[ΚΕΝΟ]



Silver dagger

Χ-Α2247
Metal (Silver, Bronze)
The ends of the tang are missing.
Length: 19.8 cm. Width: 4.5 cm. Thickness: 0.8 cm.
Tekes, Heraklion
Nisiotis field
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period, Early Minoan ΙIA period.:
2700 - 2400 BC:
Gallery:
I
Case:
10
Exhibition thematic unit:
Early Bronze Age - Prepalatial period (3000 - 1900 BC). Settlements and cemeteries - the rise of ruling groups
Metalworking. Cutting-edge technology and status objects
Description
Blade of a long silver dagger with three central ribs and four holes for securing the hilt. This is a unique type of dagger, although silver daggers have been discovered at various Minoan sites. It was originally thought to be bronze, but during conservation work it was found to consist of silver and bronze alloy. It was handed in together with seven Cycladic figurines and another silver dagger as a chance find. The provenance of this group of objects is uncertain as they do not come from an excavation. However, it is very likely that they are from a rich tomb in the Tekes area. There are several Early Minoan sites in the wider area of Knossos with similar finds imported from the Cyclades or inspired by the Cycladic style, usually found in tombs.
Bibliography:
Branigan, K. Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Age. Oxford, 1974, 161. Marinatos, S. "Funde und Forschungen auf Kreta." Arch?ologischer Anzeiger 48 (1933): 287-314. Sotirakopoulou, P. and G. Gavalas. "Κυκλαδικά και Κυκλαδικού Τύπου Ειδώλια - Οι συμβολισμοί της ανθρώπινης μορφής από τον Τεκέ Ηρακλείου: Ερωτήματα Προέλευσης, Αυθεντικότητας και Ερμηνείας." In Ν. Chr. Stampolidis and P. Sotirakopoulou (eds), Κυκλαδικά στην Κρήτη. Κυκλαδικά και Κυκλαδίζοντα Ειδώλια - Οι συμβολισμοί της ανθρώπινης μορφής μέσα στην ανασκαφική τους συνάφεια, Πρακτικά Διεθνούς Συνεδρίου, Μουσείο Κυκλαδικής Τέχνης, Athens, 1-2 Οκτωβρίου 2015, Athens, 2017, 133-160. Wilson, D. "Early Prepalatial Crete." In C. Shelmerdine (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge-New York, 2008, 90.
Author:
E. S.


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