Ancient Female Figures

 



Female Figure of the Spedos Variety

Cycladic/ Early Bronze Age

Sculpture

2600-2500 BCE

1995.1134

 

This female figure comes from Cyclades, a group of islands off the coast of Greece. The marble works exhibit ancient Grecian ideals of the female form. The figure’s arms are crossed beneath her breasts suggested by two small mounds. Direct relief lines shape a pelvic mound and give form to the figure’s limbs and joints. This representation of the Cycladic figure belongs to the Spedos type named after the cemetery were a great number of them were found. The abstracted face lacks many details except a sculptural protrusion hinting the contours of a nose. The curves of the figures waist and hips allude to the possibility of the figures use in rituals for fertility. Although the exact purpose of female figures of the Spedos variety is not known, scholars hypothesize they may have been incorporated in fertility, religious, or funerary rituals. 

 



 

Standing Figure


Egyptian

Sculpture

1919.535

 

The wooden Egyptian figure presents another idealized female form in the ancient world. The figure stands erect and quite stoic. The figure is missing its arms and feet, yet we get a sense of the stillness of her presence. Her face is partially effaced, but we get a sense of both the sculptural and painterly skill of the maker. The short, cropped coif of the hair bears traces of brownish-black paint to match the linear eyebrows. The figure is far more ornate than the Cycladic female figure even wearing a white skirt around her waist. Both object demonstrate the prominence of the female body in ancient art especially in ritual and sacred objects. 

 

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