A light-colored, highly polished stone figure, faceless but with a prominent nose, crossed arms, and a slim, rectangular built. A portion of its legs at bottom have broken off and are missing.
Gallery mode Full size at the museum

Statuette of a Female Figure

Ancient Greek

Early Bronze Age, 2600–2400 BCE

Medium
Marble
Classification
Sculpture
Dimensions
39.9 × 11.6 × 4.9 cm (15 11/16 × 4 9/16 × 1 15/16 in.)
Culture
Kéa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Credit line
Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund
Rights
Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the Art Institute of Chicago

About this work

Cycladic sculpture is characterized by the abstract treatment of the human form. The vast majority of the white marble statuettes depict pregnant females, suggesting an association with fertility or regenerative forces. Although they are admired today for their stark simplicity, these statuettes once had hair, eyes, jewelry, or other ornaments added in red, blue, and black pigment, which has since faded.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0

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