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Museum of Cycladic Art

Founded in 1986 by the N. P. Goulandris Foundation, the museum holds one of the largest collections of Cycladic and Cypriot art in the world. It displays around 3,000 pieces from the civilisations of the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, from the 4th millennium BC to roughly the 6th century AD, spread over four floors of the main building, which dates from 1985. Next to it stands the Stathatos Mansion, a neoclassical building by the German-born architect Ernst Ziller, dating from 1895, which is part of the museum. The Cycladic idols are famous: naked female figures with arms folded across the abdomen, knees slightly bent and head tilted back. The museum exhibits a monumental statue of the Spedos variety, from Early Cycladic II (around 2700-2300 BC), 1.40 metres tall, the second-largest complete Cycladic figure known. It is in Kolonaki, next to the Benaki Museum.

Things to do at Museum of Cycladic Art: 4 missions

• Find the monumental Spedos-type statueLook for the 1.40 m female figure of the Spedos variety from Early Cycladic II, and compare its size with that of other idols in the display cases.
• Photograph Ziller's neoclassical mansionFind the Stathatos Mansion, from 1895, the work of Ernst Ziller, and photograph it from outside.
• Recognise the classic pose of the idolsPick a Cycladic idol and notice the arms folded over the abdomen, the bent knees and the head tilted back.
• Go up to the floor of Cypriot or ancient Greek artWork your way through the floors until you see pieces of ancient Greek or Cypriot art, which complement the Cycladic collection, and note down a piece that is not an idol.

Near Museum of Cycladic Art

Source: Web oficial - Museo de Arte Cicládico