ATTRIBUTED TO THE SCHUSTER SCULPTOR, EARLY CYCLADIC II, LATE SPEDOS TO DOKATHISMATA VARIETY, CIRCA 2400 B.C.

Folded-arm figures dominated the Early Cycladic II period, with individual sculptors refining and honing their style with each successive piece. It is possible to distinguish different hands by distinctive stylistic features, with a sculptor’s development from novice to proficient craftsman being discernable. Only a small number of figures have been firmly attributed to the Schuster Sculptor, active circa 2400 B.C. Pat Getz-Gentle describes their style as "extremely harmonious...the execution is controlled and precise throughout, with all forms and details clearly and carefully defined" (Sculptors of the Cyclades, Individual and Tradition in the Third Millennium B.C., Michigan, 1987, p. 115). Works by the Schuster Sculptor are considered the pinnacle of Cycladic sculpture; his females are often depicted pregnant, with a trademark broad curvature to the top of the head and crescent-shaped ridge at the rear, slightly bowed arms and large pubic triangle bisected by the leg cleft. For further examples and discussion see P. Getz-Preziosi, Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture, Wisconsin, 2001, pp. 167-168, pls 79-85.