MALE IDOL OF THE PLASTIRAS TYPE Cycladic art,... Lot 1

MALE IDOL OF THE PLASTIRAS TYPE Cycladic art, early Cylcades I - Grotta-Pelos phase, 3200-2800 BC White marble with orange patina. Collection inventory number "W60" on the left heel Dim_ 22,7 x 4,5 x 2,5 cm Provenance Former collection of René Whitofs (1919-1997), Brussels Paris, private collection A CYLCADIC MARBLE MALE IDOL FROM DE PLASTIRAS TYPE, EARLY CYCLADIC I, 3200-2800 B.C. 8,9 x 1,8 x 0,9 in. Early example or a precursor of the Plastiras type. The long ovoid head is crowned by a conical hat, the arms are folded below the chest and the legs are carved in the round. The pubic triangle is rendered by incisions while the small breasts are modelled. Figurines of the "Plastiras type", thus named after the cemetery in Paros where they were first identified, were contemporary with violin-shaped figurines and represent the earliest attempt at the naturalistic rendering of the human figure in the third millennium B.C. These figurines, which are mainly female and of small dimensions (h. 7-31 cm.), display some of those features that were subsequently to develop into distinctive traits of Cycladic figurines, such as the position of the arms below the breasts and the ovoid head with relief nose. However, the sculptors had not yet conquered the abstraction of the mature period of Cycladic art and instead cleaved to a markedly naturalistic conception, which is particularly pronounced in the treatment of the pelvic area, the pubic triangle and the legs. Typologically, the Plastiras type figurines are a development of the steatopygous figures of the Late Neolithic period (5300-3200 BC). The conical hat with horizontal grooves occurs on both male and female figures of the late Early Cycladic I period and the transitional phase to Early Cycladic II, and is considered to echo Eastern (Syrian) influences, perhaps in combination with influences from the Balkans. The idol has a long ovoid head with facial features suggested in a stylized manner - a slight hollow for each eye contrasting with a subtle elongated triangle in relief for the nose. The low forehead is topped by a conical ribbed hat. The arms are folded under the chest and the sculpted legs have rounded shapes. The pubis is marked by two incised lines, the sex is modelled. The "Plastiras" type figurines, named after the cemetery of Paros where they were first identified, were contemporary with of the violin figurines and represent the first attempt at a naturalistic rendering of the human figure in the third millennium BC. The typology of Plastiras figurines indicates the development of steatopyges in the Neolithic period (5300-3200 BC). These figurines, which are mainly female and small in size (h. 7-31 cm.), display some of the characteristics that later became distinctive features of Cycladic figurines, such as the position of the arms below the breasts and the ovoid head with the carved nose. However, the sculptors had not yet reached the abstraction of the mature period of Cycladic art. The conical hat with horizontal grooves is found on both male and female figures in the late Cycladic I period and the transitional phase to Early Cycladic II, and is considered an echo of Eastern, Syrian, combined with Balkan influences. For similar figures see Male figure of the Plastiras type, National Archaeological Museum of Athens, 88942-40 Male figure of the Plastiras type, Museum of Cycladic Art, inv. ΝΓ1111