Kurlan naiskos
A Kurlan naiskos was a ceramic figurine statue made by the Kurlan civilization.  Because the Kurlan civilization died out millennia prior to the 24th century, a complete or intact naiskos was extremely rare, making them highly valuable to collectors and archaeologists.

A naiskos consisted of a large hollow body, of which the top half could be removed to reveal several smaller figurines inside, similar in shape to the original one. Naiskoi reflected Kurlan philosophy in the sense that they believed that an individual was actually a community of individuals, each with their own voice, their own desires and their own view of the world. Ornamentation on the surface of a naiskos indicated which dynasty of the Kurlan civilization it came from.

In 2369, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's former mentor, Professor , gave him a complete and intact  Kurlan naiskos manufactured by the Master of Tarquin Hill; the artifact was more than twelve thousand years old. Picard was clearly moved by this gift. 

Because the Master's work anticipated general design trends by approximately three hundred years, Picard's initial assessment was that it was Fifth Dynasty. However, after a prompt from Galen, he made a closer examination and correctly identified it. () 

The naiskos later adorned the captain's ready room on the  until the starship crashed on Veridian III in 2371. Picard found the top half of the artifact among the ship's wreckage and, upon discovering that it was intact, placed it back onto the floor. (; )

Picard's Kurlan naiskos was later stored in his vault at the quantum archive of the Starfleet Archive Museum. () By 2401, he had moved it to the hallway outside his library at Château Picard. ()

Another Kurlan naiskos was present in the collection of Kerner Hauze. ()

Appendices

Background information

The Kurlan naiskos prop was created by special effects artist Christopher Bergschneider.

 is a real-life archaeological term, meaning a small temple-like building (the word is the diminutive of Greek naos, temple), or a container for small votive objects, such as the Kurlan naiskos.  

In the Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine la Unjoined, Kurlan naiskos were a Trill art form.

External links

de:Kurlanischer Naiskos
Visual art