Forgery and Fabrication: The Quest for Authenticity in Cycladic Harp Figurines

Abstract

This paper reexamines the corpus of Early Cycladic marble “harpist” figurines and argues that their longstanding classification as authentic Bronze Age artifacts is untenable when viewed through archaeological context, stylistic analysis, material studies, and the history of the modern antiquities market. Drawing on excavated comparanda, secure stratigraphic evidence, experimental sculpture studies, and recent work on forgery practices and illicit collecting, the study demonstrates that the harpists’ formal inconsistencies, technological anomalies, and lack of verified provenance place them at odds with securely excavated Early Cycladic sculpture. The paper situates the emergence and circulation of harp figurines within a twentieth century market shaped by clandestine excavation, dealer fabrication, and scholarly facilitation, showing how museums and collectors who acquired unprovenanced objects helped create a modern fiction of Cycladic musical iconography. Ultimately, the study concludes that the harpist figurines are best understood as products of the modern antiquities trade, and that their continued display without critical contextualization obscures archaeological loss, distorts cultural narratives, and raises significant ethical concerns for museums and scholars.