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Obsidian core and four blades

ca. 5000–2000 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 151
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
Sculptors in the Cyclades used obsidian blades like these to carve figures and vessels from marble. However, unused obsidian blades and the cores from which they were made were also a regular feature of burial assemblages in the Early Cycladic period (3200–2000 bce). Geochemical analysis of the obsidian used throughout the Cyclades has determined that two sites on the island of Melos were the main sources of the volcanic glass.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Obsidian core and four blades
  • Period: Neolithic–Early Bronze Age
  • Date: ca. 5000–2000 BCE
  • Culture: Cycladic
  • Medium: Obsidian
  • Classification: Miscellaneous-Stone
  • Credit Line: Lent by The American Museum of Natural History
  • Object Number: L.1996.18a–e
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art