts.
Old figurines have been used to discount some historical theories, such as the origins of chess.
Prehistoric figurines of pregnant women are called Venus figurines, because of their presumed representation of a female goddess, or some connection to fertility. The two oldest known examples are made of stone, were found in Africa and Asia, and are several hundred thousand years old. Many made of fired clay have been found in Europe that date to 25-30,000 BC, and are the oldest ceramics known.
If the earlier finds are genuine, they are among the first signs of human culture. We cannot know for certain how they were used. They probably had religious or ceremonial significance, and may have been used in marriage or other rituals. They may also have been worn as jewelry, or meant to amuse children.