LATE SPEDOS VARIETY, EARLY CYCLADIC II, CIRCA 2500-2400 B.C.

Once part of a large folded-arms female figure, this head features a well-centered long, triangular nose below an arching crown, and a curving chin. The angle of the surviving portion of the neck indicates that the head was tilted back slightly. Notable here is the presence of both original preserved pigment and “paint ghosts,” indicating where the now-missing pigment was once applied to the surface. In a dated 21 October 2012 report on this head, the renowned Cycladic art scholar P. Getz-Gentle observed that faint traces of pink to red are visible on the right cheek and nose, and there also may be rows of dots at the top of the forehead on the right and over the edge onto the ridge on the back. In addition, on the ridge are some black flecks that Getz-Gentle suggested may be the remnants of degraded cinnabar or azurite. The visible “paint ghosts” include subtle eyes and a band across the forehead with a sideburn on the right with descending curls.