EARLY SPEDOS VARIETY, CIRCA 2600-2500 B.C.

Details

A CYCLADIC MARBLE RECLINING FEMALE FIGURE
EARLY SPEDOS VARIETY, CIRCA 2600-2500 B.C.
6 7⁄8 in. (17.5 cm.) high

Provenance

with Crescent Gallery, Tokyo.
Antiquities, Christie's, New York, 7 December 2000, lot 395.
South American private collection, acquired from the above sale.
The property of a South American Collector; Antiquities, Christie's, New York, 4 June 2008, lot 161.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

ccorsi@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2607

Lot Essay

The marble idols from Bronze Age Cycladic islands encompass some of the most iconic sculptural types to have survived from antiquity. It is not clear what the original function of these stylized figures was, but it is probable that they had a votive as well as a ritualistic role. Often found in burial contexts, they may have played a part in accompanying the deceased on their journey from one world to the next. The care taken during the manufacturing of these pieces, especially given the primitive tools and hardness of material, show that they were highly valued and cherished. The folded-arm female type, such as the present lot, would have had additional features added in bright pigments of black, red and blue. For a similar figure attributed to the Fitzwilliam Sculptor, cf. Inv. no. 1962.10 in the Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm.

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