Handmade carved seated figurine The thinker.

The collection of Cycladic antiquities is one of the most important in the world.Cycladic civilization flourished on the islands of the central Aegean during the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC).

The most characteristic creation of this culture is the marble sculpture and it is not surprising that the abstract forms of the figurines influenced artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, such as Brancusi, Modigliani, Giacometti, Hepworth, Moore and Ai Weiwei.

In addition to the numerous female figurines, Cycladic sculptors also produced a series of elegant compositions of "special form".

Among them are standing and seated males engaged in an activity (musicians, flute-players and lyre-players), seated females and groups of two or three figures.

Most of these works date from the early phase of the Early Cycladic II period. Although the gender is not indicated, it is considered to represent a male figure because it is shown "in action".

The figure sits on an integral marble stool Specific morphological elements, such as the plasticity of the volumes and the parted legs, place the figurine among the early works of the "Spedos variety".

Works such as this depart from the immobility of the "canonical" female figurines and succeed in conveying movement, thus conquering, as it were, three-dimensional space, as well as a sense of time.

The use of most "special" figurines remains enigmatic, but the fact that certain types are reproduced suggests that they had a specific function, possibly as votive offerings or ritual objects.