Provenance:
Henri Smeets, Weert, Netherlands, prior to 1975.

Published:
E. Godet, et al., A Private Collection: A Catalogue of The Henri Smeets Collection, Weert, 1975, no. 128.

Note: 
Before the age of democracy and ancient Greek art, the Aegean region was home to mainly farmers and traders. During the Bronze Age, a group of small and mostly barren islands called the Cyclades came into extraordinary prominence. Most of these islands located in the central Aegean Sea are made of marble. Thus, it was a dominant feature in their daily life. Already having been worked since the 5th Millennium B.C., the craft of sculpting stone, especially marble, continued to develop with the creation and production of elegantly carved idols or reclining figures.

Scholars, such as Pat Getz-Gentle, have examined how these figures might have been designed, and how the changes and similarities from one form to the next help identify and give name to these otherwise anonymous ancient sculptors. Although unattributed to a specific sculptor, the figure seen here with narrow face, elongated neck, rounded shoulders, folded arms, and slightly bent legs are all characteristics of the Kapsala-variety—an iconic and prevalent category of Cycladic figures. Its overall simplicity of form delights the modern eye and epitomizes the timeless beauty of Cycladic sculpture at its best.