• Part of a stone rhyton with relief ritual scene at a peak sanctuary



Part of a stone rhyton with relief ritual scene at a peak sanctuary
Part of a stone rhyton with relief ritual scene at a peak sanctuary

Part of a stone rhyton with relief ritual scene at a peak sanctuary

Λ2397
Stone (Serpentinite)
Mended from two pieces.
Maximum height: 6 cm. Maximum width: 7 cm. Thickness: 0.6-0.8 cm.
Knossos
Gypsades
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Middle Minoan ΙΙΙΒ - Late Minoan ΙI period.:
1650 - 1500 BC:
Gallery:
VIII
Case:
77
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Minoan religion. Palace cult
Cult scenes
Description
Part of a stone conical rhyton with a ritual scene in relief. A bent male figure appears to be placing an object (probably food, perhaps a type of bread) into a shallow basket. The scene takes place in a rocky, mountainous landscape. Behind the figure is a tripartite building decorated with horns of consecration. The scene is interpreted as offerings being made to the deity at a peak sanctuary and may have formed part of a larger composition. The masterly rendition of the human body in motion is yet another exceptional example of the naturalism of Cretan Neopalatial art. It is interesting to note that the rhyton is joined from two pieces which were handed in to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum by different people, many years apart. The first fragment was purchased by General Ringel from a local farmer shortly before the German occupation of Crete; he was persuaded to donate it to the Museum by the Ephor of Antiquities Vassilios Theophanides in 1941. The second fragment was found and handed in by Vassilios Stratakis, an inhabitant of Knossos, in 1960.
Bibliography:
Alexiou, S. "Νέα Παράστασις Λατρείας επί Μινωικού Ανάγλυφου Αγγείου." Κρητικά Χρονικά ΙΓ' (1959): 346-352, pls ΛΔ', ΛΕ'. Platon, Ν. "Το Ιερόν Μαζά (Καλού Χωριού Πεδιάδος) και τα Μινωικά Ιερά Κορυφής." Κρητικά Χρονικά Ε' (1951): 96-160, fig. 5. Warren, P. Minoan Stone Vases. Cambridge, 1969, 85, 174-180, pl. P476.
Author:
E. S.


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