Cycladic violos figurine pendant

Height: 4cm Width at widest point: 2.3cm Rather than an added 'hoop' for the chain, there is a nice and subtly integrated hole ready for the chain.

These schematic violin-shaped representations of the female form are from the Early Cycladic period.

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Original Cycladic figurines, carved in marble, were produced during the third millennium BC. They are remarkable for their abstract simplicity, which is believed to have inspired Picasso, Modigliani, and Moore.

Cycladic art originates from a group of islands in the southwestern Aegean, comprising some thirty small islands, including Naxos and Paros, which were known for the quality of their marble. The ancient Greeks called these islands the Kyklades, imagining them as falling within a circle (kyklos) around the sacred island of Delos, the site of the holiest sanctuary to Apollo and the island thought to be the birthplace of the god and his twin sister Artemis.

These Cycladic pieces are copies of originals in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens.

It has been a privilege to work with the Vaphiadis family since 2007. They are one of the best manufacturers of sterling silver jewellery in Greece.

The collection is inspired by ancient Greek silver and gold coins, the art and jewellery of the Minoan civilisation, familiar symbolic motifs and images, and the animals that played a significant part in ancient Greek culture.