Sculpting
From archaeological excavations in Naxos, the oldest finds date back to the Neolithic period around the 5th millennium BC. Protocycladic figurines were carved in Naxian marble, as were solid vessels and utensils of exceptional artfulness.
Works from that period are on display at the Naxos Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, and, in a small amount, at the archaeological museum in Apeiranthos.
In the archaic period , Naxos emerges as on of the most famed and flourishing Aegean centres. The Naxos Kouroi are the oldest ones to have been found in the Greek territory.
The renown of the Naxian marble is not limited in the region, but, as it is evident from archaeological finds, had spread around the whole area of Greece. Some of the characteristic examples are the Naxians’ Spinx in Delphoi (around 570 BC), the Naxos House in Delos and the two of the earliest Κores of the Acropolis (around 550 BC) that have been made of Naxian marble. Another Naxian votive offering in Delos were 16 lions in array according to the Egyptian standards (around 600 BC).
Art works from Naxian marble have travelled throughout the world and many of them are kept in museums in Athens, Delphoi, Berlin, Copenhagen and New York. To this day artists continue to work with Naxian marble.
The people of “KARPONTINI BROS - NAXIAN MARBLES UNL” have shown especial sensitivity and have fostered by all available means the artistic creation based on Naxian Marble.
Our company constantly encourages artists, wishing to create a work of art based on Naxian Marble, by providing them with the material under preferential conditions. For more information do not hesitate to contact us.
