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Marble Cycladic Fertility Idol
Circa 2600 – 2000 B.C.
Height: 8 cm
Little is known of Cycladic culture; we know that these idols were buried to accompany the dead in their tombs, but whether they were fertility symbols or simply ancestor figures, we simply do not know. They were most probably painted in earth pigments and sealed with a glaze.
The dynamic timeless forms of these figures became an enormous influence on early twentieth-century art: Modigliani, Brancusi, and Picasso were all enthralled by these forms which provided a fresh and exciting alternative to the more classical forms of fifth-century Greece and Imperial Rome.
