Marble female figure
This impressive sculpture is one of the largest female figures of the folded arm type known. The figure was broken at the neck and knees. It consists of three pieces that have been joined together with modern pins used to reinforce the adhesive and a fill material that makes the exact nature of the joins difficult to discern. The lyre-shaped head has an exceptionally smooth surface and rests on a tall neck. The broad centrally placed nose is the only facial feature depicted sculpturally. A shallow groove defines the base of the neck, which sits on narrow rounded shoulders. The prominent breasts are slightly asymmetrical. On the back, there is a deep vertical groove indicating the spine but it does not extend all the way to the neck. The sculptor gave special attention to the arms, which are separated from each other and narrow at the wrists, each demarcated by a shallow vertical groove. The fingers on both hands are indicated and the proper right hand extends around the side of the body where it grasps her stomach. The large pubic area is defined above by a broad inverted "V" shaped line across the lower abdomen and below by the fulsome curving lines of the upper thighs. There is a narrow cavity between the legs, which are disproportionately long. Large symmetrical feet extend downwards, indicating that the figure was originally meant to recline.
The marble of the body is fine-grained (maximum grain size = 1mm) and has distinctive banding that extends vertically along its surface. This banding should continue in the head and the legs but does not. This, and other differences in the marble fabrics and microstructures, leads us to conclude that the head and legs are not made from the same piece of marble as the body. While the front of the sculpture has been extensively cleaned with few existing burial accretions, the back contains more. The accretions of the body have a different texture and structure from those of the other two pieces. The accretions of the head and legs are similar in nature and exhibit comparable large patches that have flaked off revealing a rather homogeneous surface. There are no traces of paint or paint ghosts discernable on the head or legs. However, traces of red pigment were identified as cinnabar on the neck of the figure, which is part of the body fragment, and the unusual treatment of the arms finds a close parallel in a slightly smaller fragmentary Cycladic figure in the collection of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. It seems probable that the head and legs are modern additions that were made to complete the body.
Seán Hemingway, Dorothy Abramitis, Federico Carò
Artwork Details
- Title: Marble female figure
- Period: Early Cycladic II
- Date: ca. 2700–2400/2300 BCE
- Culture: Cycladic
- Medium: Marble
- Dimensions: Height: 51 5/8 in. (131.1 cm)
Width: 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)
Depth: 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm)
Thickness: 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm) - Classification: Stone Sculpture
- Credit Line: Leonard N. Stern Collection, Loan from the Hellenic Republic, Ministry of Culture
- Object Number: L.2022.38.9
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
Audio
1330. Marble female figure (ca. 2700–2400/2300 BCE)
Narrator: When I learned that there are only three life-sized female idol figures like this in the world, I was stunned. I chatted with Archaeologist Sandy MacGillivray about itand about the meaning and uses of idols.
MacGillivray: Idols are impressions or effigies of figures that may have been set up in prominent places to be worshiped, to be occupied by some sort of divinity. One interpretation is that she may represent one of the earliest prehistoric goddesses that were venerated, who comes down to us in later Greek culture as Eileithyia,and is related to all issues having to do with fertility, getting married, going through puberty and old age.
Narrator: I understand when objects are excavated by archaeologists, we’re able to preserve a lot of key information – like date and context - whereas all the objects in this gallery came from the art market. Still, there are strong theories about the find locations of some of them, like this one. It may have come from a tiny island called Keros, and I was curious to ask Sandy why Keros is so significant.
MacGillivray: What makes it extremely important is that it's the site where more than 50% of the early Cycladic figurines are known to come from.
Narrator: During research here at the Met my colleagues discovered that this figure is actually composed of marble from different sources. So the intact form we see today was not the original one. Instead fragments from different pieces were put together in modern time.
MacGillivray: This particular figure has been broken across the neck and also across the knees, and that has been repaired and actually, upon X-ray, we found that there are metal clamps holding the legs together and holding the head on the neck as well. It looks as though the head and the legs are modern infills into what would have been the ancient torso.
Narrator: It's amazing to me that despite modifications, something so large has survived.
MacGillivray: It's extraordinary that such a huge and wonderful piece has come across time from around 2600 BCE when she was first carved. And to stand now, in The Metropolitan Museum, really at the head of Greek and Roman sculpture.