A Cycladic marble female idol

A Cycladic marble female idol
Early Precanonical Type, Early Cycladic I/II, circa 2800 B.C.
The long neck emerging from angular shoulders and elbows, the arms folded beneath the breasts, a softly swollen stomach above the incised pubic triangle, a groove separating the thighs to the front and reverse, 9.4cm high

Provenance:
W. Rosenbaum collection, Ascona, prior to 1984.
with Galleria Serodine SA, Ascona.
Private collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above in 1988.
Private collection, Europe.
A comprehensive expertise report from Dr. Pat Getz-Preziosi dated 13 September 1988 accompanies this important Cycladic female idol.

The upper portion of this figure is carved in the Plastiras style, which is characterised by the figures' long necks and arms whose fingertips touched where they met on the chest. However, the lower portion more closely resembles that of a Louros type idol, as the legs are carved as a single unit and not separate like the Plastiras type. For further examples of Plastiras type idols with long necks see J. Thimme, Art and Culture of the Cyclades in the Third Millennium B.C., Chicago, 1977, figs. 72 and 74, and figs 80 and 81 for the Louros type.