marble Cycladic head on marble base

5000 years ago, on a group of islands in the Aegean sea, artisans were carving sculpture, entirely by hand, from pure, local, white marble. What they left behind is a masterclass in elegant, symmetrical design. Works of art that radiate a profound stillness and haunting simplicity.

Ancient Cycladic art remains one of archaeology's continuing mysteries. With their smooth faces, folded arms, tilting heads and elongated noses, these minimalist silhouettes do not look ancient at all. Stripped of all distracting details, eyes, and expressions, they capture the essence of the human form, using clean geometric lines.

The group of islands, numbering 30 or so, included Naxos, Paros and Amorgos, sources of superb marble. The ancient Greeks, centuries later, called these islands the Kyklades, imagining them as falling within a circle (kyklos) centred around the sacred island of Delos, birthplace of Apollo and his twin sister Artemis, and the site of their holiest sanctuary.

Schematic figurines came first, including those in a violos/violin design. Then came a Golden Age of Cycladic art, from ca 2800-2300 BCE. The elegant figurines that survive today, and which inspired modern western artists such as Picasso, Modigliani and Brancusi were carved during this period of a mere 500 years. To this period also belong the Keros pieces, including a small number of breathtaking sculptures of musicians, such as the Harpist and Flute-Player.

You will notice on original marble figurines that the feet are carved pointing downwards, so they would have been physically incapable of standing without support. Their backs were flat and smooth, which reinforces the theory that they were designed to recline, or to be held. When buried with the deceased, they were lying next to them.

No written records remain, so the true purpose of these figurines remain an archaeological enigma. Female figurines have have swollen bellies or lines drawn across the abdomen, which might suggest that they are symbols of fertility, life-giving energy, or rebirth. They were mainly excavated from stone-lined graves, where they were buried lying down next to the deceased. Perhaps they were spiritual protectors, created to escort souls to the next world.

In the mid 20^th century there was a massive wave of illegal looting of the Cyclades, particularly the island of Keros. Over the last few years, Greece has managed to secure the repatriation and reclamation of Cycladic originals, now on display in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens. Most recently, an agreement in 2022 transferred legal ownership of 161 Cycladic artefacts from the private New York collection of billionnaire Leonard Stern back to the Greek state. The collection is housed at the Metropolitan Museum on a long-term loan, and the pieces will gradually be returning home to Greece during the coming decades.

It's All Greek's Cycladic pieces in bronze and marble are copies of originals in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.

The late Kostas Semitekolo, in addition to being the genius who produced the bronze collection at It's All Greek, was also an exceptional sculptor of marble Cycladic art. One off, unique pieces. Customers between 2000 and 2016 can count themselves blessed indeed, if they bought one of these from It's All Greek. Thankfully, the bronzes and marbles on the website are copies of some of those. I have kept some of his replica Cycladic pieces because I cannot bear to part with them. They are beautiful beyond belief.

Produced in Greece in the workshop of the Semitekolo family, with whom It's All Greek is proud to have been working since 1999. They also produce It's All Greek's signature bronze collection.

These pieces are cast in marble and have a lovely glistening finish to them!