"Kapsala" type female figurine

Enigmatic sculptural masterpieces, these white marble figurines are possibly the best known cultural products from the Early Bronze Age Cycladic period. They are typically fashioned with their lyre-shaped head tilted back, arms folded beneath the breasts, knees flexed, and toes slanted downward. Using only the simplest of tools, obsidian blades, emery and pumice, the artist created an elegant almost abstract, human body with beautiful curved surfaces. The vast majority of the know figurines are female and most were found in graves, although a small number come from settlements. It must have taken a great amount of time and talent to create these statuettes from marble suggesting that they were very important to their owners and were not merely toys. The figurines may have played a religious role during its owner’s life time before they were buried together. But in the end, their true meaning remains elusive but not their beauty.