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The Cycladic Female Figurine- Most of the Cycladic sculptures are similar in tone to many of the Stone Age pieces found in the Aegean, Near East and Western Europe. They represent nude women with their arms folded across their abdomens. They have been found in many sizes ranging from a few inches to almost life-size, in graves, settlements, and even in places suggesting idolatry or religious activities. However, some modern scholars think that the term figurines or idols is not really correct. Idols imply a religious function that has not been confirmed and figurines do not fit with some of the larger figures. However, because of the distribution of these pieces of art, we can tell they were popular among the people of Crete and Mainland Greece as well; and their distribution suggests they were produced not just for the wealthy, but had a broader appeal (Doumas, 1969).
The feminine figures, regardless of size, are stylized representations of the human form. They have a more flat, geometric quality than many of the Neolithic Venus figurines, which tended to be round or oblong shaped. It is likely that the originals were brightly painted. Like Neolithic female art, the Cycladic Female was nude, with arms folded across the stomach, lending many to find that they are similar in tone to the Goddess of Mother Nature and simply continue the tradition formed during prehistory (Gimbutas, 1991, p. 203).
Other scholars disagree, finding their interpretation to be decorative, religious or good luck idols, or, for some, interpreted as children's dolls or toys, at least the smaller ones. One scholar, for instance, says they "were more than dolls and less than sacrosanct idols" (Vermeule, 1974, p. 52). It is easy for modern eyes...
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