Aegean Art

Cycladic Civilization

Cycladian female idol, Amorgos, 2700-2300 B.C., Marble, 4 ft. 10 ½ in.

Cycladic male flute player, Keros, 2700 – 2300 B.C., Marble

Head with remains of painted decoration, c Head with remains of painted decoration, c. 2500-2000 BCE, marble and red pigment, 10 in.

Minoan Civilization

Plan of Palace of Minos, Knossos, Crete, 1600 – 1400 B. C. , Approx Plan of Palace of Minos, Knossos, Crete, 1600 – 1400 B.C., Approx. 4 acres, Labrynth, a complex maze-like structure, assymetrical, meandering arrangement of rooms, corridors and staircases

Detail of the palace showing wooden columns and limestone “horns of consecration” near the south entrance, palace of Minos, Knossos,Crete

Partly restored west portico of the north entrance passage with a reconstructed relief fresco of a charging bull, palace of Minos, Knossos, Crete

Toreador Fresco, reconstructed fresco from Knossos Crete, c. 1500 B. C Toreador Fresco, reconstructed fresco from Knossos Crete, c. 1500 B.C., 32 in. high, wall painting was discovered in fragments and pieced back together, darker areas are original mural, the abundance of bull imagery at Knossos was almost certainly related to the myth of the Minotaur and to the worship of the bull in Minoan religion.

The queen’s megaron, palace of Minos, Knossos, Crete, c. 1600 – 1400 B The queen’s megaron, palace of Minos, Knossos, Crete, c. 1600 – 1400 B.C.

View of the “throne room”, palace of Minos, Knossos, Crete, heavily restored fresco depicting griffins

Reconstruction of the “Palace” complex, Knossos, Crete New Palace Period 1700-1450 BCE final destruction 1375 BCE

Shrine of the Double Axes

The southern part of the East Wing is an area of small rooms and corridors that appears to have been religious in character. There are storerooms and magazines, lustral basins and light-wells. Fragments of painted plaster and pieces of stucco relief suggest that there was an important hall or set of rooms upstairs but the only actual cult room that Evans found is the Shrine of the Double Axes. The room is tiny, barely a metre-and-a-half square, with a plastered clay bench at the back. It was installed, according to Evans, by squatters who reoccupied the site of the palace shortly after its final destruction.

On the bench was a pair of sacred horns with sockets to hold small bronze double-axes. Around them were a number of terracotta figurines—a goddess with upraised arms, a pair of priestesses cupping their breasts and a pair of male votaries. In front of the bench was a raised area, paved with water-worn pebbles, a tripod altar and a collection of vessels.

Figurine from the Shrine of the Double Axes; goddess with upraised arms; terracotta

Snake goddess, Knossos, Crete, c. 1600 B. C. , Faience; 13 ½ in Snake goddess, Knossos, Crete, c. 1600 B.C., Faience; 13 ½ in. high, Frontal figure has a thin round waist and wears a conical flounced skirt. Her breasts are exposed, and a cat perches on top of her headdress. Faience is a technique for glazing earthenware and other ceramic vessels by using a glass paste, which, after firing, produces bright colors and a lustrous sheen.

Harvester vase, Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1650 – 1450 B. C Harvester vase, Hagia Triada, Crete, c. 1650 – 1450 B.C., serpentine rhyton ex. of sistrum: rattle ex. of rhyton

Bull’s Head Rhyton; Knossos, Crete 1550-1450 BCE, steatite with shell, rock crystal and red jasper; gilt horns are restorations, 12 in high Libations would be poured into the neck of the bull and then would flow out of the mouth.

Pendant with Gold Bees, 1700-1550 BCE Mallia, Crete; Bronze Age artisans show excellence in metalworking in this piece. Filigree - line work with gold rods; Granules - honey comb in center, balls of gold fused to a base layer; Spider-like legs capture the “sun” at the top center

Spouted jar, Crete, c. 1800 B.C. Kamares ware, from Kamares Cave, suggests floral design, motion, pattern organic, balanced Kamares ware jug, Phaistos, Crete; c. 2000-1900 BCE, ceramic, 10 5/8 in.

Marine Ware Octopus vase, from Palaikastro, Crete, c. 1500 B.C. 11 in. high Swirling arms, stylized suction cups, large oval eyes echo handles

Santorini Island, Crete aka. “Thera” or “Thira”

“Flotilla Fresco”Ship Fresco (left section), Akrotiri, Thera, c “Flotilla Fresco”Ship Fresco (left section), Akrotiri, Thera, c. 1650 – 1500 B.C. 15 ¾ in. high

“Flotilla Fresco”Ship Fresco, (detail), shows the cracks where the fresco has been pieced together, thousands of fragments have been dusted, saturated with acetone to remove moisture, sent to a conservation laboratory, photographed, glued to matching fragments and then reassembled on the wall in an aluminum frame.

Diagram of the ceremonial hall where fresco is housed

“Spring Fresco”- Akroteri, Thera, Cyclades; before 1630 BCE

Boxing children, Akrotiri, Thera, c. 1650 – 1500 B. C. , 9 ft. x 3ft Boxing children, Akrotiri, Thera, c. 1650 – 1500 B.C., 9 ft. x 3ft. 1 in.

Crocus Gatherers, Thera, pre-1500 B. C. , fresco, 35 x 32 in Crocus Gatherers, Thera, pre-1500 B.C., fresco, 35 x 32 in., saffron is harvested from the stigma of the crocus flower, used for yellow fabric dye, medicinal purposes including mentral cramps; room thought to have been used for coming of age ceremonies

Mycenaean Civilization

House of Columns megaron Great Ramp postern gate “Palace” entrance Warrior Vase House Grave Circle A Lion Gate

Reconstruction drawing of the megaron at Mycenae showing the front porch with two columns and the interior hearth enclosed by four columns

“Goddess” from the citadel of Mycenae, c. 1200 B.C., fresco

Lion Gate, Mycenae, thirteenth century B. C. Limestone, approx. 9ft Lion Gate, Mycenae, thirteenth century B.C. Limestone, approx. 9ft. 6 in. high corbelled stone with a relieving triangle, post and lintel construction, relief carving of the lions (guardians), paws rested on a Minoan taper column (which is a symbol of the Nature Goddess) thus again signifying the “Master/Mistress of the Beasts”

Façade and dromos (roadway) of the tholos (round building) also know as the Treasury of Atreus or the tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae, 13th century B.C. , enormous lintel weighing over 100 tons shown with a relieving triangle

Vault, interior of the Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, 13th century B. C Vault, interior of the Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, 13th century B.C., stone, approx. 43 ft. high, diameter 47 ft. 6 in., beehive, corbelled construction

Reconstructed drawing of how it would look in the 13th century B.C. Aerial view of grave circle A and its surroundings, steles were used to mark graves, decoration was not customary

Warrior Krater; Mycenae, Greece; 1300-1100 BCE; ceramic, 16”

Golden Lion’s Head Rhyton From shaft grave iv, Grave Circle A, Mycenae 16th cent BCE

Dagger Blade with Lion Hunt, Shaft Grave iv, Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece c. 1550-1500 BCE Bronze inlaid with gold silver and niello, length 9 3/8”

Minoan and Mycenaean cups from Vapheio, near Sparta, c. 16th century B Minoan and Mycenaean cups from Vapheio, near Sparta, c. 16th century B.C. Gold, 3 ½ in. high, found in shaft graves

Vapheio cup, close up, Minoan or Mycenaean? How can you tell?

Mycenaean inspired Vapheio Cup

Death “Mask of Agamemnon”, Mycenae, c. 1500 B. C. , beaten gold, 12 in Death “Mask of Agamemnon”, Mycenae, c. 1500 B.C., beaten gold, 12 in. high, intended to guarantee a dead person’s identity in the after life, bodies were wrapped in shrouds and the mask would have been sewn on top with gold thread.