-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
Paul J Nicholson, Early Cycladic Art, Marble Seated Harp Player, 2800–2700 BCE, Occupational Medicine, Volume 74, Issue 7, October 2024, Pages 472–474, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqac134
Close - Share Icon Share
Extract
This 29.2 cm tall early Bronze Age sculpture of a seated harpist was crafted from white marble sometime between 2800 and 2700 BCE. Thought to have been discovered on the Greek island of Naxos it was acquired in 1947 by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York. Naxos is the largest of 30 islands in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea; so-called because they ‘encircle’ the island of Delos—the birthplace of the gods Artemis and Apollo. White marble is plentiful on the islands and it cleaves easily which makes it suitable for carving [1]. Other rocks that were readily available included emery which was probably used for carving; obsidian for making incisions; and pumice for smoothing and polishing the marble sculptures [2].
Cycladic marble sculptures were produced from the late Neolithic period to the end of the Early Bronze Age [2,3]. Those from the Early Bronze Age can be divided chronologically into the Early Cycladic I (ca. 3200–2700 BCE) and the Early Cycladic II (2700–2200 BCE) [1]. Few Early Bronze Age settlements have been discovered and they have not yielded evidence that marble sculptures were used in domestic settings [1]. Most of the evidence comes from the systematic excavation of cemeteries. Yet, relatively few graves were furnished with marble objects; this suggests that there was a class divide [1]. Graves which were furnished contained mostly clay pots, stone vases and amulets. Marble figures appeared less commonly beside corpses [1]. These varied in size from miniatures smaller than 10 cm to near life-size figures; however, few exceeded 30 cm. Usually, they omit sexual characteristics and, unless they are depicted in an activity, are assumed to be female. Males account for no more than 5% of figures and most are depicted in an active role [2]. Most, if not all sculptures would have had details painted but the paintwork has not survived [2].
