Female Figure of the Dokathismata Type (Front)

Early Cycladic figures conformed to a strict traditional typology, which scholars have identified based on stylistic and chronological developments. Reclining with her arms crossed, this female figure is typical of the sculpture of the Cyclades in the mid-2000s B.C. known as the Dokathismata type (named after an Early Cycladic cemetery on the island of Amorgos). This type exaggerated stylistic tendencies found in the preceding Late Spedos figures. Dokathismata figures are distinguished by their overall flatness and very wide shoulders, as well as the fact that their legs are not separated but remain joined together. The arms, pubic area and toes of the Getty’s figure are rendered by deep incisions, and the legs are separated by a cleft. The arms cross over the chest below softly modelled breasts. The nose and mouth are sculpted, but the rest of the facial details would have originally been added in paint. The reddish stain or incrustation on the surface of the torso and head are the result of weathering.

Although the findspot of the great majority of Cycladic figures is unknown, many of those with known contexts were found placed on their backs in graves. Not all Early Cycladic graves contain such sculptures, however, and several examples have been found in settlement and sanctuary contexts, indicating a more complex and perhaps multifaceted usage. Some may have been held upright in social or religious activities, such as processions. As the majority of Early Cycladic figures are female, and are represented nude, with breasts and incised public triangles to indicate their gender, they are probably linked with the idea of fertility and reproduction, which was often a focus of ancient Mediterranean religions.