Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Bronze objects : Bronze worshipper figurine [Χ1762]

Bronze worshipper figurine

Χ1762

Metal (Bronze)

Intact

Height: 25 cm. (with base)

Tylissos

House Α

Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan I period.:

1600 - 1450 BC:

Gallery:

VII

Case:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Minoan religion - Domestic and open-air cult

Description

A portly middle-aged man performing a "Minoan salute", the usual posture of most bronze figurines of the Neopalatial period. The upper body is arched backwards, right hand raised to the forehead in what is believed to be a gesture of prayer or invocation of the deity. The figurine was found in Room 3 of House A in Tylissos, a metre above the floor of the room, leading the excavator to suppose that it had fallen from the upper floor. Most bronze human figurines have been found in sacred caves, and fewer at peak sanctuaries and settlements of the Neopalatial period. They are interpreted as votive offerings representing worshippers. Besides their cult use, it is thought that bronze figurines also indicated the high social status of the dedicator, who would have had access to bronze objects.

Bibliography:

Hazzidakis, Ι. "Μινωική Τύλισσος". Αρχαιολογική Εφημερίς (1912): 222-223, pl. 17. Hazzidakis, J. Les Villas Minoennes de Tylissos. ?tudes Cr?toises III. Paris, 1934, 15. Verlinden, C. Les Statuettes Anthropomorphes Cr?toises en Bronze et en Plomb du IIIe Mill?nnaire au VIIe Si?cle av. J.-C. Archaeologica Transatlantica 4. Providence et Louvain-La-Neuve, 1984, 189.

Author:

E. S.

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