Marble torso of a figure

Technical analysis: Multiband imaging, optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy


Only the torso and thighs of this female figure survive. The fragment, broken off at the bottom of the neck and at the knees, was carved from a grey banded marble. The surface is covered with patches of thin brown accretions and is heavily weathered on the proper right side. Breaks in both legs, visible when examined using ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence (UVL), are repaired, and there are numerous modern surface fills. Red particles near the center of the front, below and above the arms, are likely iron oxides.


The figure has a broad rectangular-shaped upper body with small wide-spaced breasts placed high on the chest and slender arms carved in low relief and separated by a deep groove. Only four fingers are incised on each hand. The pubic triangle is defined by a slightly curving incised line across the lower abdomen and the raised contours of the rounded upper thighs. The joined legs are differentiated by a very broad, deep cleft at the front and a shallower cleft at the back. Because the clefts are not aligned, the thighs are asymmetrical with the right thigh wider in front and narrower in back than the left. A shallow incision on the back beginning at the incised V-shaped nape and ending above the buttocks indicates the spine. A low curved protrusion below denotes the buttocks.


The fragment belonged to a masterfully carved figure of Early Spedos type that originally measured more than 80 cm in height. Pat Getz-Preziosi has identified the arrangement of the arms in which the right hand extends as far as the left elbow as a convention used in the work of a number of sculptors.


Alexis Belis, Dorothy Abramitis, and Federico Carò