Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Clay objects : Clay female figurine with bell-shaped skirt and tall hat [Π3431]

Clay female figurine with bell-shaped skirt and tall hat

Π3431

Clay

Restored on the arms, breast, collar and part of the neck.

Height: 14.5 cm.

Petsophas

Open-air sanctuary

Middle Bronze Age. Protopalatial period, Middle Minoan Ι - II period.:

1900 - 1700 BC:

Gallery:

Case:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Middle Bronze Age - Late Prepalatial-Protopalatial period (2200-1700 BC). From small communities to towns

Peak sanctuaries

Description

Standing female figurine, a typical votive offering at the “peak sanctuaries”, meaning sanctuaries founded on hills and mountains that were active during the Protopalatial and Neopalatial periods. The female figure is strikingly dressed in a tight bodice, a belt, a long, wide skirt and a tall hat. The figurine is painted black, while details of the clothing and the hat are picked out in white and red paint. The bell-shaped skirt, which is hollow inside, also forms the base of the figurine. At the sanctuary of Petsophas in East Crete, figurines of men, women, farm animals like sheep and oxen, and other creatures such as weasels and birds, were placed in cracks in the rocks of the hill, as offerings by Minoans seeking the help and protection of the gods for themselves and their animals. There were also models of human arms and legs, some of them clearly diseased, presumably offerings made by sick people in search of healing and relief.

Bibliography:

Myres, J. L., "Excavations at Palaikastro II. The sanctuary-site of Petsofa." Annual of the British School at Athens 9 (1902/3): 356-387. Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki, Ν. Το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου. Athens, 2005, 93. Rutkowski, Β. Petsophas. A Cretan Peak Sanctuary. Warsaw, 1991, 81.

Author:

E. S.

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