Patterned Ceramic Figures

The Habibti Ceramic Figures Reinterpret Mesopotamian Visual Traditions

The Habibti ceramic figures are a series of glazed sculptures by Iraqi-American artist Maryam Yousif that draw on Mesopotamian and Assyrian visual traditions through contemporary ceramic forms. Each figure wears a patterned dress featuring motifs such as rosettes, protective eyes, pomegranates or repeated female faces, with vivid glazes in tangerine, blue, green and desert yellow distinguishing individual works. Simplified human forms with black hair and sculptural accessories reference historical imagery while establishing a cohesive cast of distinct characters.

The series takes inspiration from Sumerian votive figures that were placed in temples as symbolic stand-ins for worshippers. Yousif reinterprets that tradition by centering female figures and incorporating layered decorative patterns that reference Middle Eastern and North African cultural symbols. Standing under 20 inches tall, the glazed ceramic sculptures balance historical influences with contemporary craftsmanship

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