Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 104. (Budapest, 2006)
JUDIT LEBEGYEV - ANDRÁS MÁRTON: Early Cycladic Objects in the Collection of Classical Antiquities
Budapest have such eyes. 43 On the right side of the face of the Early Spedos figure, two eyes are visible over each other. In line with the lower eye, there must have been another eye on the left side of the face. On the basis of analogies, it could have had four painted eyes, which is a mysterious, but not unparalleled phenomenon in Cycladic figurai art. 44 The second pair of eyes may equally appear either below, 45 or (more often) above the eyes that are represented in the normal anatomical position. 46 The question is whether the eyes above each other could be seen on the figures at the same time, or if after the old paint had worn away, the second set of eyes were painted a little further, respecting the space of the old ones. On the pieces in Budapest, the contours of the eyes meet but do not intersect each other, which may suggest that the two pairs of eyes were visible at the same time. Because the eyes are worn to different extent, it is also possible that the upper, more w r orn eyes are the remains of an earlier painting phase. If the eyes were visible at once, they may have endowed the figures with more eye power, the ability of all-seeing and all-knowing. 47 The wavy lines painted on both sides of the nose on the face of the Spedos figure have no known parallels on Cycladic figures. 48 Painting or carving the mouth is rare on Cycladic figures. 49 Because the surface of the Spedos figure is covered with a thick layer of patina, it is not certain that the dark curved lines under the nose really represent a mouth. The discolouration may have been caused by the stain of the marble. Yet the shape of the pattern, the regularity and position of the lines rather suggest paint. The meaning of the diagonal red lines painted on the lace of the Dokathismata figure is debated. G. Hoffman explained the red streaks preserved on some figures as the bleeding scratches on the cheeks of mourners, but his theory does not give an explanation to the similar red stripes painted on other parts of the body (e.g., Athens, N. P. Goulandris FoundationMuseum of Cycladic Art, inv. no. 280); others are in favour of interpreting them as body painting or tattooing.' 0 The paint of the pieces can, therefore, be reconstructed as follows: it is possible that on the large Spedos figure, three or even four, probably blue painted eyes were presumably visible at the same time (fig. 25). The lines below the eyes on the right side painted in an earlier period may also have been blue. The diadem and the hair on the back and on the sides of the head were also painted with a pigment (blue?) that required some relatively strong binder. The protruding wavy lines next to the nose may have again been painted blue. The dark lines that merge into the surface, and which can perhaps be interpreted as a mouth, may have originally been red. The eyes and the forehead on the Ashmolean Master's piece were painted with a pigment that requires strong binder, i.e., blue, or possibly green. The stripes on the face were painted
