Iberian Peninsula to the indus

particular female ones, were common 
at that time across the Greek world, 
but also show up regional variations 
in poses and styles.
11
In 1976, Saul 
Weinberg established a list of all the 
stone Neolithic figurines he knew, a 
list that has, to my knowledge, not 
been updated.
12
Although some were 
found all over the Greek world, from 
Thessaly to Crete and the islands, 
few of them are seated. Indeed, the 
position with the legs crossed, or 
seemingly crossed, is attested mainly 
in the Cyclades (Saliagos, Naxos) 
and possibly Attica, which would 
tend to confirm that the Brussels 
sculpture does indeed come from 
the islands. Of the dozens of known 
stone figurines, three are very close 
to the Brussels sculpture not just 
typologically, but also stylistically: 
a statue found fortuitously on the 
island of Naxos, at Sangri,
13
and two 
in the Shelby White collection in New 
York; for clarity’s sake, I will call the 
bigger one “Shelby White no. 1”
14
and the smaller one “Shelby White 
no. 2”.
15
The Brussels and Shelby 
White no. 1 sculptures are close in 
size (respectively 18.5 cm and 20.3 
cm) whereas the one found on Naxos 
is only about half their size (9.2 cm) 
and the Shelby White no. 2 is 13 cm. 
The general geometric shape, the 
juxtaposition of a somewhat conical 
head and neck on a rectangular 
upper body set on a rounded heavy 
lower body can all be compared. 
The volume of the upper arms is 
depicted in a very similar manner on 
all examples.
16
The position of the 
bent arms, with the fingers touching, 
and the way the legs and toes are 
sculpted, all match closely. On the 
Shelby White no. 1 and Naxos pieces, 
the head is separated from the neck, 
which is not the case with the Brussels 
and Shelby White no. 2 examples. The 
buttocks are often more rounded than 
on the Brussels example. The Shelby 
White no. 1 statue also presents a 
decorative pattern on the upper arms, 
which is unique. A few other seated 
female figures are less close in style 
although their general appearance is 
similar, such as a figurine in Oxford, 
said to come from Patissia (Athens), 
as well as the “Fat Lady” from 
Saliagos. The lack of clear dating or 
provenances for these pieces, and 
the long period when they could have 
been made (over 1,000 years), makes 
it difficult to take these comparisons 
much further.
17
The sculptures found in the Cyclades 
were either accidental finds (Naxos) 
or were not found in an informative 
archaeological context (Saliagos).
18
Generally speaking, most figurines 
across the Greek world were found 
in settlements rather than in tombs, 
although there are a few exceptions. 
When accompanying material gives 
some indication as to the use of the 
spaces in which they were found, this 
points towards food conservation 
or processing (cooking) or towards 
wool working (loom weights). As a 
result, these objects may have been 
associated with domestic economy 
but we do not have any real indication 
about how they were regarded or 
used.
19
M.N.
1
Wood was probably also used although 
no sculpture in this material has been 
preserved.
2
See e.g. the examples from Saliagos.
3
See most recently on this important figure 
of the antiques art market, Driessen 2016, 
p. 122.
4
Hogarth 1927, pp. 56–60, pl. VIIa (front)
and IXc (back).
5
Michon 1929, p. 256 and fig. 6 who 
specifies that he includes this piece 
as Segredakis accepted to have it 
photographed. The caption of the 
photograph is as follows: “Idole primitive. 
Appartient à M. Segredakis”.
6
Getz-Gentle 2011, pp. 10–11.
7
Ibid., p. 13.
8
Verhoogen 1930, pp. 23, 24, 26.
9
Oxford, Ashmolean Museum of Art 
and Archaeology, inv. 1895, 166 (AE 148). 
Hogarth 1927 indicates in the caption of 
this piece that it comes from Amorgos. 
Weinberg 1951, p. 122 gave the provenance 
as Patissia (Athens), as is written on the 
object. See also Weinberg 1976, p. 59 and 
Thimme 1976, no. 5, p. 420.
10
Evans and Renfrew 1968, pp. 62–63.
11
For examples, see Marangou 1996b; 
Orphanidi 1996; Papathanassopoulos 
1996b and the section of the catalogue of 
Papathanassopoulos 1996a titled “figurines 
and models”, pp. 293–323. 
12
Weinberg 1976, pp. 59–60; the figurine 
which appears in the same catalogue 
(Thimme 1976) as no. 4 is not in his list. See 
already, for seated figurines, Weinberg 1951, 
pp. 121–133.
13
First mentioned in