It is commonly accepted that Canaanite human figurines in general and those made of metal in particular, are images of male and female deities. Sinse monumental stone sculpture is comparatively rare in the Levant before the Hellenistic period, it is usually suggested that metal figurines may have occasionally served as cult idols but are generally regarded to have been votive idols. In many cases they were found in public sanctuaries and high-places and therefore, their ceremonial function can hardly be denied. It should be noted that these idols may have been used as amulets for magic purposes in domestic and funerary cults as well.
In the 3rd millennium BC several kinds of metal were already utilised in the Levant for both casting and hammering. Most of the solid -cast figurines were made made in stone or clay moulds and a few in the ‘lost-wax’ (cire-perdu) process.
Reference: For a similar figure: Musée du Louvre, France, item AO 20284
