Figure féminine aux bras repliés

Reclining female figure with folded arms

The Early Cycladic I violin-shaped idol and the Early Cycladic II figurine with folded arms are today’s two great icons of the pre-Hellenistic Cycladic culture – or the most easily identifiable as such. Regarding the statuettes with folded arms, the Spedos variety is situated halfway in their evolution. Named after a cemetery site in Naxos, where interesting examples were discovered one century ago, these figurines are the most common but also the sturdiest and best balanced among the different types and varieties of the Early Cycladic. They offer a great range of dimensions and can vary greatly in quality as well.

The Barbier-Mueller statuette is an excellent example of the early Spedos variety. Except for the smaller models, these figurines can easily be distinguished from the late Cycladic ones because of the neat perforation that separates the calves. This figure belongs to an Early Cycladic sub-group I call “type A”. They are mostly characterized by their relatively small size and their boldly curved contour, but also by their animated profile, the head thrown back and knees well bent.

Like many Spedos figurines, this one seems to have been carefully made of four equal parts with a rudimentary compass: one part for the head and neck, another that goes from the torso to the middle of the belly, a third one from the belly to the knees, and the last one with the calves and feet. The maximum width is slightly superior to one fourth of the height; hence a result whose grace is only matched by its balance.

This statuette is of average height. One of the particularly charming characteristics of the Spedos variety is the lyre-shaped head, perfectly illustrated by this statuette because of its fine execution and mostly because of its perfect state of preservation and the head corners still intact. This statuette could originally have had painted hair and blue eyes, maybe even rows of red dots on its cheeks. Seemingly fortuitous apotropaic symbols could also have been added – ocular shapes, zigzags, diamonds – that were apparently not meant to last. These signs would seem to have been used only during female rituals or rites of passage.

This figurine belongs to a small group of similar pieces with a marked lyre-shaped head, wide cheeks, a shortened central section and various details indicated by incisions or changes of plane. Despite their relatively small size, because of all these elements, these figurines are noteworthy [1].

Published in: Zimmermann 1991, p. 38-39, Zimmermann 1993, pl. 14, p. 91, and fig. 29, p. 144; Barbier 2000, p. 35.

[1] On the Spedos variety, see Getz-Gentle 2001, p. 35-36, 38-49; on parallels not mentioned in Zimmermann 1993, see pl. 36-37, Sotheby’s New York (June 12th 2033) lot 9 (conversely to Zimmermann in that book, I do not believe that the work of the sculptor Goulandris is a good element of comparison). On painting on Early Cycladic figurines, see Hendrix 2003 (with previous bibliography).