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

This elegant figure features an incised, rounded neckline and sloping shoulders that lead to arms that narrow toward the waist. The widely-spaced breasts are placed high on the torso with the arms below, left over right, with the fingers on the hands unarticulated. There is a straight abdominal groove that serves as the upper boundary for the incised pubic triangle. The beginning of the perforation for the leg cleft is visible above the point where the legs break off.

P. Getz-Gentle, the preeminent Cycladic art scholar, examined this object in 2012 and noted, “The figure was clearly planned and executed with great care and skill. Based on the surviving portion, I know of no close parallel for all of its features.” For another figure that displays a similar treatment of the shoulders and arms, see pl. 31, no. b in Getz-Gentle, Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture.