From the end of the fourth millennium BCE stoneworkers in the Cyclades produced a large number of fine marble objects: vessels in various forms, as well as anthropomorphic figurines, and other objects. One of the simplest and most widely reproduced forms was the marble bowl. The example we have here is a tall bowl set on a foot, with four lugs all set on a single side. The effect is more like a large cup than a bowl, and indeed this vessel might sometimes be called a ‘kylix’ (footed cup).

The base of the foot is quite narrow in comparison to the diameter of the bowl, and overall the object is slightly taller than it is wide, making it seem slightly unstable. The lugs are of some interest. Each is pierced by a hole, and the normal interpretation is that they were used either for suspension or for fastening a lid down, but in this case neither interpretation is appropriate. By putting them all together on one side, their practical function is downplayed. This arrangement was not at all common (other examples are not known).

Michael Boyd, April 2022