Cycladic conical vase

The manufacture of marble vessels in the Cyclades started at an advanced stage of the Early Cycladic I period ("Plastiras" phase), almost simultaneously with the production of the first naturalistic figurines ("Plastiras" type). Even the earliest examples - as this conical vase - are remarkable for their technical quality and fine proportions, attesting to the craftsmen's familiarity with marble. The vase has a narrow base, conical body and two vertical pierced lugs below the rim. On one side, three relief knobs are visible at the level of the lugs. Some scholars take those knobs to indicate eyes and mouth and the pierced lugs to indicate ears, interpreting the vase as a symbolic representation of a human form or, perhaps, a bucranium.