Cycladic Seated figurine the harp player - CYID057ΚΕ24-36

Handmade carved seated figurine the harp player.

The statue depicts a seated harpist playing. He is sitting on a very elaborate throne.

It rests on the right thigh a musical instrument of triangular construction, which is interpreted as a harp or lyre.

The face is facing the sky. The nose is the only plastic feature of the face. Maintained in good condition.

Parts of both hands are missing from the elbow, while it consists of welded fragments.

This is a unique example of his subject in Early Cycladic sculpture.

The harpist and the piper are the unique and most ancient examples of sculpture that show three-dimensional development in space.

The musical instrument is a type of ancient Greek harp or lyre and differs in construction from similar instruments of its time. It was built in 2800 - 2300 BC.

The collection of Cycladic antiquities is one of the most important in the world.Cycladic civilization flourished on the islands of the central Aegean during the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC).

The most characteristic creation of this culture is the marble sculpture and it is not surprising that the abstract forms of the figurines influenced artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, such as Brancusi, Modigliani, Giacometti, Hepworth, Moore and Ai Weiwei.

In addition to the numerous female figurines, Cycladic sculptors also produced a series of elegant compositions of "special form".

Among them are standing and seated males engaged in an activity (musicians, flute-players and lyre-players), seated females and groups of two or three figures.

Most of these works date from the early phase of the Early Cycladic II period.

The "cup-bearer' in the MCA is a rare type of seated figure and the only intact example of its kind to date.

Although the gender is not indicated, it is considered to represent a male figure because it is shown "in action".

The figure sits on an integral marble stool and holds a cup in its right hand, poised as if ready to propose a toast or perform a libation.

Specific morphological elements, such as the plasticity of the volumes and the parted legs, place the figurine among the early works of the "Spedos variety".

Works such as this depart from the immobility of the "canonical" female figurines and succeed in conveying movement, thus conquering, as it were, three-dimensional space, as well as a sense of time.

The use of most "special" figurines remains enigmatic, but the fact that certain types are reproduced suggests that they had a specific function, possibly as votive offerings or ritual objects.