Marble female figure

Technical analysis: Ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence examination, optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy


The figure has been carved from white marble. Although largely intact, several breaks in both feet have been repaired using a modern adhesive. Several recent-looking scrapes are visible at the front of the proper right upper thigh and on the reverse of the neck and proper right side of the head. The orange-brown patina on the surface appears to be the result of burial accretions as well as later applications. A restoration coating appears to have consolidated or possibly tinted existing accretions in the recessed surface pitting. There are scattered traces of other modern materials, including black residues and wax between the lower legs.


A reddish pigment, identified as red ocher, is visible on the front of the figure in several areas: a band across the forehead, the lower cheeks and chin, and across the top and base of the neck. Thicker traces of pigment are apparent at the bottom of the neck on the reverse. In some areas, the color extends into pits and eroded areas of the surface. A smooth horizontal band across the top of the head may indicate an area originally painted to represent a cap or hair. Two almond-shaped areas on the proper left side of the face—one raised flat area, and a second raised outline—may represent very faint traces of eyes where the paint is no longer preserved.


The Kapsala variety, named for an Early Cycladic cemetery on the island of Amorgos, is the earliest stylistic group of the canonical folded-arm figures produced during the Early Cycladic II period. This figure is an excellent example of the type, with its curving contours, modeled details, understated pubic area, elongated thighs, naturalistic calves, and small arched feet. The broad head is set back at an angle. The breasts are pronounced, and the forearms just below are carved in relief at a diagonal. The knees are unusually prominent, and the legs separated by a deep cleft perforated between the calves. A vertical groove on the back representing the spin extends from the transition between the head and neck to the knees. The buttocks are defined by a lightly curved groove.


Alexis Belis, Dorothy Abramitis, Linda Borsch, and Federico Carò