Greece: Cycladic Islands (Room 11)

3200 - 1500 BC

During the early part of the Greek Bronze Age, the people of the Aegean islands known as the Cyclades began to produce items made from copper, silver, lead and the fine white marble of the area. They depended on farming and fishing, but increasingly travelled by boat between the islands and further afield.

Objects on display in Room 11 include marble vessels and the well-known Cycladic stylised figurines. Later decorative fragments from a tomb at Mycenae known as the Treasury of Atreus are located outside the gallery.

Image captions (clockwise from top left):

Stone vase, known as a kandila 3200-2800 BC

Pottery jug with high spout 1800-1550 BC

Marble figurine of a woman 2600-2400 BC

'Violin' figurine 2800 BC