Marble female figure

Technical analysis: Ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence examination, optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy
This fine-grained white marble figure is complete except for the lower left leg, which has been restored. Breaks at the base of the neck and at the knees have been repaired. The disproportionately long backward-tilted head is lyre-shaped with a softly pointed chin, flattened crown, and thin triangular relief nose set low on the face. The long upward-tapering neck is delineated from the torso by a shallow groove that is curved at the front and v-shaped at the back. Sloping rounded shoulders project from the torso and arms without fingers are folded left over right, supporting low relief rounded breasts and over the small and narrow abdomen. A shallow incision indicates the triangular pubic area. Deep vertical grooves at the front and back indicate the legs, which are separate from the knees to the ankles. The back is flat with a thin and shallow vertical groove to indicate the spine. The figure has flat buttocks, bent knees, and arched feet without toes.


The marble surface shows overall intense dissolution that preferentially attacked grain boundaries and cleavage planes. A fine, reddish deposit, probably a mixture of fine calcite, silicates and iron oxides, is present in these recesses. The weathering is particularly homogeneous and isotropic, and might be the result of an aggressive wet cleaning.

There is an incision that follows the pattern of an upper eyelid or brow on the right side of the face, and there are possible faint traces of eyes and a polos.


Georgios Gavalas, Sandy MacGillivray, Dorothy Abramitis, Linda Borsch, Federico Carò and Elizabeth Hendrix