Cycladic Female Figure Many Ancient Research Paper

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The Cycladic Female Figurine- Most of the Cycladic sculptures are similar in tone to many of the Stone Age pieces found in the Aegean, Near East and Western Europe. They represent nude women with their arms folded across their abdomens. They have been found in many sizes ranging from a few inches to almost life-size, in graves, settlements, and even in places suggesting idolatry or religious activities. However, some modern scholars think that the term figurines or idols is not really correct. Idols imply a religious function that has not been confirmed and figurines do not fit with some of the larger figures. However, because of the distribution of these pieces of art, we can tell they were popular among the people of Crete and Mainland Greece as well; and their distribution suggests they were produced not just for the wealthy, but had a broader appeal (Doumas, 1969).

The feminine figures, regardless of size, are stylized representations of the human form. They have a more flat, geometric quality than many of the Neolithic Venus figurines, which tended to be round or oblong shaped. It is likely that the originals were brightly painted. Like Neolithic female art, the Cycladic Female was nude, with arms folded across the stomach, lending many to find that they are similar in tone to the Goddess of Mother Nature and simply continue the tradition formed during prehistory (Gimbutas, 1991, p. 203).

Other scholars disagree, finding their interpretation to be decorative, religious or good luck idols, or, for some, interpreted as children's dolls or toys, at least the smaller ones. One scholar, for instance, says they "were more than dolls and less than sacrosanct idols" (Vermeule, 1974, p. 52).

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It is easy for modern eyes to find idolatry within these figures; cult or ritual worship, but there is not much archaeological evidence of this. The evidence does suggest that the images were found in many homes, and in many places within the homes, that they were used regularly in funeral practices, that they were even buried with the dead. Some, though, show signs of being repaired which indicates that they were not made specifically for use in burial, but valued in life. It remains mysterious why the figures seem to be buried equally between men and women, but not found in every grave (Vermeule; Gimbutas).

When we analyze a typical sculpture, we find many similarities to prehistoric interpretations as well as a unique approach to the female figure:

REFERENCES

Female Figure. (2008). Learner.org. Retrieved from: http://www.learner.org/courses / globalart/work/139/index.html

Doumas, C. (1969). Early Cycladic Art. New York: Praeger Publishers.

Gimbutas, M. (1991). The Language of the Goddess. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Higgins, R. (1967). Minoan and Mycenaean Art. New York: Thames and Hudson.

Samson, D. (2009). Ancient Greek Civilization. New York: Wiley/Blackwell.

Vermeule, E. (1974). Greece in the Bronze Age. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Witcomb, C. (2008). Images of Women in Ancient Art. Sweet Briar College. Retrieved from: http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/

Flat, stylized face and body

Angled shoulders, arms, and torso

V-vulva region; emphasized pubic triangle

Arms crossed on stomach….....

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