Female figurine (folded-arm type)
Female figurine (folded-arm type)
Dateca. 2600-2500 BCE
Mediummarble
Dimensionsobject: 9 x 3 1/8 x 1 5/8 in. (22.9 x 7.9 x 4.1 cm)
base: 3/4 x 2 1/2 x 2 in. (1.9 x 6.4 x 5.1 cm)
ClassificationSCULPTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Wright S. Ludington
Object number1992.37.13
Subject(s)
- figure
- women
Collection
- Antiquity
Sub-Collection(s)
- Mediterranean
On View
On viewLabel TextThe Early Bronze Age peoples of the Cyclades produced sculpture of exceptional elegance and simplicity. Using carefully calculated canons of proportion, and an unerring sense of line, these sculptors depicted the human body using principles of formal harmony and balance. If the minimalist aesthetic of Cycladic figures is familiar, though, their meaning and use remain unknown. Because most of them have been found in graves, it is possible that they played a role in funerary ritual and beliefs. The classic folded-arm type seen here, for example, has been interpreted as the image of a fertility goddess who might have protected the dead or even ensured their afterlife.