Marble female figure

Technical analysis: Multiband imaging, X-ray radiography, optical microscopy


The reclining female with a lightly arched back and bent knees is complete with only minor losses at the toes of the left foot and a mended break at the neck. Its lyre-shaped head, dramatically tilted back, has a flat crown, round chin, and a long, thin, well-centered nose in relief. The latter extends nearly the entire length of the face. The top of the head is smooth with perhaps a ghost image of hair, or a hat or scarf. The long, upward-tapering neck is set off from torso by an incised line that curves up and around the back. Its broad, sloping shoulders characteristic of the Dokathismata type are slightly asymmetrical. Shallow, vertical grooves delineate the upper arms that project from the sides of the torso. The arms are folded tightly, left over right, below the figure’s broad chest with unevenly placed, conical breasts in relief. The bulging belly hangs low, perhaps indicating a late stage of pregnancy. Shallow grooves at the base of the belly and top of thighs denote the pubic triangle. An incised groove at the vulva deepens to indicate relatively short, co-joined legs. The feet slightly splay outward from the ankles and light incisions delineate ten toes. The back of the torso is carved flat with a single vertical incision denoting the spine and separation of the buttocks.


The surface is weathered and heavily pitted. The neck is repaired with an angled join from the base of the neck on the front, to the center of the neck on the reverse. There are traces of a buff-colored, fine-grained deposit with numerous red particles in the interstices and particularly on the right buttock. Thin accretions, some in the form of rootlets, are evident on the back of the figure.


Sandy MacGillivray, Dorothy Abramitis and Federico Carò