Clay model of swinging female figure ("The Swing")



Clay model of swinging female figure ("The Swing")

Π3039, Π3133, Π3134
Clay
Mended and restored on the arms of the figurine, the lower part of the posts (part of the bottom of one post is preserved) and the joining base, and also the birds (the head and one wing of one bird are preserved).
Height: 15.5 cm. Height of female figurine: 6.3 cm.
Hagia Triada
Tomba degli Ori
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan IB period.:
1500 - 1450 BC:
Gallery:
VII
Case:
73
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Minoan religion - Domestic and open-air cult
Domestic shrines. Clay models. Religious images
Description
Figurine of a female figure swinging between two posts crowned with birds. The female figure and the posts were found in different rooms of the Tomba degli Ori, the “Tomb of the Gold Ornaments”. Their restoration together in a single composition was based on the similarity of their fabric and decoration, the existence of holes through which a string could pass, and the fact that the female figure appears to be suspended in mid-air. The hole through the figurine at the height of the pelvis, the backwards-leaning torso and the outstretched legs, toes pointing downwards, all certainly give the impression that the figure is swinging. Iconographic similarities with other Minoan objects led to the recreation of the composition, which was originally identified as a scene from a ceremonial ritual involving a woman on a swing. More recently, it has been argued that it depicts the goddess floating down from the heavens, as the birds on the posts are thought to be symbols of the divine epiphany, the descent of the goddess to the mortal world.
Bibliography:
Cucuzza, N. "Minoan Nativity Scenes? The Ayia Triada Swing Model and the Three-Dimensional Representation of Minoan Divine Epiphany." Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente XCI serie ΙΙΙ,13 (2013): 175-207. Paribeni, R. "Ricerche nel sepolcreto di Haghia Triada presso Phaestos." Monumenti Antichi 14 (1904): 677-756. Rethemiotakis, G. Ανθρωπομορφική Πηλοπλαστική στην Κρήτη από τη Νεοανακτορική έως την Υπομινωική Περίοδο. Βιβλιοθήκη της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας no. 174. Athens, 1998, 32, 148-150.
Author:
E. S.


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