Vaulted Tombs of Mesara ➔ Clay agrimi figurine
Π5114
Clay
Mended and restored.
Height: 19.5 cm. Length: 11 cm.
Porti
Tholos Tomb Π
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period, Early Minoan ΙΙ-Middle Minoan IA period.:
2700 - 1900 BC:
Gallery:
ICase:
7Exhibition thematic unit:
Early Bronze Age - Prepalatial period (3000 - 1900 BC). Settlements and cemeteries - the rise of ruling groupsFor the dead. From personal event to communal practices
Description
Clay figurine of an agrimi (wild goat) found south of Tomb Π in Porti in the Mesara, near a pile of stones covering the remains of tombs. Despite its naturalism, the figurine depicts the Cretan agrimi in an abstract style. It is made of brownish-yellow clay and is solid, consisting of cylindrical forms that would have been joined in stages. The volume of the horns is stressed by the deep grooves in the sides. The figurine also preserves traces of decorative bands of dark paint that highlighted its characteristics. In contrast to other, later static animal figurines from Protopalatial Minoan peak sanctuaries, this early example depicts a momentary movement of the animal as it twists its neck, turning its head sideways. Zoomorphic vessels, usually bull-shaped, and clay animal figurines from Prepalatial tombs have been interpreted as substitutes for real animal sacrifices, but they may also be connected with fertility rites in the context of honouring the ancestors.Bibliography:
Xanthoudides, S. The Vaulted Tombs of Mesara: An Account of Some Early Cemeteries of Southern Crete. London, 1924, 63-63, pl. VII, XXXVII. Miller, E.B. Zoomorphic vases in the Bronze Age Aegean. PhD thesis, New York University, 1984, pl. 47. Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki, Ν. Το Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου. Athens, 2005, 32-33.Author:
G. F.Photographs' metadata