• Plaque with relief human head



Plaque with relief human head
Plaque with relief human head

Plaque with relief human head

Π10872
Clay
Mended and restored.
Height: 39 cm. Width: 22 cm.
Karphi
Settlement
Late Bronze Age. Postpalatial period, Late Minoan IIIC period.:
1200 - 1070 BC:
Gallery:
XI
Case:
117
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Postpalatial period (1300-1100 BC). Settlements. Sanctuaries. Tombs
Communal shrines
Description
Clay plaque with relief human head on one narrow side. The facial features are rendered in high relief, except for the incised mouth. The plaque has two holes through the shoulders, by which it could be suspended on a string. It was found in the communal shrine of Karphi, where figurines of “goddesses with upraised arms” were also discovered. Fragments of plaques, figurines of the "goddess with upraised arms" and other objects were also found in other areas of the settlement, where there may have been further shrines. Clay plaques with relief, appliqu? or painted decoration have come to light at many communal shrines of the Late Minoan III period. Several preserve holes by which they were suspended on the walls or from the roof of the shrine, as votive offerings to the goddess. These plaques, together with the snake tubes and kalathoi in which offerings to the gods were placed, form the basic equipment of communal shrines with figurines of the "goddess with upraised arms".
Bibliography:
Gesell, G.C. "The Function of the Plaque in the Shrine of the Goddess witn Up-Raised Hands." In R. Laffineur and R. H?gg (eds), Potnia. Deities and Religion in the Aegean Bronze Age, Aegaeum 22. Li?ge and Austin, 2001, 263-268. Pendlebury, H. W., Pendlebury, J. D. S., Money-Coutts, M. B. "Excavations in the Plain of Lasithi. III. Karphi. A City of Refuge in the Early Iron Age in Crete." Annual of the British School at Athens 38 (1937-1938): 57-145. Preston Day, L. "Ritual Activity at Karphi: A Reappraisal." In A.-L. D'Agata and A. Van De Moortel (eds), Archaeologies of Cult: Essays in Honor of Geraldine C. Gesell (Hesperia Supplement 42). Princeton, 2009, 137-151.
Author:
E. S.


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