Traces of red pigment have been revealed by ultraviolet-reflected imaging and enhanced digital imagery of this figure. The paint describes a variety of almond shapes—some are clearly eyes—all over the face as well as on the back of the head and the upper right thigh. These surprisingly bold designs might represent body paint or tattoos, applied either to a living person or to a corpse as part of a burial ritual.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Proportion drawing illustrating painted designs preserved on the figure, by Elizabeth Hendrix
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Marble female figure
Artist:Attributed to the Bastis Master
Period:Early Cycladic II
Date:2600–2400 BCE
Culture:Cycladic
Medium:Marble
Dimensions:H. 24 3/4 in. (62.79 cm)
Classification:Stone Sculpture
Credit Line:Gift of Christos G. Bastis, 1968
Accession Number:68.148
“Said to be from Paros, but more likely to be from Naxos” (Preziosi in Antiquities from the collection of Christos G. Bastis, 1987, p. 121)
[Until 1947, with Nicolas Koutoulakis, Paris]; 1947, purchased by Christos G. Bastis from Nicolas Koutoulakis; acquired in 1968, gift of Christos G. Bastis.
von Bothmer, Dietrich. 1969. "Reports of the Departments." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 28(2): p. 78.
Rousseau, Theodore. 1970. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 29(3): p. 129.
von Bothmer, Dietrich. 1975. "Greek and Roman Art." Notable Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art), No. 1965/1975: p. 114.
Thimme, Jürgen. 1976. Kunst und Kultur der Kykladeninseln im 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr.: Ausstellung unter d. Patronat des International Council of Museums ICOM im Karlsruher Schloss vom 25. Juni-10. Oktober 1976. no. 166, pp. 465–66, Karlsruhe: Müller.
Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe. 1977. Art and Culture of the Cyclades in the Third Millennium B.C., Brinna Otto and Jürgen Thimme, eds. no. 166
, p. 468, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1979. Greek Art of the Aegean Islands. no. 15, pp. 58–59, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
von Bothmer, Dietrich, Bernard V. Bothmer, Pat Getz-Preziosi, Diana Buitron-Oliver, and Andrew Oliver, Jr. 1987. Antiquities from the Collection of Christos G. Bastis, Emma Swan Hall, ed. no. B, pp. 316–17, figs. B1-B4, Mainz on Rhine: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1987. Greece and Rome. p. 7, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Getz-Preziosi, Pat. 1987. Sculptors of the Cyclades: Individual and Tradition in the Third Millennium B.C.. pp. 108–12, 162, fig. 46c, 47b, d, pls. 38, 39, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Hendrix, Elizabeth. 1997. "Painted Ladies of the Early Bronze Age." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55(3): pp. 11–15, figs. 13–16.
Mertens, Joan R. 1998. "Some Long Thoughts on Early Cycladic Sculpture." Metropolitan Museum Journal, 33: pp. 10–1, fig. 7.
Mertens, Joan R. 1998. "Some Long Thoughts on Early Cycladic Sculpture." Metropolitan Museum Journal, 33: pp. 10–11, fig. 7.
Getz-Preziosi, Pat. 2001. Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture. p. 177, pls. 77c, 78c, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Mertens, Joan R. 2002. "Cycladic Art in the Metropolitan Museum. Antecedents and Acquisitions." Silent Witnesses: Early Cycladic Art of the Third Millennium BC, Christos G. Doumas, ed. p. 16, fig. f, New York: Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA), Inc.
Picón, Carlos A. 2007. Art of the Classical World in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Greece, Cyprus, Etruria, Rome no. 6, pp. 33, 410, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2017. The Artist Project : What Artists See When They Look at Art. pp. 202–3, New York.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2020. ART = Discovering Infinite Connections in Art History. pp. 033, 264, New York: Phaidon Press.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.
