Cycladic Figurine

Cycladic

British Museum

circa 2300-2200 BC

This rare figurine depicts a ‘hunter-warrior' type characterised by the presence of a belt and baldric (belt worn over the shoulder to hold a weapon). This is the first sculpture of its kind to enter a UK public collection and there are only three others known in the world. The British Museum holds the leading collection of Cycladic figurines in the country. The people of the Aegean islands known as the Cyclades began to produce objects in the early Greek Bronze Age. The museum has a drawing of a figurine of this type as well as female Cycladic figurines which can be linked stylistically with this male figure.

• Medium: marble
• Dimensions: 21.6 x 7.2cm
• Art Fund Grant: £100000 ( Total: £292,506)
• ArtFunded in: 2011
• Vendor: Private collection

Provenance

Wolfgang Paalen, probably acquired in the 1920s – 1930s; private collection, 1952, New York; by descent to vendor. On loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1997 until sale through Robert Haber Ancient Art. The work has been vetted by the Art Loss Register and the Metropolitan Police Art & Antiques Unit.

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