Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Sculptures : Lintel of Prinias Temple A [Γ231]

Lintel of Prinias Temple A

Γ231

Stone (Poros stone)

Much restored

Height: 120 cm.Length: 227 cm.

Prinias

Prinias Temple A

Early Archaic period:

650-600 BC:

Gallery:

XXVI

Exhibition thematic unit:

Sculpture. Archaic period (7th-6th c. BC). Classical period (5th-4th c. BC)

Description

This architectural sculpture was probably the lintel of the main entrance to Temple A at Prinias. At the top, where the skylight was, are two identical enthroned goddesses, seated facing each other with their hands on their knees. They are each wearing a long belted peplos, with a fine mantle around the shoulders. The lower part of the garment is richly decorated with incised animals and geometric motifs. The goddesses are also wearing polos headdresses, a sign of their divinity. The enthroned goddess is a type often found in ancient Greek art; this sculpture is the earliest known example of the type. Under the goddesses, the epistyle of the doorway is decorated with six panthers in relief. On entering the temple, one would see the lower part of the epistyle, where the two goddesses appear again, this time standing. The faces of the figures on the lintel are triangular, with eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes rendered in high relief, all typical features of the Orientalising style of the period. In spite of their partial state of preservation, which allows different proposed reconstructions, the sculptures of the temple of Prinias are a unique source of information on the art and architecture of this era in Crete.

Bibliography:

Pernier L., “Templi arcaici sulla Patèla di Priniàs in Creta. Contributo allo studio dell'arte dedalica.”, in Annuario della scuola archeologica di Atene 1 (1914), 18-111. Adams L., Orientalizing Sculpture in Soft Limestone, Oxford, 1978, 65-78, pls 17-18a. Blome P., Die figürliche Bildwelt Kretas in der geometrischen und früharchaischen Periode, Mainz, 1982, 47-48, fig. 9. Rizza G.-Rizzo M. A., “Prinias”, in Ancient Crete, A Hundred Years of Italian Archaeology (1884-1984), Rome, 1984, 147-148, figs 251-252.

Author:

S. P.

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