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Cycladic Sculpture


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Early

Cycladic Sculpture

A nIntroduction

Revised

E d i t i o n

Pat Getz-Preziosi

The J. Paul Getty Museum

M a l i b u , California


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1994 The J. Paul Getty Museum

17985 Pacific Coast Highway

M a l i b u , California

90265-5799

A t the J. Paul Getty Museum:

Christopher Hudson, Publisher

M a r kGreenberg, Managing Editor

L i b r a r y ofCongress

Cataloging-in-Publication

Data

Getz-Preziosi, Pat.

Early

Cycladic sculptu re : an intro duc tio n /

Pat Getz-Preziosi.Rev. ed.

Includes

bibliographical

references.

I S B N

0-89236-220-0

I Sculpture, Cycladic. I J. P. Getty Museum.

I I .

T i t l e .

NB130.C78G4

1994

730 '.0939 '15 -dc 20 94-16753

CIP

Cover: Early

Spedos

variety style

harp player.

M a l i b u ,

The J. Paul

Getty

Museum

85.AA.103.

See

also plate ivb, figures 24, 25, 79.

Frontispiece: Female folded-arm

figure.

Late Sp edos/Dokathismata

variety.A somewhat atypical w o r k

of the SchusterMaster. ECII.

Combining

elegantly controlled

curving elements w i t h asharp

angularity

a nd

tautness

of

l i n e ,

the

concept is one of boldness te m

pered by delicacy and precision.

M a l i b u ,

The J. Paul Getty Museum

90.AA.114.

Pres.L. 40.6 cm.


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Contents

v i i

Foreword

x Preface

x i Preface to First E d i t i o n

1

In t roduct ion

6 Color Plates

17 The Stone

Vases

18 The Figur ati ve Sculpt ure

51

The Formulaic Trad i t i on

59 The I n d i v i d u a l Sculptor

64 The Kar lsr uhe /Woo dner Master

66 Th e Goul andr is Mast er

71

The Ashmol ean Master

78 The D i s t r i b u t i o n of the Figur es

79 Bey ond the Cyclades

83 Majo r Collec tions of Early

Cycladic Sculpture

84 Selected Bib lio gra phy

86 Photo Cre dit s


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his page intentionally left blank


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Foreword

The remarkable

stone

sculptures pro

duced in the Cyclades dur in g the

t h i r d

m i l l e n n i u m B . C . have

both the advan

tage

and

d isadvan tage

of im men se

popular appeal. Even the most

casual

observers

can immediately

appreciate

the carefully sculpted forms of human

figures reduced to the ir essential out

lines and the

vessels

of

sure

and sim

ple contours w i t h minimal decoration.

Our attraction to

these

objects sh oul d

not be confused w i t h understanding,

however, f or it belies the fact tha t we

k n o w

almos t not hi ng of the r itu als

and beli efs of the society that p ro

duced them.

The

decade since

th e f i r s t edition

o f this book

appeared

has wi tne ssed

a bu rg eo ni ng int eres t in the stud y

o f Cycladic art and c i v i l i z a t i o n . I n

the

same year,

1985, the Nicholas P.

Goulandris Foundation and Museum

o f Cycl adic Art , the f i r s t ins t i t u t ion

dedica ted to t he dis semin ati on and

promot ion of Cycladic art to a wide r

scholarly co mmu ni ty and the general

p u b l i c ,

opened in Athens.

S i g n i f i

cant exhibit ions

f o l l o w e d ,

inc lu ding

Ear ly Cycladi c Sculpture in Nor th

A m e r i c a n Col l ec t ions , shown in

R i c h m o n d , V i r g i n i a ,

Fo r t Wo r th ,

Texas, and San Francisco, in 1987-

1988, and Cycl adi c Cul tu re : Naxos

i n

th e

T h i r d M i l l e n n i u m ,

shown at

the Goul and ris Mu se um in Athen s in

1990, and brought the tangible re

mai ns of thi s Bron ze Age

c i v i l i z a t i o n

to the a tt ent ion of a broader public

audience.

Several major new publica

tions

a l so appeared ,

inc luding Pat

Getz-Preziosi's major study,

Sculptors

of the Cyclades,

and

C o l i n

Renfrew's

evocative

The Cycladic Spirit.

Bu t

per

haps

mos t impor ta n t ly , our

k n o w l

edge

of the cu lt ure of the Cycl ades i n

the Bronze Age has

been

incr ease d by

continuing

excavations and surveys of

Cycladic

sites,

particularly on the is

lands

of Mel os, Amor gos , Kea, Keros,

and Santorini, as w e l l as related

sites

on main land

Greece

and the island of

Crete. These remarkable works of art,

once

valued more for the inspiration

they pr ovi ded to mo de rn sculpt ors

l i k e Brancus i or Hen ry Moo re tha n as

the sophis t ica ted

a ch i ev em en t s

of

their

own culture, can be better

appre

ciate d as we und ers ta nd mor e about

the society that pro duc ed th em.

Pat Getz-Preziosi's cont ri but ion to

v i i


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the study of Cycla dic

stone

sculpture,

both

idols and

vessels,

and of the art

is ts who produced them, is surely

u n i q u e . A l t h o u g h

the basic chrono

l o g i c a l

de velop ment of the

i d o l

types

had been previ ousl y establ ished, she

was the f i r s t schola r to recogniz e t he

stylistic

relationships among different

pieces

and to attribute them on this

basis

to i n d i v i d u a l

h a n d s

or mas

te r s . L i k e

those

of the cre ato rs of

most

surviving

ancient artifacts, the

n a m es

of

these

cra ftsme n are unre

corded, and the sculptors are now

i d e n t i f i e d

for conve nien ce by the

n a m es

of the collec tions w h i c h i n

clud e or have incl ud ed in the

past

one

or mor e examples of the artist's

work.

I t is

u n l i k e l y

that we shall ever know

more about

these

sculptors, but Dr.

Getz-Preziosi's examination of groups

o f works by different

hands

and her

consid erat ion of the

changes

and var

ia t ions in key styl isti c features amo ng

mem ber s of each group prov id e us

w i t h

c o n s ide r ab l e in s ig h t

in to

the

dist inct

artist ic personaliti es that cre

ated them.

D r . Getz-P rezi osi was also the f i r s t

to

offer

a con vin cin g analysis of the

standard ized formul ae that

seem

to

have been app li ed in the crea tio n of

the

stone

figures.

W h i l e

the idols ap

pear

deceptively simple at f i r s t glance,

the formulae she believes were used

f o r the p l an ni ng and execu t ion of

the images reveal their extraordinary

re f inement

of design.

These

formulae

may also help to ex pl ai n the rat her

u n s e t t l i n g

impress ion of s i m i l a r i t y

amo ng figur es of each typ e, in spite of

the i r var iations in i n d i v i d u a l details.

R ea d er s

f a m i l i a r w i t h

the

o r i g i

n a l

ed i t i on

of this book

w i l l

realize

tha t a nu mb er of objects have chang ed

hands

since its

appearance.

In 1988,

the Getty Museum acquired the Cy

cladic

collect ion of Paul and Mari ann e

Steiner,

inc lud ing

the name-piece of

the S te ine r Mas te r . The Woodner

Fami ly Co l lec t ion

was s ol d i n 1991

and is now in a New Y o r k p r iv a t e

collec t ion.

Kenneth

Hamma, Associate Cura

t o r of

An t iqu i t i e s ,

has overs een the

product ion o f this revis ed

edi t ion,

at

t end ing

to

myr i ad

details

w i t h

charac

teristic

care

and patience. The text was

edited

by Cynthia Ne wma n Bohn, and

E l l e n

Rosenbery p rovi ded new photo-

v i i i


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graphs of the Ste iner pieces.

Thi s vol ume is int end ed as a gen

eral intr odu ct ion to a comple x and

i n t r i g u i n g subjec t that is const ant ly

enhanced by new discoveri es. We may

only hope that the excavations and

research

act iviti es of the nex t

decade

w i l l further elucidate the original c u l

t u r a l signif icance of these artifacts,

w h i c h have lost none of their i mme

diacy and appeal more than four

m i l

lennia after their creation.

M a r i o n True

Curator of Ant iqui tie s

ix


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Preface

Since the

i n i t i a l

publication of

Early

Cycladic Sculpture: An Introduction,

the J. Paul Getty Muse um , under the

f i n e

eye of its

p r e s e n t

Curator of

A n t i q u i t i e s ,

Ma ri on True, has contin

ued to

b u i l d

and broa den its collect ion

o f prehistoric

stone

sculpture w i t h the

acquisi t ion

of a nu mbe r of impressi ve

w o r k s .

Coinc iden ta l ly , the o r ig i nal

e d i t i o n

we nt out of pr in t just as t he

Mu se um was in the

process

of acquir

i n g

a

piece f r o m

t he ha nd o f one of

the pr eemi nen t sculpt ors of the Early

Bronz e Age Cyclades (see front is. ).

That addi ti on and the Museum' s re

cent acqui sit ion of the Steiner C o l

l e c t i o n

of Cycladic figures and

vases,

h a l f of wh ic h were not incl ude d in the

earlier edition, as w e l l as four addi

t i o n a l

Cycladic marble

vessels

and a

rare

complete figurati ve image f r o m

A n a t o l i a have made

a revised ed it ion

appr opri ate at this ti me. In the new

e d i t i o n

several of

these recent

acqui

sitions by the Mus eu m and two impor

tant works f r o m other collections

have

repla ced several objects illu str ate d in

the ori gin al version (see pi .

la-c

and

f i g s .

16, 17, 20, 28, an d 85 -8 4) .

A l t h o u g h there have been

a nu mber

o f addi tio ns to the lit era tur e in the

years since

this book f i r s t

appeared,

our underst anding of the funda men

tals of Earl y Cycladic sculpt ure remains

basically unaltered. As a reflection of

this sit uat ion, the text of the

present

e d i t i o n ,

although improved in places,

has not

been

substantially modified.

Pat Getz-Preziosi

A p r i l 1994

X


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Preface

to First Edition

This

book was written at the

sugges

t i o n

of Ji n Frel

f o l l o w i n g

a seminar

lecture given by the writer at the J.

Paul Getty Mus eu m in the spri ng of

1983. A revised versi on of that lectu re,

i t also

incorpora tes man y

elements

of

a larger study called

Sculptors of the

Cyclades:

Individual and Tradition in

the

r

ThirdMillennium B.C.,

which

w i l l

soon be published

j o i n t l y

by the

U n i

versity

of Michigan

Press

and the J.

Paul Getty Trust. I l lustrated wher

ever

possible w i t h objects

f r o m

the

Getty's coll ecti on or w i t h objects in

other American

museums

and private

collections,

Early Cycladic Sculpture

is in te nd ed to survey the deve lop

ment of Cycl adi c scu lp tu re and to

o f f e r

a pa r t ic ul ar appr oach to the

anony mous artists who wor ke d in the

Aegean islands

some

f o r t y - f i v e

hun

dred

years

ago.

For graciousl y all owi ng me to rep ro

duce

objects

f r o m

their collections

and for pr ovi di ng photogr aphs and

i n f o r m a t i o n ,

I am most grat eful to the

f o l l o w i n g museums,

museu m author

i t i e s ,

and private owners: D o l l y Gou

landris (Athens) , Adri ana Calinescu

( In d i an a Un iv e r s i t y A r t M u s e u m ,

B l o o m i n g t o n ) ,

John Coffey (Bowdoin

College Ar t Mus eu m, Bru nswi ck) , J.

G y .

Szilagyi (Muse e des Bea ux-A rts,

Budapest), Jane Biers (Museum of

A r t

and Archaeology, U niversi ty of M i s

sou r i ,

Columbi a) , Gisel le Eber hard

(M us e e B a r b ie r -M ul l e r , G e n e v a ) ,

D o m i n i q u e

de

M e n i l ( M e n i l

Founda

t i o n , Houston), Uri

A v i d a

(Israel Mu

seum, Jerusalem), Michael

Maass

and

Ji i rgen

Th i mm e (Badisches Landes-

mus eu m, Ka rls ruhe ), J. Lesley Fit ton

( B r i t i s h

M u s e u m , L o n d o n ) , T i n a

O l d k n o w ( Los Angeles County Mu

seum

o f A r t ) ,

J i f i

Frel and Mar io n

True (J. Paul Getty Museum, M a l i b u ) ,

The Guennol Coll ection (New Y o r k ) ,

Joan Mertens (Metropolitan Museum

o f A r t , New Y o r k ) , Alex andr a Staf

f o r d (New Y o r k ) , Paul and Mari anne

Ste ine r (New Y o r k ) , Ian Woo dn er

( N e w Y o r k ) , Mi cha e l Vicker s and

A n n B r o w n (A s h m o l e an M us e um ,

O x f o r d ) ,

Sara C a m p b e l l ( N o r t o n

Simon Museum, Pasadena), Frances

F o l l i n

J o n e s

( T h e A r t M u s e u m ,

Princeton University), Renee Beller

Dreyfus ( The Fine Art s Mus eu ms of

San Francisco),

Paula

T h ur m an

(Seat

t l e Ar t Museu m), Saburoh

Hasegawa

x i


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(The Na t ion a l Mus eu m of Weste rn

A r t ,

T o k y o ) , M r . a n d M r s . I s i d o r

Kahane ( Z u r i c h ) , and several private

collectors wh o prefer to rem ain anon

ym ou s. Specia l tha nks are due to

Wolfgang Knobl och of the Badisches

Land esmus eum and to Andr ea Wood -

ner for und er tak ing the troub leso me

task of obt ain ing the weig hts of the

t wo n a m e- p i eces of the Kar l s r uhe /

Woo dne r Master. For the ir help w i t h

various aspects of the p roj ect , I am

espec ia l ly indeb ted to the depa r t

ments of antiqu ities and p ublic ations

at the J. Paul Getty Museum. I

w o u l d

also

l i k e to tha nk the Getty M us eu m

semina r partic ipants for the ir valuable

comments and the

students

of

Jeremy

Rutter at Dartmouth and Karen Foster

at Wesleyan for tak ing part i n draw

i n g experiments perti nent to the

pres

ent study. A n d last but not

least ,

I

gratefully

acknowledge a substantial

debt to

those

colleagues w hose views

I

have

incor pora ted into the fabric of

my

text.

P. G.-P.

x i i


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Introduction

Over a century ago European t r a v e l

ers began to explore the more than

t h i r t y sma ll is la nds that l i e at the

center of the Ae gea n Sea ( fi g. 1). We

know

these

islands by the historical

G r e e k

n a m e

of

some

of themthe

Cycladesso called

because

they were

thought to encircle t i n y Delos, sacred

bir t hpla ce of the gods Art emi s and

A p o l l o . A more appropr ia te

name

for

these

rocky sum mit s of subme rged

m o u n t a i n s m i g h t have bee n Th e

M a r b l e I s l e s o r M a r m a r i n a i ; f o r

many , i f not most, o f th em are ex cel

lent

sources of the mat eri al that was

to spa rk the creati ve imp ul ses a nd

challenge the

energies

of sculp tors i n

both pr ehist oric and histor ic ti mes.

Nineteenth-century travelers to the

Cyclades brough t home a nu mbe r of

cur ious marbl e f igur ines, or

sigil-

laria,

as they called th em,

w h i c h

had

been

f o r t u i t o u s l y

unear thed by

f a r m

ers' p lo ws. By the 1880s inter est in

these

sculptures,

w h i c h

we now rec

ognize as the pr oduct s of Earl y Bronze

Age

craftsmanship, was

s u f f i c i e n t l y

aroused that

i n f o r m a t i o n

about the

culture

w h i c h

produced them was ac

t i v e l y s o ug h t t h r o ug h e x c av a t io n .

Since the n, recovery of the art and

archaeology of the pre-Gr eek c ultu re

that f l o w e r e d in the Cycladic arch i

pelago has been continuous, both

th r o ug h

systematic expl ora tio n and

through

clandestine

d i g g i n g .

As a re

sult,

several thousand marble objects

are now

k n o w n , p r o v i d i n g

a

r i c h

and

varied corpus to study and enjoy.

Cycladicfigures or

i d o l s ,

as the most

distinctive objects o f this early cul tur e

are freel y cal led, * have hel d a

strange

appeal for nearly f i v e

m i l l e n n i a .

D u r

i n g the perio d of the ir ma nufa ctur e,

r o u g h l y 3000-2200

B . C .

they were

b u r i e d w i t h the Cycla dic dea d, bu t

they were also exported beyond the

Cyclades and even im it at ed nearby on

Crete and in A t t i c a where they have

also been

f o u n d

i n graves. F ragme n

tary

figures,

chance

find s trea sure d as

magically charg ed reli cs, wer e occa

sionally reused in later

m i l l e n n i a .

In

mod er n times Cycladic figures were

at f i r s t cons ide red p r i m i t i v e , in the

pe jora t ive

sense of the w o r d ,

u g l y ,

and, at

best,

cur iosit ies

f r o m

the dim

recesses of Greek pre hist ory. Redis

c o v e r e d in th e tw e n t i e th c e n tu r y ,

largely t h ro ugh the apprec ia t ion o f

*The term

idol

is accurate i f by it no more

is meant than ima ge, as in the ancient

Greek eidolon.

1


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Figure 1.

Th e Cyclades and neigh

boring lands. The dotted

line indicates some

uncertainty regarding the

eastern boundary

of

the

Early

Bronze Age culture;

possibly Ikaria and

Astypalaia ought to be

included within its sphere.

2


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such artists as Picasso and Br ancusi ,

they have come to be hig hly esteemed

f o r thei r compe l l i ng combi nat i on of

gle ami ng whi te marb le and painstak

i n g wor kma nsh ip, for the calm force

o f the i r essential forms, and for the

mystery that surrou nds th em.

Although th e greatest concentration

o f Cycla dic scul ptur e is housed in the

Nat iona l

Archaeological Museum in

Athens, examples are scattered in mu

seums and private collections aro und

th e

w o r l d .

There are at least two hun

d red pieces in American col lect ions

alone (see the

l i s t

of majo r c ollect ions

o n

p. 85). The p opul ari ty of the

f i g

ureshas increased dr amat ica lly du ri ng

the last two decades, part lybecauseof

the i r

perceived a f f i n i t y

w i t h

contem

porary art styles. The consequences

f or

the ser ious study of Cycl adic art

and cul ture are dist urb ing, for to sat

i s fy dema nd for the figures, unautho

r i z e d

di ggi ng has f lou ris hed to the

exten t that f or many, i f not most, of

the sculptur es, the precise find-places

have been

lost along

w i t h

the circum

stances of the ir discovery. On ly a r e l

atively

small num be r of figures has

been

recove red in systema tic excava

tions of undistur bed sites. The picture

we have of Cycladic art has been f u r

ther clou ded by the insinu atio n of f o r

geries, p r i m a r i l y du ri ng the 1960s.

The fragmentary

state

of the

archae

ological

rec ord only compo unds the

very d i f f i c u l t prob lem of understand

i n g the origin al mean ing and functio n

o f these figures as w e l l as other finds

f r o m the Early Cycladic period. It is

clear that the sculptures had at least a

sepulchr al purpose, but beyond that,

th e l i t t l e we know and the views we

n o w ho ld are open to the k i n d of a m p l i

f i c a t i o n or alterati on that only furthe r

controlled excavation might provide.

W h i l e

it is tr ue that the excava tion

o f

Early Cycladic sites has been re

stricted

almost exclusively to cemeter

ies, the few settlements that have been

explored

have

y ie lded l i t t l e in the way

o f marble objects.

Perhaps

the mos t

impo rt ant gap in the record at

pres

ent is the l ack of bui ld in gs or

sites

that

can def init ely be consi dere d

sanctuar

ies, although the re is one tantalizing

poss ib i l i t y

w h i c h

w i l l

be

discussed

later.

T o date, no figure measuring 60 cm

or more has ever been uncovered by

1


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an archaeologist. We do no t kn ow

ther efor e ho w the very large images

were nor mal ly used, thou gh the

a v a i l

able information

suggests

that, at least

on occasion, they, too, were buried

w i t h the dead .

A l t h o u g h

the skeleta l rema ins have

not been analyzed, it

appears

f r o m

the

objects found w i t h them that marble

images were bur ied w i t h both men

and wo me n but evide ntly not w i t h

c h i l d r e n . Moreover,

w h i l e some

cem

eteries

are noticeably richer in mar

ble goods than others, even in

these

not every

b u r i a l

was so end owe d.

Marble objects, figures as w e l l as ves

sels,

accompanied

o n l y

a pr i vil eged

f e w

to thei r graves. It is th ou ght tha t

the

m a j o r i t y

o f the isla nders

made

do

w i t h less costly wooden figures (all

traces of

w h i c h w o u l d

have vanished

by no w) , just as they ha d to be con

tent w i t h vessels fashioned f r o m clay.

A t

presen t ,

there is not sufficient

archaeological evidence to state

w i t h

assurance whether these figures were

n o r m a l l y

accorded respect at the time

o f their interment

w i t h

the dead, who

were placed in cramp ed, unprepos

sessing,

box li ke graves. Clear i n f o r

mat ion

of this sort coul d pro vid e clues

to par t of the mystery sur rou ndi ng the

i d e n t i t y

and

f u n c t i o n

of

these

images

and to the at tit udes o f the

l i v i n g

to

w a r d them.

Perhaps

the most

i n t r i g u i n g ques

t i o n

of all concerns me ani ng: wh y di d

people acquire

these

idols?

Because

the

m a j o r i t y

are female, w i t h a few

either pregnant or showing signs of

pos t par tum wr in k le s , the ev idence

points in the direc tio n of

f e r t i l i t y ,

at

least for the female fig ures. Gl anc

i n g

for a moment at the double-figure

image of plate i n, it mi gh t be viewed

as essentially si mil ar to the tra di ti ona l

single female figure

w h i l e

being even

more

p o w e r f u l l y

or blat antl y symbol ic

o f

f e r t i l i t y .

By depi cti ng the standar d

f i g u r e

type as both pregnant and w i t h

a

c h i l d ,

the sculptor was able to inten

s i fy

the idea of fec undi ty and the r e

newal of l i f e . This should provide an

impor tan t

clue to wh at may have been

the essential meaning of

these

prehis

t o r i c marble figures.

For the time being, one may

t h i n k

o f these scul ptu res as the per sona l

possessions of the dead ra ther tha n

as

g i f t s m a d e

to them at the time of

4


18/100

the i r funerals. They should

perhaps

be vi ew ed as icons of a pro te ct iv e

being acquired by a person, kept dur

i n g his or her l i f e t i m e and

perhaps

displayed i n the home , but whose ul

t i m a t e

and pr im ar y purp ose was to

serve

in the grave as pot ent symb ols

o f

eternal renewal and hope and as

comfor t ing

reminders that

l i f e w o u l d

persist in the beyond. Reaff irma tio n

o f

the

v i t a l i t y

of

l i f e

and the

senses,

moreover, may have been the sym

bolic

purpose of the occasional ma le

f igu remusic

maker , wine offerer ,

h u n t e r / w a r r i o r .

In the

absence

o f

w r i t t e n

records, one

w i l l

never be able

to achieve a comple te unders tan din g of

such inta ngib le matte rs as

bur ial r i t

u a l

or the

f u l l

mea nin g of the images.

Such are the

l i m i t s

of archaeology.

A

great deal can be lea rned , never

theless, about Ear ly Cycla dic sculp

ture f r o m a p r i m a r i l y visual approach

w h i c h focuses less on the i n t r i g u i n g

b u t ,

in the present

state

of knowledge,

d i f f i c u l t questions conce rnin g why

f i g

ures were carved, for whom they were

intended, or even precisely when they

were mad e, and mor e on the

ques

t ions of how they were design ed and

by

whom . What f o l l o w s , then, is a sur

v ey

of the

typological

development of

Early

Cycladic sculptu re, i n ad di ti on,

i t is the intention

here

to show that it

is

possible to isolate the works of i n d i

vidual

sculpt ors and to speculate about

these

i n d i v i d u a l s '

g r o w t h

as artists

w o r k i n g w i t h i n

the strict conventions

o f

a sophisticated craft

t radi t ion .

5


19/100

Plate

i . FourEarly Cycladicmarblevasesin the J. Paul Getty Museum.

a. The collared

ja r

or

kandila (lamp) was the

most

common

marble

object produced in the EC

phase. Several hundred of

these

vessels are known.

Eidless, they were carried

suspendedfrom cords and

were

probably designed to

hold

liquids, although one

wasfound containing

shells. In size kandiles

rangefrom 8.4 cm to

37 cm. Malibu, The J Paul

Getty

Museum 90.AA.9.

H . 25.2 cm.

b . The beaker is another of

alimited range

of

marble

forms of the EC phase.

Eidless like the collared

jar, it was also designed

fo r

suspension and was

probably intended as a

containerfor liquids, but

it occurs much less fre

quently. In rare cases a

female torso is represented

on one side of the vessel

(with

the suspension lugs

doubling

as upper arms),

reinforcing the notion that

the vessel was symbolically

interchangeable with the

plastically sculptedfemale

image. In size beakers

rangefrom 7.5 cm to

35 cm. Malibu, The J Paul

Getty

Museum 90.AA.10.

H .

16 cm.

6


20/100

c .

Among the rare varia

tions

on the k a n d i l a (pi.

la ) are several consisting

of two joined examples

and one or two lacking the

top or

bottom element.

This

unique vessel hadfour

short

feet

(now damaged)

instead

of

the usual conical

or cylindrical pedestal and

is

probably a late example

of

the type, perhaps transi

tional between EC I and

ECU. Malibu, The

J

Paul

Getty M useum, 88. A

A.

84

(ex Steiner Collec tion).

Pres.

H. 16.7 cm.

d .

E C J cylindrical

pyx ide s

normally carried incised

decoration. While curvilin

ear designs (spirals,

circles)

are confined almost, exclu

sively to vessels carved in

softer and lessfriable soap-

stone, marble containers

were regularly ornamented,

with rectilinear encircling

grooves reminiscent

of

the

postpartum wrinkles seen

on a

number

of figures

(e.g.,fig.

6)perhaps

another indication of the

female symbolism

of

the

vessel. This beautifully

carved example, which

shows traces of red. paint

on its interior, is at present

unique among marble ves

sels for the single engraved ,

spiral which covers its

underside. This may be an

early example, transitional

between EC

l

and. EC I I

Malibu,

Th e

J

Paul Getty

Museum 88. AA. 8 3 (ex

Steiner Collection).

H . 6.5 cm (lid missing);

D . (mouth) 8.4 cm.

7


21/100

Plate

T w o female figures in the J . Paul Getty Museum.

a.

Plastiras type. EC I.

Simpler than most exam

ples

of its

type, this modest

work

is unusual in that it

lacks any definition of the

forearms. The mending

hole in the right thigh was

a

remedyfo r damage

incurred

perhaps when the

sculptor

was in the pr ocess

of separating the legs. If

this was the case, he may

have thought it best not to

continue separating them

asfar

as the crotch. A

break across the left thigh

probably occurred at a

much later time. Malibu,

Th e

J

Paul Getty Museum

71.AA.128.H. 14.2 cm.

See also figure 1 3d.

b . Precanon ical type. EC

I / I I . Although one can see

in

this figure a tentative

folding

of the armsfor e

shado wing the classic idol

of

the EC

II

phase, it is

still

very much related to the

earlier Plastiras type in its

long

neck, modeled limbs,

andfeet with arched so les

(seefig. 13e) very similar

to those

of

the piece

illus

trated in plate

H a

and

figure 13d. Although the

almond-shaped eyes and

the indication of the brows

ar e

related to those painted

on later

figures,

their sculp

tural

rendering connects

them to the earlier tradi

tion, as does the bo red

navel (cf. fig. 13c). Note

how the legs were carved

separately

for

only a short

distance. The modeling and

attempted naturalism, of

the orearms and hands

reflect a short-lived

approach taken by some

sculptors of precanonical

figures (cf. pi.

I I I .

The

figure was acquired by the

J

Paul Getty Museum in.

two parts: the headless idol

came to the

museum

in

1972, having been obtained

many years earlier in the

Paris flea,

market. In 1977,

during

a visit to a

Euro

pean antiquities dealer, J .

Frel

identified the head/

neck as belonging to the

same work. Malibu, The

J

Paul Getty Museum

72.AA.156/77.AA.24.

H.

28.2 cm.

8


22/100

Plate

i n .Female

two-figure

composition.

Precanonical type. EC I / / /

Probably theearliest and

also thelargest

of

the three

well-preserved and unques

tionably genuine examples

of

this type known to the

writer, thepiece is interest

ingfor

a

number

of

rea

sons. The two figures were

deliberately made to be

nearly exact replicas of

each other, with one differ

ence: thelarger is clearly

represented as pregnant

while thesmaller has

almost no midsection at

all.

This is proba bly of

some significancefor an

understanding of the pre

cise

meaning of such com

positions, which continues

tobeelusive but which

must have suggestedfer

tility. Such works were

exceedingly difficult to

carve tocompletio n with

out sustaining fractures,

especially at theankles of

the small image,

and

con

sequently were rarely

attempted.

In their proportions and

with theirfully folded arms,

the two figures are close

typologically to the Spedos

variety, but the naturalistic

rendering of theforearms

and hands, inaddition to

the well-defined knees

and

slightly archedfe et held

parallel tothe ground, sug

gests

that

thework belongs

tothelate transitional

stage. Typologically, at

least, itappears somewhat

later than

the

figure illus

trated inplate lib. New

York, Shelby White and

Leon Levy Collection.

H. 46.6 cm.

9


23/100

Plate i v .Two harp players.

a.

Precanonical style.

EC

1/11.

Theearliest known

example of a rarely

attempted type requiring

enormous patience and

skill, thefigure isseated on

a chair with

an

elaborate

backrest, based, like the

harp, on wooden models.

H e is

represented

in the act

of plucking thestrings of

his instrument with his

thumbs.

Note

the

light

caplike area at the top and

back of the head which

was once painted.

New

York, The Metropolitan

Museum of Art, Rogers

Fund, 47.100.1.

H.

29.5 cm.

10


24/100

b . Early Spedos variety

style. EC

I I

This is the

largest and, along with the

Metropolitan Museum 'v

example, the best preserved

of the ten surviving harp

er s

ofungues tiona ble

authenticity known

to the

writer. 'Thefigure is repre

sented holding his instru

ment

at rest.

Note

the subtle

rendering of the right arm

and cupped

hand.

Paint

ghosts for hair and eyes

are discernible. Malibu,

Th e J Paul Getty Museum

85.AA. 103. H. 35.8cm.

Said

tocome from

Amorg os. See also figures

24, 25, 79, and cover.

11

Plate

v .

Heads of

four

figures.


25/100

a.

Plastiras type. A work

of the Athens Museum

Master. EC

I

One of four

works ascribed to this

sculptor. Note

that

the right

eye inlay is preserved.

Geneva, Musee Barbier-

MuellerBMG 209-59.

Pres. H. 13.6 cm.

b . Detail of work illustrated

infigure 56,showing paint

ghostsfor eyes, brows, and

forehead hair.

12


26/100

c. Spedos variety. EC

II.

A typical head on which

faint paint ghosts are

visible

for

the eyes and

forehead

hair. Malibu, The

J Paul Getty Museum

11.AA.125.

Pres. E. 8.9 cm.

d. Do kathismata variety.

EC I I . In contrast to the

rather conservative form

of

the Spedos variety head

(pi. Vc , that of the

D okathismata variety is

usually rather extreme and

mannered. Note the broad

crown

and pointed chin.

The

head is carved in a

rather unusual striated

marble. Malibu, The

J.Paul

Getty Museum

71.AA.126.

Pres.L.

8.6 cm.

13


27/100

Plate

v i .

Painted details.

b . Detail of work illustrated

infigure 41, showing paint

ing

on the

hands. Note also

the modeling of the breasts

and arms.

a. Detail of work illustrated

infigure 41, showing

painted details on theface

an d

a

painted necklace.

See alsofigure

42.

14


28/100

c. Detail of work illustrated

in figure 78, showing

paint

ing on theface and in the

neck groove.

d . Detail of work illustrated,

in figure 78, showing the

painted ear and neck

grooves.

15


29/100

his page intentionally left blank


30/100

The Figurative Sculpture


31/100

Th e vast maj or it y of the figures are

m a d e o f s p a r k l i n g w h i t e m a r b l e ;

w o r k s

i n gray , bande d , or mot t l ed

mar ble s or i n oth er materi als such as

volcanic ash, shell, or lead are very

rar e. Th e images vary in size f r o m

miniatures measuring less than 10 cm

(4 in . ) ( f ig . 5 ) to nea r l y l i f e - s i ze

( f i g .

4) , alt houg h most do not exceed

50 cm ( l f t . ) .

I n ter ms of natu ral ism, the sculp

tures range f r o m simpl e modifica tions

o f

stones

shaped and polished by the

sea to h i g h l y developed renderings of

the human f o r m w i t h subtle variations

o f plane and contour. In many exam

ples, no pr im ar y sexual characteristics

are indicated, but

unless

these figures

are depi cte d in a specifically mal e ro le

( p i .

iv) , they are us ually

assumed

to

represent

females. The female

f o r m ,

sometimes shown as pregnan t ( f i g s .

5, 75) or w i t h pos tpa r tum skin folds

( f i g s . 6, 7), domina tes t hr oug hou t the

period. Male figures account for only

about f i v e percent of the kn ow n pro-

18


32/100


33/100

Figure 5.

Female

folded-

arm figure. Late Spedos

variety. EC

I I

Unlike

mostfigures that

ar e

represented in a preg

nant condition (eg.,fig.

75), this example shows a

rather advanced stage.

Athens, Museum of

Cycladic and Ancient

Greek Art, Nicholas P.

Goulandris

Foundation

309. L 15.7 cm. Said to

befrom Naxos.

duc ti on pi . iv , figs. 19, 23-2 8, 35, 36).

A character is t ic feature of Cycladic

s c u l p t u r e t h r o u g h o u t i t s d e v e l o p

ment, from its earliest begi nnings in

the Neolithic Age, is the

simultaneous

manufac ture of both a s impl if i ed f lat

t ened version of the female fo rm and

a more f u l l y elaborated one fi g. 11).

A l t h o u g h

the popular i ty of

each

type

varies in a g iven per iod , i t appears

now that at

least some

examples o f

b o t h types appear in every p er io d ,

exceptperhaps in the firstphase of the

transit ional one when there seems to

have been

a ble ndi ng of the tw o

types.

That one Cycladic is lander migh t ac

qu i r e bo th schemat ic and

represen

t a t iona l ido ls i s suggested by their

occasional presence in a single grave

( f i g . 7 ) . M a n y s c u l p t o r s p r o b a b l y

carved both types, but the schematic

f i g u r i n e

wa s

doubtless

the

less

expen

sive to m ak e , since i t was nor mal ly

sma ll and coul d be fashione d f r om

a f lat beach pebble , thus r e q u i r i n g

m u c h less wo rk ; as man y as fourte en

o f

these have been found together i n

one

grave.

The forms that Cycladic

sculptures

took somet ime after the beginning of

the Earl y Bronze Age Early Cycladic

i )

appear

to be directly related to the

figures carved in mu ch smalle r n um

bers duri ng the Neol it hic Age figs. 8,

20


34/100


35/100

Figure 8.Female figure.

S i t t i n g type. Late

N e o l i t h i c .

One

of

two basic Late

Neolithic postural types,

the steatopygous sitting

figure with folded legs was

thefull-blown version of

and the original modelfor

theflat, schematic violin-

type figures, (e.g.,fig. 7a,

c

) already

produced

in

limited numbers in Late

Neolithic times. Note the

exaggerated breadth of the

upper torso necessitated

by the position of thefore

arms. New York, Shelby

White and Leon Levy Col

lection.

H. 13.3 cm. Said

to be part of agrave group

from Attica or Euboia.

9 ) . For thei r more represe ntat iona l

figures, Cycladic sculptors used the

standing posture and an arrangement

o f

th e arms in which the hands meet

over the abdomen (fi g. 10), bot h i n

h e r i t e d f r o m t h e e a r l i e r t r a d i t i o n .

Exaggerated corpulence, the hal lma rk

o f

th e

Stone

Age figure, was

reduced

to a two-di mension al, strongly frontal

scheme.

These

images are also broad

across the hips, but, unlik e thei r pr e

decessors, they have straight, nar row

p r o f i l e s ,

as is ill ust rat ed by a compa r

ison between the profil es of two L ate

N e o l i t h i c figures and th ree Early Cy

cladic ones (fig. 13).

I t is doub tfu l that this fund ament al

altera tion i n the sculptors' approach

to the female f o r m reflects a

change

i n rel igious out look or in

aesthet ic

preference. Mos t prob ably the n ew

tr end was ini ti at ed by the sculptors

themselves i n an eff ort to speed up

the carving

process.

It is possibl e, too,

that there was

some

inf luence f r o m

wood en figures, wh ic h may have f i l l e d

the lon g gap i n ti me betwee n t he last

o f

the Neo li th ic marb le figures and

th e f i r s t of the Br onze Age ones.

Cycladi c sculp ture may be div ide d,

22


Standing type. Late

head

of

thefigure would

have resembled that of the


36/100

N e o l i t h i c .

Th e standing counterpart

of the steatopygous sitting

figure, this was the proto

typefor the earliest rep-

re sentatio nalfigu res

(Plastiras

type)

of

the EC

I

phase (eg.,fig. 10). The

sitting

figure in figure 8.

New York, The Metro

politan Museum, of

Art

1972.118.104, Bequest of

Walter C Baker.

Pres.H. 21.5 cm.


Plastirastype. EC I.

Typicalfeatures

of the

Plastiras type seen on this

figure include hollowed,

eyes, luglike ears, a

sculpted mouth, only barely

visible because of weather

ing

of

the surface, an

extremely long neck, long

incised.fingers

which seem

to double as a decorative

pattern strongly reminis

cent ofpostpartum wrin

kles (e.g., figs. 6, 7), broad

hips, and legs carved sepa

rately to the crotch. A cylin

drical

headdress or

polos

is

suggested by the shape

of the head, on top. This

may have been originally

more clearly indicated, with

paint. Pasadena, Norton

Simon Collection

N.75.18.3.S.A.H. 18.5 cm.

23


37/100

24


38/100

a. Seefigure 8.

b .

Seefigure 9.

c.Seefigure 45a.

d.See plate IIa.

e.See plate /lb.


39/100

Figure 13. A compari son

ofthe profiles of Late

N e o l i t h i c

(a, 6), EC I

Plastiras type (c,

d),

and

EC

I / I I

precanonical (e)

figures.

been Neolithic

precedents

(f ig. 12).

A new feature of

these

archaic f i g

ures is the complete separation of the

l e g ,

f r o m the feet up to the cr otc h. I n

the Neo l i th i c f igures ,

o n l y

th e fee t

were carved as

separa te

elements .

Wha te ve r the moti ve for this ne w

pract ice, i t car r ie d a s trong

r i s k

of

accidental

breakage

to the legs,

w h i c h

often happened, perhaps dur ing the

carving

process itself. Broken figures

were not disc ard ed. Instea d, thei r

sculp tors br ou gh t int o pla y one of

the i r

favorite impl ements the hand-

ro ta ted bore r . W i t h the borer they

n o r m a l l y

made

eye sockets, hollowed

ears,

navels, butt ock dimp les , and oc

casionally even complete perforations

at the elbows as w e l l as the

suspen

sion

holes i n the lugs of the ma rbl e

26


40/100

vases they pro duc ed in a stonis hing

quantity at this time (pi.

la, b).

When

a figure

sustained

a fracture, they

also

used

the borer to make r athe r conspic

uous holes

through which a string or

leather thong could be drawn to refas-

ten the bro ken par t ( pi . n


41/100

Fig u re 15 . Fou r sm a l l ,

precanonical

figures

s h o w i n g

steps

in t he

development

o f t he

f o l d e d - a r m p o s i t i o n .

EC

I / H .

a.

Although the arms are

rendered in the manner of

the Plastiras type, the pro

portions show

none of

the

exaggeration

of

the earlier

figures and the legs are no t

carved

separately to the

crotch.

Private collection.

H .

15.8 cm.

b . Norwich, University

ofEastAnglia,

Sainsbury

Centre

for Visual

Arts,

P9(d).H. 9.5 cm.

c.

The arms are

tentatively

folded (cf pi. Ilh but

in an unorthodo x right-

above-left arrangement.

The legs are separated to

just above the knees. A

mending hole

fo r

the re

attachment of

the missing

le g is visible in the left

knee.

Note

the carved ears,

the

incised facial

detail, the

modeled legs, and the soles

parallel

to the ground,

characteristicsfound on

most of the best pre

canonical examples.

Geneva, Musee Barbier-

MuellerBMG

202.9.

H .

15.9 cm.

d .

Although the arms are

properly folded in the

canonical right-below-left

arrangement, thefigure

retains such precano nical

features as carved ears,

well-modeled legs separated

to the knees, and soles

appropriate to a standing

posture. Ho uston, The

Menil Collection 73-01DJ.

H .

16.2 cm.

28


42/100

T o w a r d the end of the transit ional

phase, sculptors began to strive for

more balanced and natural propor

tions

(f ig . 15, pi s. 116, m ) . W h i l e un

k n o w i n g l y sett ing the stage for the

em er g en ce

of the canonical fol ded -

arm

figu re at the begi nni ng of the sec

ond,

classical,

phase

(fig. 16),

these

sculptors were

f i n d i n g

new ways to

produ ce representat ional f igures in

quanti ty.

At the

same

ti me, they wer e

reducing the risks

i n v o l v e d

i n the car v

i n g process. A l o n g

w i t h more natural

propor t ions ,

w h i c h

resulted in stur

dier f igures, the sculptors

seem

to

have been seeking an arm rendering

mor e app rop ri ate to the slend er bod y

style of their images.

W h i l e

the old

N e o l i t h i c

a rm positi on of

hands

touch-

i n g

over the

m i d r i f f

ma y w e l l have

been suited to exagger ated cor pu

lence, for the person of ord ina ry

b u i l d

to

assume

this

pose

involves moving

the elbows and upper arms w e l l away

f r o m

the

sides

so that a large triangu

la r

clear

space

re ma in s. This gap was

someti mes hazard ously indic ate d by

perf orat ions at the fragi le bend o f the

arms. An interest in a natural

pose

carved in a

secure

way, rather than

any new influence or

s h i f t

in religious

mea ni ng or gesture, most l i k e l y i n

spired the gradual development of

the fold ed -a rm posit ion that was to

become

de rigueur

in the next

phase

( f i g .

15). Thi s new posi ti on entails no

free

space

if the elbows and up per

ar ms are he l d close to th e sid es.

Ind eed , the ve ry ear ly fo l ded -ar m

figures seem to be

t i g h t l y

clasping

themselves (f ig. 16). In ord er to re

duce further the

r i s k

of fra cture, the

legs are now

separated

for

o n l y

about

h a l f

their length,

f r o m

the feet to the

knees,

or even

less

(p i .

ub).

Beginning

w i t h

these

p r e c an o n ic a l f i g u r e s ,

repairs are much

less

frequently

seen,

presumably

because

there were fewer

accidents i n the workshop . Consid er

able attention was s t i l l paid to i n d i v i d

ua l

f o r m , and to details, but

less

than

i n

ear l ier

phases.

Roughly

contemporary w i t h

these

t ransi t ional

figu res is the harp player

i n

the Metro pol it an Mus eu m of Art .

This w o r k ,

w i t h its allegedly un-Cy-

cladic ar m muscles and thre e-d ime n

sional thu mbs (p i. iv #) , has often been

condemned

because

i t

does

not con

f o r m

to wh a t has come to be a re-

29


43/100


44/100

str icted a nd circu mscri bed not ion of

what a Cycladic sculpture shou ld

look

l i k e . A tt un ed as one is to the ha rmo ni

ously propor tioned folded-arm figure

(and

to harpers carved i n the same

stylepi. i v & ,

f i g s . 23-25) and not to

the l i t t l e - k n o w n or

l i t t l e -admi red

pre-

c a n o n i c a l

ima ges, it is d i f f i c u l t for

some

to accept the New Y o r k harper

as a genu ine Cyclad icwork. We need,

however, to stretch our conception of

Ear ly Cyc ladic sculp ture to incl ude

such for eru nner s of the images exe

cuted i n the mor e

f l u i d

classical style.

I f one views the New Y o r k harper as a

fine e xampl e of an essentially experi

m e n t a l movement , bear ing in m i n d

the b iza r r e Pla s t i r as - t ype f igure s

w h i c h

came

before in ad di ti on to con

sidering that exaggerated p roport ions

and attention to detail had not yet

been entirel y suppl anted (p i. m) , the

harper

falls

natura l ly

into

place as the

earliest

known

exa mple of a rare ty pe.

Early

i n the second or classical

phase

o f

Cycl adic sculptu re ( Early Cycladic

n ) ,

th e

f u l l - f l e d g e d

fo lde d-a rm figure

emerges in several diff eren t variet ies

w h i c h ,

for the most par t,

appear

in a

specific

chronologica l

sequence

(fig.

11).

M o r e s i m p l i f i e d and streamlined

than its

predecessors ,

the canonical

or folded-arm type was produced in

astonishing quantity over a period of

several centurie s. Its abstract counter

part (Apeiranthos type) has a simple

geometric body, w i t h the neck carry

i n g the su ggestio n of a head ( fi g. 18).

U n l i k e the p r o f i l e axis of the

f i g

ures

of the archaic

phase,

that of the

f i r s t folded-arm figures (Kapsala v a r i

ety

and

some

examp les of the Early

Spedos

variet y) is sharply br oken, par

t i c u l a r l y at the back of the hea d and

at the ben d of the

knees.

Th e feet are

held at an angle, outward and even

t u a l l yalso downward, in what

appears

to be a tip toe posi ti on i f the fi gures are

set

vertically. These

features, however,

are appropriate to a relaxed,

reclining

posi t ion ( f i g s . 4, 5), in contrast to the

erect posture o f the archaic Plastiras

figures ( f i g s . 10, 13). Th e figur es d at

i n g f r o m the earlier period were e v i

dently meant to stand , alt hou gh they

do not do so unsupported.

Just

as w i t h

the

changes

i n ar m posit ion that took

place about the

same

time, this altered

posture probably

does

not indicate any

radical

change

i n religious symbo lis m

31


45/100

Figure 18.

Female

(?)

f i g u r e .

Apeiranthos type.

EC

I I .

Th e

EC

I I

counterpart of

the violinfigures of EC /,

images of this type differ

from the earlier ones in

that they have the sugges

tion of ahead and their

bodies

tend to be rectangu

la r and devoid of incised

markings. Sometimes

carved in shell,

they

have

beenfound in association

with Spedos-varietyfigures

and

were presumably

made by sculptors who

alsofashioned such fully

representational

images.

Mr .

and

Mrs.

C. W.

Sahlman Collection (on

loan to the Tampa Museum

ofArtL196.1).H. 12.3 cm.

Said to befrom Keros.

or any external influence. Because i t

evolvedgrad ually, i t is more l i k e l y that

the reclining

posture

was intr odu ced

by

the sculptors

themselves.

Since the

figures were normally

l a i d

on their

backs

in the grave, the sculpt ors may

have assumed

that they should be

made

in a reclining

posture f r o m

the

start. In any

case,

at this time another

d i s t i n c t i o n

was

made: those

figures

intended to stand were furnished w i t h

smal l

rectangular

bases ( f i g s .

26, 32),

w h i l e

seated

figures were carved w i t h

their

feet parall el to the gr oun d ( pi . iv,

f i g s .

23, 24, 27).

I n the ear ly fo l ded -a rm f igures

(Kapsala and Early

Spedos

varieties),

the

legs

are joined by a

t h i n

m e m

brane,

perf orat ed for a short

space

between the

calves ( f i g s .

2, 16, 55, 56).

T h i s

practice seems to be a further

at te mpt to str engt hen the limb s at

vuln erabl e point s. As the fo lde d-a rm

figures developed, however, the

per

f o r a t i o n

o f the le g clef t was usu al ly

o m i t t e d

altogether (Late

Spedos v a r i

ety;

f i g s .

3, 44, 49) , no dou bt i n an

e f f o r t

toreduce the r isk of fract ure

s t i l l

furthe r. In the latest and most ha stily

executed examples, the

legs

are

sepa-

32


46/100

Figure 19. Male folded-

arm figure. Dokathismata

variety. EC I I

Carved toward the end of

the period of production,

this rare male figure is

noteworthyfor its plasti

cally treated brows and

straight grooved

haii~

probably an exclusively

male hairstyleas well as

fo r the separation of

its

upper arms from the chest,

effected bymeans of oblique

cuttings. As in most exam

ples

with arm cutouts, at

least one of the upper arms

has broken off The dam

age in this case is old, but

whether it occurred at the

time of manufacture,

shortly thereafter, or much

later cannot be determined.

It is clear, however, that

broken arms could not have

been easily reattached, for

which reason such cutouts,

however attractive, were

not often

attempted.

This

figure has

re d

painted

stripes

on its chest.

New York, The Metropoli

tan Museum of

Art

1972.118.103b, Bequest of

Walter C. Baker.

L

35.9cm.

35


47/100

rated by a broa d groove ( Doka thi smat a

variety; f i g s . 19, 20) or mer el y by an

engraved l ine (Chaland rian i variety;

f i g s . 2 1, 22, 35, 36).

Because

of the

risk,

o nly a few sculptor s o f such very

late works perf ora ted the leg clefts of

the ir figure s or dar ed to free the sle n

der upper arms f r o m the

sides

( f i g s .

19,21,226).

F r o m the beg inn ing of this second

phase,

the fol ded arra ngemen t of the

arms became a s t r i c t l y observed con

vention.

Not only are the arms folded,

but also, for several centu ries and w i t h

very few exce ption s, they are fol ded

i n one arra ngemen t only : the r i ght

arm is shown below the

l e f t .

Some

m i g h t

interpret this as having

m y s t i

cal

connota tion s, b ut it is possible that

the conve ntion was established un wi t

t i n g l y

by a few ri ght -ha nde d sculptors

wh o

found i t easier to draw the arms

i n this patter n. Ha vi ng set the lo wer

bound ary of the arms by drawing the

r i g h t one, the sculptor could easily f i l l

i n th e lines o f the

l e f t

arm above, leav

i n g

h ims el f a clear view of the r igh t

one. Once the practice was start ed,

o ther scu lp tors p resumably

w o u l d

have

f o l l o w e d

suit.

A f t e r

the eye has been tra ined by

l o o k i n g at a large number of figures,

any departure

f r o m

the r ight-below-

l e f t

for mul a strikes one as d ecide dly

oddquite wr on g, in fact (fi g. 2). No t

unexpectedl y, forgers o f Cycladic f i g

ures, as w e l l as copiers for the Gre ek

tourist

trade, not infrequently arrange

th e arms in the opposite fas hion: ri ght

above

l e f t .

They probably do so out of

a failure to appreciate just how s t r i c t l y

the con ven tio n was observed .

T o w a r d

the en d of the class ical

per iod, the canonical ar m ar r ange

ment no longer dominated, as is e v i

d e n t i n t h e C h a l a n d r i a n i v a r i e t y .

Although a l i m i t e d reviva l of interes t

i n

the ca rvi ng of facial det ail and hai r

occ urr ed at this ti me (f ig. 19), sculp

tors general ly lavished less

care

on

t h e i r w o r k s , w h i c h a lso te nde d to

be quite sma ll . Th e figures became

h i g h l y styl ized renderi ngs w i t h dis

torted proport ions and severe, angu

l a r o u t l i n e s . T h e t r a d i t i o n a l a r m

arr ang emen t was of ten ig nor ed or

misunders tood ( f i g s . 2 1, 22) . A n ex

t r eme e xamp le i s a c lu msy f i gu r e

w h i c h

appears

to have three arms and

four sets of finger s (fi g. 22c).

34

Figure 20.Female folded-

arm figure. Dokathismata

variety. EC I I

An unusually graceful


48/100

example of the severe style

of the

later

part of the EC

I I

period. Note especially

the broad shoulders and

upper arms, the unusual

incised mouth, and the

ancient repair holes at the

neck, rare at this late date.

New York, Harmon Collec

tion.

Pres.

L

20.6 cm.

Figure 21 .Female figure.

Chalandriani variety. EC I I

Thefigure

is unusual both

fo r the uncanonical posi

tion

of

theforearms and

fo r its arm cutouts, made

in

order to reduce the

breadth of the upper arms

(cfifig. 20). The head, now

missing, was once re

attached by means of

lead

clamps on either side of the

break. Lead as a mending

agent in the EC period is

found also on a small mar

ble

bowl and on pottery.

New York, The Metropolitan

Museum of

Ar t

1977.187.11,

Bequest of

Alice

K. Bache.

Pres.L. 27J cm.

35


49/100

c.

Figure 22.Three

Chalandriani-variety

figures

w i t h

uncanonical

ar m arrangements.EC I I

a. The arms are rendered

in

the old Plastiras posi

tion (cf fig. 10), but the

resemblance is probably

fortuitous. The angular

lines

and the absence of a

midsection arefeatures typ

ical of the Chalandriani

variety. Private collection.

L 30.2 cm.

b .Note the arm cutouts

and scratchedfingers (cf.

fig.

21 )

and the unusual

stippling ofthe pubic tri

angle. London,

British

Museum 75.3-13.2.

Pres. L 23.6 cm.

c.

Said to be rom Seriphos.

Carved in an unusual blue-

gray marble, thefigure is

mostprobably the work of

an untutored person living

outside the sculptural main

stream. Berlin, Staatliche

Museen,

Antikensammlung

Misc. 8426.

L

22.2 cm.

56

a.

b .

F i g u r e 2 5 . T w o

male

f i g u r e s .

Harper

type .

Kapsala va r i e ty s ty l e . EC I I

A charming pair, clearly-

closely resembles their

stools in size and shape.

Note the typical swan's

head ornament of the harps

thumbs

to

make

music,

these harpers are shown

plucking the strings with

al l

thefingers

of

at least the

figure

must

have been

shown plucking the strings

with the left hand as well.

D ifferences in hand posi

Shelby W hite and Leon

Levy Collection. H . 20.1 cm.

and 17.4 cm. Sa id, to be

from Amorgos.


50/100

designed as companion

pieces, thesefigures were

reputedly found together

with aooted vessel of

marble carved

of

a.

piece

with a little table

that

which are held, also typi

cally, on the musicians'

right sides. In contrast to

the Metropolitan Museum s

harper (pi.

JVa ,

who is

shown using only his

right

hand.

While the left

hand

of

the smaller figure

probably held the harp

frame (both the left ha nd

and a section

of

the harp

are missing), the larger

tion as well as in the type

of

furniture represented

were the sort

of liberties

allowe d in the execution of

an otherwise very rigidly

defined type. New York,

37


51/100

The be ginni ng of the second Early

Cycladic

phase

was a ti me of pr odi

gious outpu t and of sta rtl ing self-con

fidence and virtuosity,

analogous

to

the ambi tio us develo pments in large

marbl e sculpture that took

place

i n

the Cyclades

some

two thousand

years

later . Although a few

examples

are

s t y l i s t i c a l l y

s l ightl y ear l ier (pis . i n,

i v # ) ,

mos t of the

rare

special figure

typesbelong to this

phase.

Fi rs t

and fore most are the mus i

cians, the

seated

harpists and stand-

Figure 24. Harp player.

EarlySpedos

variety style.

EC i i .

See also plate ivh,

figure

79.

Figure 25. Detail of harp

player in figure 24.

58


52/100

i n g

woodwind p layer s

( f i g s .

23-26,

p i .

iv) . Other

seated types

inc lud e the

cupbearer

and var iat ions of the

stan

dard folded-arm female

( f i g s .

27, 29).

A l s o

included are the

scarce

two- and

three-fi gure composit ions. I n one two -

f i g u r e a r r a n g em en t ,

a small folded

arm figure is carved on the

head

of a

large r one (p i . i n ) . In a n o t h e r , of

w h i c h

no comple te exa mple survives,

t w o

figu res of the

same size

are set

side

by

side

clasping

each

othe r a bout

th e

shoulders ( f i g s .

30, 31). A variation

o f this

t h em e

is the ama zin g thr ee-

f i g u r e gro up carve d in a singl e piece,

i n

whi ch the sta ndin g male figures

l i n k arms

to support a seated female

( f i g .

52).

Near ly al l the excepti onall y la rge

figures were

also

carved at this time

( f i g s . 4, 34). Wh i l e a nu mbe r of frag

ments

of such mon ume nt al figures

survi ve (fi g. 33), very few comp let e

ones

are know n. Fr om the largest ex

tant examp le, f oun d i n the last cen

t u r y ,

reputedly in a grave on Amorgos,

we kn ow tha t such near ly l ife-s ize

works were at least sometimes broken

i n t o

several

pieces

in order to fit them

i n t o

the grave, whi ch was norma ll y

Figure 26. Male figure.

W o o d w i n d

player type.

Kapsala variety style. EC

I I

An unusually well-pre

served example of

a

very

rare type, this figure is

presently perhaps also the

earliest

one known. It is

unusual bothfo r its sten

derness andfor its articu

lated

ribcage. The musician

plays a sandwichlike syr

inx (panpipes), which in

reality is an instrument of

roughly trapezoidal shape,

though the Cycladic sculp

tor has translated itfor his

own purposes into a sym

metrical form. Karlsruhe,

Badisches

Landesmuseum

64/100. H. )4 cm.

39


53/100


Cupbearer

type. Early

Spedosvariety style. EC

I I

This

engaging work is the

only complete example of

its

type. At present

only

a

fragment

of one other is

known. As with the harp,

the cup is held on the right

side,

while the left arm is

held

against thebody in

the

canonical folded posi

tion.

Like theEarly Spedos

varietyfolded-arm figures

in

whose style it is carved,

the cupbearer's legs are

rendered

with a perfora

tion between the calves.

Athens, Museum of

Cycladic

and Ancient


Goulandris

Foundation

286. H. 15.2cm.

40


54/100

Figure 28.Fragmentary

male folded-arm figure.

Spedosvariety. EC I I

Th e

only malefigurefrom

approximately the middle

of the period not shown

engaged in a specific activ

ity, this superbly carved

piece is also the largest

male representation now

known. It originally mea

sured about one meter.

Because

the legs are sepa

rated, it is likely that the

image was carved with a

base, enabling it to stand

unaided (as in figs. 26,

32). Athens, Museum of


Greek

Art, Nicholas P.

Goulandris

Foundation

969 (ex Erlenmeyer Collec

tion).

Pres.

H. 42.5 cm.

Said to befrom Amorgos.

Figure 29.Female folded-

arm figure in semi-sitting

p o s i t i o n .Early Spedos

variety. EC I I

One of only three orfour

examples executed in this

peculiar position,

this

carefully

worked figure

originally

may have had, a.

wooden seat, or earth may

have been made into a.

seat-shaped mound to ena

ble it to sit in a more or less

upright position. Another

possibility

isthat it was

originally part

ofa,

three-

figure composition like the

one illustrated

in figure

32.

New York, private collec

tion.

H. 19 cm.

41


55/100

Figures 30, 51.

Fragmentary female

f i g u r e .

Double type.

Spedos

variety. EC

I I

This is one ofseveral exam

ples

in which only part of

onemember of aduo sur

vives

with the arm of the

second

carved across its

back. Of these, there are

only two with enough pre

served so that the sex can

be determined. In this

group we know that one

figure isemale, but we

cannot ascertain the sex of

the other. As with the cup

bearer

type (fig. 27), it is

noteworthy that the free

arm is held in the canoni

ca lpositionfolded

across

the body. It is probable

that such compositions

were

normally

furnished

with bases; indeed, bases

that evidently supported

two figures have been

unearthed on

Keros.

Karlsruhe, Badisches

Landesmuseum 82/6.

Pres.

H. 17 cm.

42


56/100

no larger than

necessary

to accom

modate

th e

corpse

in a severely con

tracted position.

There is an interesting disti ncti on

o f

roles observed in

males

and females

i n

Early Cycladic sculpture. The fe

male is always

represen ted

i n a

pas

sive and, i n te rms o f cur ren t body

language theory, aloof att it ude, re

gardless

of whe th er she is sta nding ,

r e c l i n i n g ,

or sit ti ng, or whe th er she is

single or dou bl ed. O n the other hand ,

the male fi gure is mor e often than not

depi cted in an active role. In the

ear

l i e r

part of the classical p er io d, as we

have seen,

he

takes

the role of cup

bearer,

musician, or strongman who,

w i t h a companion, holds aloft a quietly

s i t t i n g

female. Toward the end of the

per iod , he is outfitted w i t h the accou

t rements

of a hunter or warri or. At

that time his most noticeable

piece

of

equi pment is always a baldr ic, t houg h

he may

also

carry a small

dagger

and/

or wear a belt w i t h a codpiece

( f i g s .

35,48a .

Neither the sculptors nor their

cus

tomers

seem

to have been very partic

ula r about th ei r figur es at this late

date .

There are

examples

in which

Figure 32. Three-figure

composition.

Early

Spedos

variety

style. EC

I I

This is probably a recur

ring type within the

repertoire

of the Cycladic

sculptor,

but because of the

great difficulty involved,

no doubt the composition

was attempted only very

rarely

This work is the

only known example. It is

at least conceivable, how

ever, that certain other

pieces

originally belonged

to similar compositions

(e.g. Jigs. 29-31).

Ka rlsruhe,

Ba d

isches

Landesmuseum 77/5

L

).

H .

19cm.

43

F i g u r e 3 3 .

Fragmentary

female

f o l d e d - a r m f i g u r e .

Ea r l y

Spedos

va r i e ty . EC

I I

The rather worn torso be

longed to an exceptionally

rendered upper arms. The

work can be attributed

to the

same

sculptor who

made

thesomewhat larger

piece illustrated in figures

figure, in Athens, is per

haps also the work

of

this

sculptor.)

Brunswick,

Maine, Bowdoin College

Museum

of

Art 1982.15.4,

F i g u r e 3 4 . D e t a i l o f w o r k

i l l u s t r a t e d i n f i g u r e 4 .


57/100

long, slenderfigure

mea

suring

well over 100 cm. It

is

noteworthy not only

for

its size but also

fo r

its quite

naturalistic and sensitively

4 and 34, with which it

shares a similar rendering

of

the arms and hands,

complete with fine wrist

lines.

(The largest known

Bequest ofJere Abbott.

Pres.L. 28.6 cm.

4 4


Hunter/warrior type.


Thisfigure is interesting as

an example of

a

rather rare


58/100

occupational type of

which

it is also one

of

the most

detailed. Note the rather

haunting facial expression,

the carefully incised orna

mentation of the baldric,

and the leaf-shaped dagger

floating above the right

hand. Thefigure was

allegedly found on Naxos

together with a. slightly

smaller female companion.

(Drawings made in the

mid-nineteenth century of

a

very

similar

pair

were

discovered recently by J L .

Fitton in the

British

Museum. The present

whereabouts of these sculp

tures remain a mystery.)

Athens, Museum of



Goulandris

Foundation

308.

L

25 cm.

Figure 36. Male folded-

arm figure

w i t h

baldric.


Bather

poorly conceived

and carelessly executed,

thefigure is nevertheless of

interest fo r the manner in

which it was evidently con

1

verted

from

a

emale into a

male image by the addi

tion of baldric and. penis.

Fingers, haphazardly

scratched, were probably

also added at the same

time. Seattle Art Museum

46.200, Norman and

Amelia Davis Classic Col

lection. L

19 cm.

45

Figure 37.

Detail of

work

illustrated

infigures

56 and 57, show

ing paint ghosts on the

back

of the

head preserved


59/100

as a light, smooth surface.

See also plate vb and

figure 58.

Figure 38.

Detail of figure 37. Note

the little

u

tails on the

neck.

quite ordinary female folded-arm f i g

ures seem to

have been

perfunctorily

transformed intomales by the si mpl e

a d d i t i o n

of a hastily incised

penis

and,

more noticeably, an incised or merely

scratched dia gonal li ne on the

chest

and back to indicate the baldric. Appa

r e n t l y , it di d not matte r that the bal

dricwas

added

as an af ter thou ght and

cutsacross

t he

arms

(f ig. 36).

Except for the

nose

and the ears on a

f e w

very large works

( f i g s .

41, 56-59),

there

is normally a complete

absence

o f sculptural detail on the

face

and

head

of canonical folded -arm figures

and on the other figures executed in

the

same

classical style ( pi . vc,

d).

Those who have

d i f f i c u l t y

imagining

or accep ting the fact tha t Greek sculp

ture and build ings were

once

r i c h l y

painted w i l l ,

s i m i l a r l y ,

prefer to think

o f Cycla dic figu res as most of t he m

have

come down to

uspure

f o r m

reduced to

bare essentials

and

exe

cuted i n a cool, moon li ke whitene ss.

Howeve r, most , i f not al l, of

these

images

and at

least some

of the ir ar

chaic

antecedents

originally received

some

painted detail which woul d

have

altered their

appearance

considerably.

46

Figure 39. Head of a

folded-arm figure. Late

Spedos

variety. Probably a

w o r k

of the Gou landri s

Master. EC

I I .


60/100

The

badly damaged head,

which belonged to

a figure

measuring 60 cm or more,

is of

interest chiefly

for

its

well-preserved

paint ghosts

for eyes and hair (fig. 40).

Malibu, The

J .

Paul Getty

Museum 83.AA.316.2.

Pres.

L .

10.4 cm.

Said

to

be rom Keros.

Figure 40.

The back and side of the

head illustrated

in

figure

39,

showing

raised

paint

ghosts for hair with

depending curls.

The red and blue pigment is

i t s e l f

o n l y

rarely preserved, but many

f i g

ures

show pai nt ghosts , tha t is ,

once-painted

surfaces

w h i c h , because

they were prot ecte d by pi gmen t, no w

a p p ea r

l i ght er in color , smoothe r ,

and/or

s l i g h t l y

raised above the

sur

round ing areas, w h i c h

are generally in

poorer conditio n (pi .

iva).

In certa in

cases

the ghost lines are so p ron oun ced

that they can easily be mistaken for

actual

r e l i e f w o r k

(p i .

vb).

M o s t

often the pa in ti ng too k the

f o r m

of almond-shaped

eyes

w i t h dot

ted pupils,

s o l i d bands across

the fore

head,

and a

s o l i d area

on the back of

the head to indi cat e a shor t-c ropp ed

h a i r s ty l e

( f i g s .

37, 38). Less often

curls,

depending

f r o m

th e

s o l i d area,

were painted on the

sides

and back of

the head

( f i g s .

39, 40), and dots or

stripes decorated the face in various

pat terns

(p i. vi#, c;

f i g s .

42, 69, 78).

O n l y

one figure known at

present

has

pain ted ears ( p i .

v i r f ) , w h i l e

few, i f

any, show clear

traces

of a pa int ed

mouth .

The

apparent

omission of the

m o u t h

w o u l d

accord

w e l l w i t h

the

sepul chral nat ure of the figures. Occa

sionally

paint was

also used

to empha -

47


61/100

Figure

41 .

Female

folded-arm figure. Kapsala

variety. EC I I

This unusually large and

exceptionally fine example

of the Kapsala variety

stands out among all

known Cycladic sculptures

fo r its superb modeling

andfor the wealth of

painted detail still present

on the head and body.

Although there is clear evi

dence ofpainted eyes,

brows,

hair, facial tattoo

ing,

bangles, and pubic

trianglefrom a number of

other works (albeit not all

on thesamepiece), the

painted necklace seen here

isunprecedented. It is not

entirely certain that a

mouth was once painted

on thisfigure. New York,

Shelby White and Leon

Levy

Collection. Pres. L .

69.4 cm. See also plate

Via,h, figure 42.

48


62/100

size

certain grooves on the body (pi.

vib-d), to def ine or

em p h a s i z e

the

pubic triangle ( f i g s . 4 1, 56, 58) , or to

depict

bangles

and other adornment s

( p i .v i

b).

A l t h o u g h

w i t h

time the actual paint

has la rge l y d isa ppea red f r o m the

sculptures,

bone

canisters

and l i t t l e

clay

pots conta inin g lu mps of color

i n g

mat te r are somet imes fou nd in

Cycladic

graves, as are

palet tes

and

bowls

intended as mortars for

p u l

v e r i z i n g

the pigments ,

w h i c h

were

derived f r o m ores

of

i r o n

(hematite),

m e r c u r y ( c in n ab a r ) , an d c o pp e r

(azu r i t e ) ,

in di gen ous to the i slands .

I t w o u l d appear,

therefore, that

r i t u a l

face pa int in g was an imp ort ant part of

the reli gio us rite s observed by the

islanders, and the

pat terns

they

used

on

their sculptures may w e l l reflect

those

they

used

on thems elve s and

hoped to

perpetuate

in the

a f t e r l i f e .

Figure 42.

Detail

of

work

illustrated

in figure

41 (and pi.

K/a,

b ) showing painted details

49


63/100

Figure 43.

Copy of thefemalefolded-

a

Revised Sculpture

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Transcript of Revised Sculpture