tears of mourning.23 Marble pestles for grinding pigments and marble palettes and bowls for mixing them have survived from the Bronze Age (see fig. 26). Bone and bronze styluses as well as terracotta vessels containing pigments have also been found. Traces of a textile preserved on the forearm and belly of one statuette indicate it may once have been at least partially wrapped in cloth, which raises the question whether other Cycladic female statuettes were once draped.24 A study carried out in the 1990s utilizing special lighting conditions in the Metropolitan Museum’s Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation revealed that nearly every Early Cycladic statuette in the collection preserves some traces of paint.25 Most remarkable is the statuette (fig. 27) attributed to the Bastis Sculptor (named for Christos G. Bastis, who donated the sculpture to the Museum), a gifted artistic
27. Attributed to the Bastis Sculp tor. Female figure (front and side views). Cycladic, Early Cycladic II, Spedos type, ca. 2600 – 2400 B.C.
28. Male figure. Cycladic, Early Cycladic II, Dokathismata type,
Marble, h. 24 ¾ in. (62.79 cm). The
2400 – 2300 B.C. or later. Marble, h. 14 1∕8 in. (35.9 cm). The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
of Christos G. Bastis, 1968 (68.148)
(1972.118.103)
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