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The
Museum
of
Cycladic
Art
was
founded
in
1986.
The
museum
is
one
of
the
most
modern
and
important
museums
of
prehistoric
and
ancient
Greek
art.
Cyclades
have
been
inhabited
since
5000
BC.
to
this
day
almost
without
interruption.
The
Cyclades
are
a
group
of
small
islands
in
the
central-southern
Aegean
Sea
that
form
a
virtual
land
bridge
between
mainland
Greece
and
Asia
Minor.
The
largest
island
is
Naxos,
with
an
area
of
428
square
kilometers.
Cycladic
civilization
flourished
on
the
islands
of
the
central
Aegean
Sea
during
the
Early
Bronze
Age
(3rd
millennium
BC).
The
museum
maintains
one
of
the
largest
and
most
complete
collections
of
Cycladic
antiques
in
the
world,
with
representative
samples
of
marble
figurines
and
vases,
bronze
weapons,
tools
and
pottery
from
all
phases
of
the
early
Cycladic
period.
The
name
Cyclades
is
used
by
Herodotus,
Thucydides
and
several
other
ancient
authors.
According
to
Strabo,
the
Cyclades
include
Keos,
Kinos,
Serifos,
Melos,
Sifnos,
Kimolos,
Paros,
Naxos,
Syros,
Mykonos,
Tenos
and
Andros,
which
form
a
circle
around
the
sacred
island
of
Delos.
Terra,
Jos,
Sikinos,
Flegandros,
Amogos,
Anafi
and
some
other
small
islands
are
included
in
the
Southern
Sporades.
The
earliest
recorded
use
of
the
term
"Cyclades"
dates
from
the
5th
century
BC.
It
is
not
known
whether
in
the
3rd
millennium
BC.
the
inhabitants
of
the
Cyclades
use
the
same
or
similar
names
for
their
islands.
The
"Cycladic
Antiques"
collection
is
located
on
the
first
floor
of
the
building
of
the
permanent
collections.
It
includes
a
large
number
of
high-quality
marble
figurines
and
vases,
ceramic
objects
for
everyday
and
ritual
use,
most
of
which
date
from
the
3rd
millennium
BC.
Also
includes:
metal
objects,
bronze
tools
and
weapons,
lead
figurines
and
small
silver
vessels.
Admiration
for
Cycladic
figurines
and
vessels
stems
from
their
abstract
simplicity,
which
is
enhanced
by
the
almost
transparent
quality
of
white
marble.
Marble
figurines
are
the
most
impressive
creations
of
Cycladic
art.
They
are
usually
naked
female
figures
with
arms
folded
over
the
abdomen,
knees
slightly
bent
and
the
head
barely
tilted
back.
This
type
is
called
"canonical"
by
experts,
sculpted
in
the
early
Cycladic
period
II
(2800-2300
BC),
when
Cycladic
art
was
at
its
zenith.
The
"canonical"
figurines
vary
in
size,
but
most
of
them
are
about
40
cm.
The
meaning
and
function
of
the
Cycladic
figurines
is
a
kind
of
mystery.
In
the
absence
of
written
records,
any
interpretation
should
be
based
exclusively
on
archaeological
finds
and
reasonable
assumptions.
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