Head of a figurine (Plastiras type)

Head and neck of a fine marble figure with close affinities to Cycladic figurines of the so called "Plastiras type". The ears, nose and mouth are rendered in relief, while the neck is unusually long. The figurines of the "Plastiras type" date to the Early Cycladic I period (3200-2800 BC) and represent the earliest attempts towards the naturalistic rendering of the the human figure in Cycladic art. This particular example comes probably from Attica, suggesting both that Cyclades had developed contacts with other areas already from a very early stage, and that Cycladic culture exercised considerable influence on Mainland Greece. Contacts, however, were not restricted to Attica. Cycladic (or Cycladic-type) objects have been found at the coastal areas of the Peloponnese, Boeotia, Euboea, Thessaly as well as on the north-eastern Aegean and Crete.