"Acrobat Sword"
Χ2285
Metal (Bronze, Gold)
Intact, heavily corroded and cracked.
ΝΑ ΣΥΜΠΛΗΡΩΘΟΥΝ ΑΠΌ ΤΑ ΔΕΛΤΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΣΥΝΤΗΡΗΤΩΝ
Malia
Palace
Late Bronze Age. Protopalatial period, Middle Minoan II period.:
1800 - 1700 BC:
Gallery:
VICase:
61Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Private and public life. Bread and circusesAthletes and acrobats
Description
Bronze sword preserving the decorated gold sheathing that covered part of the hilt, and the gilded rivets that secured it. It is conventionally known as the “Acrobat Sword” because the gold covering of the hilt bears a repouss? athlete performing a full backward somersault. The figure of the athlete is perfectly fitted to the circular sheathing. It has been suggested that the positioning of the scene here is no coincidence, but indicated an actual event in which the athlete performed the somersault over a sword set upright, at the risk of his life. The naturalistic depiction of the male figure (with strikingly detailed curly hair, leg muscles, ribs and ornate loincloth) originally surprised many scholars, who dated the sword to the Neopalatial period, overlooking the excavator’s testimony dating it to the Protopalatial period. More recent studies have shown that the Acrobat Sword was indeed found in a large chamber of the palace of Malia dated to Middle Minoan II, as the excavator had said.Bibliography:
Chapoutier, F. Deux ?p?es d' Apparat. D?couvertes en 1936 au Palais de Mallia. ?tudes Cr?toises Tome V. Paris, 1938. Pelon, O. "L' ?pee ? l' Acrobate et la Chronologie Maliote." Bulletin de Correspondance Hell?nique 106 (1982): 165-190.Author:
E. S.Photographs' metadata