Attribution:
This figurine of a woman is Cycladic (Keros-Syros culture), dated to 2700-2400BC and said to be from Syros. Compared to other figurines from that type, it is rather large and clumpsy and made from a strange material.
Most of the Cycladic figures are made from white marble, but this one is carved from compacted volcanic ash, presumably from the island of Thera (Santorini). Perhaps because it was produced on one of the few islands in the Cyclades where marble is not found.
The left eye of the figure survives as a paint ‘ghost’: paint that is now lost has protected the surface and given the impression of a carving in low relief.
