Cycladic figurine

In the 3rd millennium BC, the Early Cycladic figurines were not white, as we see them today, but were often decorated with bright colours. Cycladic craftsmen made extensive use of colours in their creations, either for practical or for symbolic purposes.

In some figurines, traces of pigments are preserved, while in others, as in this example, the areas that were painted with color are preserved in low relief in relation to the rest of the marble surface. In fact, the pigment applied in those areas (which is now lost) protected the marble surface from the erosion.