Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context (original) (raw)
Related papers
Marthari, M. 2017. Early Cycladic sculptures as archaeological objects
in M. Marthari, C. Renfrew and M. Boyd (eds.), Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow, pp. 13-21
It was a February afternoon in 2009, in the prehistoric antiquities room of the Archaeological Museum of Naxos, when I first talked with Colin Renfrew about the publication of all the Early Cycladic figurines found in excavations. Our conversation took place among the cases in which the antiquities from Keros, and all the large figurines from Aplomata, Phiondas, and other sites are exhibited. Renfrew, as the excavator of Keros, where a large number of marble figurine fragments and vases have been recently found, wanted to look for comparanda in the excavated material. The author, as the then Ephor of the Ephorate of Antiquities for the Cyclades but also the excavator of Skarkos, wished to see all the excavated material published. Thus we joined forces and after a long collaboration our efforts materialized in the form of a symposium entitled Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, held at the Athens Archaeological Society on 27–29 May 2014. The results of this symposium are presented here. The current volume aims to publish a very important class of material, partly unknown to scholarship. At the same time, it constitutes a break from the usual way of treating and publishing Early Cycladic sculptures...
In Marthari, M., C. Renfrew and M. Boyd (eds.) 2019. Beyond the Cyclades: Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context from Mainland Greece, the North and East Aegean. Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow
Marble sculptures of the Cycladic canonical folded-arm form are quite widely found outside the Cycladic Islands themselves. They are mainly found in contexts of the mature phase of the Aegean Early Bronze Age, the time of the Keros-Syros culture, and the form seems to have developed in the Cycladic Islands, where it is preceded both by the Plastiras type and the Louros type. The earliest (Kapsala) variety of the folded-arm figure is rare outside the Cyclades, but the Spedos variety does occur at a number of sites on the Greek mainland and Euboea, to which those examples found were presumably imported from the Cyclades. In addition, the Dokathismata variety occurs at Nea Styra on Euboea. Among the varieties of the folded-arm type only one, the Koumasa variety, seems to have been produced outside the Cyclades...
in M. Marthari, C. Renfrew and M. Boyd, Early Cycladic Sculpture in Context, Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow, pp. 119-164., 2017
Skarkos is an important Bronze Age Cycladic site situated on a low hill at the head of the natural harbour of the island of Ios. What is particularly important at Skarkos is the large early EBA II settlement, i.e. the Skarkos II settlement. This is uniquely well-preserved for a Cycladic domestic site of this period. The buildings are two-storeyed and most still stand to the height of the upper storey. The abundant moveable finds of Skarkos II are also remarkably well preserved. The figurines hold a special place among the moveable finds. A total of 52 figurines, 33 of which are complete, with eleven heads and eight bodies, have been recovered from Skarkos. Indeed, with few exceptions, they were found in situ inside the buildings and the open spaces of Skarkos II. It should be stressed that this is the first time a notable number of figurines has been found in an Early Cycladic settlement and indeed one that flourished during the heyday of the Early Cycladic world. From this perspective, this is a find of major importance. Only two of the 52 figurines found so far at the Skarkos settlement are folded-arm figurines of the Chalandriani variety. The remaining 50 figurines are schematic. Forty-nine of these are of the Apeiranthos type. The evidence shows that Skarkos was an important marble-working centre. A great variety of complete marble objects was unearthed, comprising circular slabs used as lids for clay storage jars, various implements, a wide variety of coarse and fine vessels (handless bowls, horizontal lug bowls, and footed bowls), and the figurines. More than 30 unfinished fine marble vessels have been revealed, indicating that these were made in the settlement or at some places very close to it. As for the figurines, it should be noted that two of them are unfinished. This indicates that the carving of the figurines, or at least of the small schematic ones, took place in the settlement. The Building of the Figurines is one of the places where figurines and other artefacts were carved. The finds and their contexts leave no doubt that activities related to marble working took place in this building. It is the first time we have such a combination of evidence from an Early Cycladic site that leads us to assume the processing of marble in a specific space.
Cycladic Archaeology and Research New approaches and discoveries. Oxford, Archeopress, 2018.
Cycladic Archaeology and Research: New approaches and discoveries reflects the present exciting times in Cycladic archaeology. New excavations are bringing to light sanctuaries unmentioned by literary sources and inscriptions (e.g., Kythnos, Despotiko); new theoretical approaches to insularity and networks are radically changing our views of the Cyclades as geographic and cultural unit(s). Furthermore, the restoration and restudy of older sites (e.g., Delos, Paros, Naxos) are challenging old truths, updating chronologies and contexts throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. This volume is intended to share these recent developments with a broader, international audience. The essays have been carefully selected as representing some of the most important recent work and include significant previously-unpublished material. Individually, they cover archaeological sites and materials from across the Cycladic islands, and illustrate the diversity of the islands' material culture across the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique periods. Together, they share common themes such as the importance of connectivity, and the role of each island's individual landscape and its resources in shaping human activity. The work they represent attests the ongoing appeal of the islands and of the islanders in the collective imagination, and demonstrates the scope for still further innovative work in the years ahead. Erica Angliker is a PhD student at the University of Zurich, where she is preparing the publication of her monograph on the cults and sanctuaries of the Cycladic islands. She has published on the culture and religion of the Cyclades and is a member of the scientific team at the excavations of the sanctuary of Despotiko, where she has been digging since 2012. Her research focuses on Greek cults and religions in the public and private sphere, from the Geometric to the Hellenistic era. Her special interests include cults practised at natural sites or involving natural elements, as well as topics in island studies, such as insularity, socioeconomic networks, and maritime travel logs.
Cycladic Archaeology and Research New approaches and discoveries
G. Kokkorou-Alevras, Eir. Poupaki, D. Tambakopoulos and Υannis Maniatis, Parian marble in Koan statuary and utilitarian artifacts of the Hellenistic and Roman period. Finds at the Sanctuary of Apollo at Kardamaina (Ancient Halasarna) on Kos. In: Er. Angliker-J.Tully, Cycladic Archaeology and Research New approaches and discoveries, Oxford 2018: 201-214 The preference for a delicate, luxurious, and expensive raw material such as Parian marble demonstrated in Koan sculpture and craftsmanship reveals the financial capability of the objects’ dedicators, who can be identified as members of a local, Halasarnitan elite, and the deep appreciation for Parian marble in the Late Hellenistic period as evidenced from its wide use in a respectable yet provincial sanctuary. The Parian sculptures and other utilitarian artifacts, such as the marble vases, influenced the local stonecarving workshop, whose sculptors were experimented in local travertine and fine quality Koan marble from the 2nd cent. B.C. onwards. The use of Parian marble, though, declined in Roman times, whereas in Late- Roman and Early-Byzantine Period imports of marble artifacts carved in Proconnesian marble had been confirmed by the recent archaeometric methods of marble identification.
N. Chr. Stampolidis, Lourentzatou I.G., Angelopoulou A. and Legaki I (eds.), Cycladic Society. 5000 Years Ago, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens., 2016
The paper aims to present the development of the Cycladic settlements during the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). Reference is made to the topography, size, settlement planning, architectural tradition and socio-economic organization of the Early Cycladic habitation sites. Special reference is made to buildings of specialized use as for example workshops and buildings of communal character. The differences observed in Early Cycladic settlement patterns foreshadow the transition from the small scattered communities of the 3rd millennium BC to the first "cities" of the end of the Early Bronze Age (end of the 3rd-beginning of the 2nd millennium BC).
N. Chr. Stampolidis, Lourentzatou I.G., Angelopoulou A. and Legaki I (eds.), Cycladic Society. 5000 Years Ago, Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens., 2016
The paper aims to present the development of the Cycladic pottery during the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC). Elements related to the typology, the technics of manufacture and the possible use of the Early Cycladic pottery are presented in an effort to illuminate aspects related to everyday life and cultural tradition of the early island communities.