[ΚΕΝΟ]



Dagger with gold-sheathed hilt

Χ-Α1019
Metal (Bronze, Gold)
Intact (conserved)
Length: 22.5 cm.
Malia
Quartier Mu
Middle Bronze Age. Protopalatial period, Middle Minoan IIB period.:
1800 - 1700 BC:
Gallery:
III
Case:
24
Exhibition thematic unit:
Middle Bronze Age - Protopalatial period (1900-1700 BC). The First Palaces. The emergence of palatial societies
Weapons and symbols of authority.
Description
Bronze dagger with elaborate gold decoration revealing the skill and ingenuity of the Minoan artisan. The hilt of the short sword was covered with a lacy openwork gold plate, produced by delicately hammering the metal. It is believed that the circular holes contained multicoloured inlays and that this dagger is the earliest known example of daggers or swords with gold and inlaid decoration, like those found in Mycenaean tombs of the 16th and 15th centuries BC. Traces of gold foil are also preserved running down the centre of the blade, while gold rings adorned the two central rivets of the four securing the hilt. This mode of decoration echoes Egyptian influences. Weapons such as the Malia dagger were not, of course, intended for use; they were symbols of authority for the owners of such luxury objects, while some may also have served a ceremonial purpose.
Bibliography:
Detournay, Β., J.-C. Poursat and F. Vandenabeele (eds). Le Quartier Mu II. ?tudes Cr?toises 26. Paris, 1980, 147-149, fig. 219. Poursat, J.-C. “Malia et l’ ?gypte”. In Α. Karetsou (ed.), Kρήτη-Αίγυπτος. Πολιτισμικοί δεσμοί τριών χιλιετιών. Μελέτες, Athens, 2000, 29-30. Dimopoulou, Ν. "Οι τέχνες". In S. Mandalaki and G. Rethemiotakis, Μινωικός κόσμος. Ταξίδι στις απαρχές της Ευρώπης, Heraklion, 2015, 172-173.
Author:
E. S.


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