Marble female figure

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


This reclining female figure is complete except for a small part of the forehead and the right foot that has been restored. It is a reclining female figure. The elongated lyre-shaped head is tilted backward with a broad chin, flat crown and short, flat, well-centered nose in relief nose. The long upward tapering, cylindrical neck is delineated from the torso by a wide rounded groove. Its slightly rounded shoulders slope into the arms defined by deep horizontal incisions that lend a sense of depth. The arms are folded left over right (without fingers) below a flat chest and above a thin, flat belly. Shallow incised grooves separate the belly from the upper thighs and define the pubic triangle. A deep groove separates the legs, though the knees, which bend forward, are distinctively carved apart. The legs join again at the ankles. Shallow incisions indicate the tops of the feet splayed outward without toes. Shallow incisions at the back delineate the head from the neck and the neck from the torso. A shallow incision indicates the spine then widens at the buttocks to separate the legs. The surface of the fine-grained white marble has a concentration of accretions on the left side.


Sandy MacGillivray and Wendy Walker