The Cycladic or pre-Greek era is represented at the Getty Museum by a number of works, such as the Greek island marble figurine "Harpist," from about 2500 B.C. This is a statuette of a musician holding his instrument before him. He is holding it in the configuration necessary for playing it, but he is not playing it and instead has his hands at rest, supporting the harp. The piece was sculpted from a single piece of stone with the simplest tools. Little is known about the culture of the Cycladic islands, and we do not understand the purpose of figures such as the harpist or the more common female figures produced by this culture. However, many of the surviving pieces have been found in graves. Most of the other Cycladic musicians that have been found are playing their instruments, which makes this statuette unusual. Some elements of the original piece are missing:
Some elements such as the hair were originally added in paint, but in general, the modeling of anatomical details has been artfully reduced to a minimum.
These statuettes from the pre-Greek era are products of a neolithic, or stone-age, culture. At this time, human beings had started to settle in one place, shifting from a nomadic to a sedentary way of life. The agricultural life created a new awareness of seasonal change and the powers of the earth, sun, and rain. The many female statuettes found in neolithic graves suggests that the religion of the people included the worship of fertility goddesses and the use of rites associated with seasonal regeneration.
The Cyclades are a group of islands in the Aegean Sea where neolithic burial sites have been found. The figurines found tend to be stylized and abstract in form. The clay figurines in this culture are in place of the neolithic idols made of clay from other regions. The marble quarried on these islands made it possible for the workshops of the culture to flourish. Products made by artisans on ...