• Cycladic folded-arm figurine



Cycladic folded-arm figurine
Cycladic folded-arm figurine

Vaulted Tombs of Mesara ➔ Cycladic folded-arm figurine

Γ125
Stone (Marble)
Mended
Height: 11 cm. Maximum width: 5.5 cm.
Koumasa
Tholos Tomb Β
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period, Early Minoan ΙΙI period.:
2700 - 2400 BC:
Gallery:
I
Case:
10
Exhibition thematic unit:
Early Bronze Age - Prepalatial period (3000 - 1900 BC). Settlements and cemeteries - the rise of ruling groups
Figurines - The symbolisms of the human form
Description
Standing female figurine with arms folded under the breast. This is one of five similar figurines found in Tholos Tomb B at Koumasa. It was broken and repaired in antiquity. The broken pieces would have been attached by a wire or thong running through the two preserved holes. Figurines of the “Koumasa variant” belong to a category of Cycladic figurine named after this site. These are only found in Crete and are thought to be local works of the Cycladic type. They are distinguished by their small size, their lack of volume and their proportions, having very wide shoulders and short legs. In Crete, like the Cyclades, such figurines are mainly found in tombs but is not certain that they were used in exactly the same way.
Bibliography:
Renfrew, C. "The Development and Chronology of the Early Cycladic Figurines." American Journal of Archaeology 73 (1969): 1-32. Renfrew, C. "The Koumasa Variety of the Folded-Arm Figurines: Problems and Implications." In Ν. Chr. Stampolidis and P. Sotirakopoulou (eds), Κυκλαδικά στην Κρήτη. Κυκλαδικά και Κυκλαδίζοντα Ειδώλια - Οι συμβολισμοί της ανθρώπινης μορφής μέσα στην ανασκαφική τους συνάφεια. Πρακτικά Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου, Μουσείο Κυκλαδικής Τέχνης, Athens, 1-2 Οκτωβρίου 2015. Athens, 2017, 33-49. Xanthoudides, St. The Vaulted Tombs of Mesara. An Account of Some Early Cemeteries of Southern Crete. London, 1924, 21-22, pl. ΧΧΙ:125.
Author:
E. S.


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