Greek, Cycladic
Female figure
2600­2400 B.C.
Marble
ht.: 39.6 cm
Katherine K. Adler Fund, 1978.115

The Cyclades Islands north of Crete, near the coast of Greece, were the site of a civilization that rose long before that of the classic Greeks. We do not know what this Cycladic sculpture was used for; it may have been made for burial in a tomb.

Since the human features are not detailed and natural-appearing, this stone carving can be called abstract. Such ancient abstract works inspired Picasso, Noguchi, and other twentieth-century artists.