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Obsidian core and four blades

ca. 5000–2000 BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 151

Sculptors in the Cyclades used obsidian blades like these to carve figures and vessels from marble. However, unused obsidian blades and the cores from which they were made were also a regular feature of burial assemblages in the Early Cycladic period (3200–2000 bce). Geochemical analysis of the obsidian used throughout the Cyclades has determined that two sites on the island of Melos were the main sources of the volcanic glass.

Obsidian core and four blades, Obsidian, Cycladic — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Obsidian core and four blades

Period: Neolithic–Early Bronze Age

Date: ca. 5000–2000 BCE

Culture: Cycladic

Medium: Obsidian

Classification: Miscellaneous-Stone

Credit Line: Lent by The American Museum of Natural History

Accession Number: L.1996.18a–e

The Met

Greek and Roman Art at The Met

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.