• Clay figure of goddess with upraised arms



Clay figure of goddess with upraised arms
Clay figure of goddess with upraised arms
Clay figure of goddess with upraised arms

Clay figure of goddess with upraised arms

Π3861
Clay
Mended and restored in a few places. Missing the fingers of the right hand.
Height: 21.5 cm.
Knossos
Shrine of the Double Axes
Late Bronze Age. Final Palatial period, Late Minoan ΙΙΙΑ2 period.:
1375-1300 BC:
Gallery:
XI
Case:
115
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Postpalatial period (1300-1100 BC). Settlements. Sanctuaries. Tombs
Communal shrines
Description
Female figurine with arms raised, elbows bent at right angles, in the characteristic gesture of the female figurines known as “goddesses with upraised arms”. The facial features are painted, as is the particularly elaborate garment covering the torso. The figure is wearing many necklaces and bracelets including a threaded sealstone. The bird perched on her head is usually interpreted as a symbol of the goddess or her epiphany. This is the earliest known figurine displaying what was to become the standardised gesture of the goddesses with upraised arms. However, it differs from later figurines in that only the right hand is turned palm outwards towards the viewer, while the left palm is held parallel to the temple. It is dated on the basis of stylistic attributes to the Late Minoan IIIA2 period. The figurine was found in the Shrine of the Double Axes in the southeast quarter of the palace of Knossos, which is dated to Late Minoan IIIA2-B and is considered the precursor of the bench shrines that predominated in Minoan Crete after the end of the palatial period.
Bibliography:
Alexiou, S. "Η Μινωική Θεά μεθ' Υψωμένων Χειρών." Κρητικά Χρονικά ΙΒ' (1958): 179-299, pl. Θ' fig.1. Evans, A.J. The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilization as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. Volume II.1. London, 1928, 335-344, fig. 193a. Rethemiotakis, G. Μινωικά Πήλινα Ειδώλια από την Νεοανακτορική έως την Υπομινωική Περίοδο. Βιβλιοθήκη της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας no. 218. Athens, 2001, 14-15, 70-71, 82, 132-134, fig. 28.
Author:
E. S.


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