Collared Jar (Kandila)

Place of OriginGreece, from the Cycladic Islands

Dateearly Cycladic I, 3200-2800 BCE

Dimensions12 1/8 × 13 1/4 × 13 1/4 in. (30.8 × 33.7 × 33.7 cm)

MediumMarble

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. James L. Apostolakis; George P. Ballas Foundation; Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas C. Bekos; Mr. and Mrs. William V. Coulacos; Mr. and Mrs. George Dimit; Mr. and Mrs. Andreas Dionyssiou; Dr. and Mrs. S.J. Kakissis; Dennis R. Kapp; Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Lung; Mr. and Mrs. William H. Price II; Dr. and Mrs. Don E. Stathulis; Mr. and Mrs. Michael Vassiliou; Chris J. and Persilla Zervos; The Latin Students of Donnell Jr. High School, Findlay; funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey; and the Museum Art Fund.

Object number

1987.67

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

Label TextAt first glance this jar may look rather plain, but can you detect the hints of a human face? If you look closely, the body of the jar begins to resemble a rounded head with a neck below and some type of hat or headdress resting on top. The handles on the sides then become eyes, ears, or noses depending on your point of view, allowing the jar to echo the human figure. The sculptor formed this work from a large block of marble—a stone extremely common on the Cycladic Islands—utilizing only bone, wood, and stone tools. A piece of emery, a type of hard crystal, was then used to polish the surface to a smooth finish.Published ReferencesGetz-Gentle, Pat, Stone vessels of the Cyclades in the early Bronze Age, University Park, PA, 1996, p. 30, 250, pl. 18d, fig. 3e, p. 9, fig. 41h, p. 76, fig. 90c, p. 158.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Inspired Giving: The Apollo Society 25th Anniversary Exhibition, October 15, 2010-February 13, 2011 (not in catalog).Comparative ReferencesSee also Thimme, J. (ed.), Art and Culture of the Cyclades, Chicago, 1977, nos. 263, 268, 269.

cf. Archäologischer Anzeiger, 1978, p. 8, fig. 10.

cf. Sotheby's London, Dec. 10-11, 1984, lot. no. 287.

cf. Buchholz, H.G. and V. Karageorghis, Prhistoric Greece and Cyprus, New York, 1973, no. 1137.