Art History
In my research in prehistoric art, the art of the Cycladic culture had caught my eye. Consisting mainly of statuettes of people and animals, with a little pottery, Cycladic art has been continuously speculated on. Ideas of Cycladic figurines as images of death, dolls, and idols have all been considered. This short essay will touch on the Cycladic civilization and reach a brief conclusion of the most likely purpose of the art.
The Cycladic civilization was one of the three main Aegean civilizations, being accompanied in that category by the Minoans and the Mycenaeans. Cycladic culture rose on the titular Cycladic islands of Greece. Of these islands, all but Delos faded into insignificance when Crete rose. Each of the islands could support a few thousand people who traveled back and forth in boats that Late Cycladic models show could hold up to fifty oarsmen. The Cycladic people subsisted on wheat and wild barley, as well as sheep, goats, pigs, and tuna. The civilization lasted from approximately 3200 BC to 2000 BC. It’s first excavations occurred in the 1880s and the term ‘cycladic civilization’ was termed in 1898-99 during archeological work by the British School of Athens and Christos Tsountas. Cycladic culture became what is today known on the Grecian mainland as Helladic culture.
The most common art of the Cycladic period were figurines carved from the white marble located on the islands. These figurines are stylized geometric representations of the human figure, often female. Many of the figurines were destroyed or lost when people sought to acquire them in the mid-20th century, due to their resemblance to the simplicity of geometric modern art. The Seated Harp Player is one piece that survived. The statuette features a marble man sitting on a chair, both playing the harp and singing. The man is of course, highly stylized but also has a natural stance and modeling in his arms, legs, fingers and ears. His harp is sculpted into the head of a water bird, unsurprising considering the figurine’s island origin. The back of the statue was once painted, probably brightly, as were many now white Cycladic sculptures. This particular seated player is not completely unique as there are multiple other Cycladic harp statues. All Cycladic statuettes were found in graves, thus these statues may be indicative of the musical talent of the person with whom they were buried. The idea that they were cult statues of worship remains unfounded and unsupported by any historical evidence. This particular harpist is noticeable as one of the first depictions of Cycladic musicians and is currently located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In summary, Cycladic art appears to be mostly used for burial purposes. The statues are small in size, perhaps because they needed to be transported from island to island, or perhaps because the tools were not available for larger statues. Due to the looting of burial sites, a good amount of Cycladic art has been lost. For this purpose, the statues continue to be shrouded in mystery as to their purpose. While it is most likely that they were grave markers, it does not entirely follow that they are likenesses of the people with whom they were buried. The majority of statues are stylized female figures, yet it is doubtful that the Cycladic population was made majorly up of more females than males. This suggests that the statues are meant to represent some sort of goddess, perhaps of nature or good fortune. However, there is no evidence to suggest that they were worshipped as idols. Thus, they must have been significant, but perhaps not in everyday religion or worship.
