[ΚΕΝΟ]



Figurine of Egyptian god Nefertum

Υ598
Faience
Mended from many fragments and restored in places (e.g. right arm and part of crown)
Height: 32 cm.Width: 3.4 cm.Width of base: 4.5 cm.
Knossos
North Cemetery
Early Archaic period:
c. 700 BC:
Gallery:
XVI
Case:
162
Exhibition thematic unit:
Geometric - Archaic - Classical period (10th-4th c. BC). Trade. Cultural influences
Description
This exhibit is one of the largest imported faience figurines found in the Aegean. The quality of the material and the style indicate that it is probably an imitation of Egyptian figurines, made somewhere on the coast of Syro-Palestine. It is very worn and poorly preserved, meaning that many details can no longer be made out. However, the lotus crown and typical Egyptian kilt stand out. Based on the iconography, this is the Egyptian god Nefertum, son of Ptah and Sehkmet, the god of beauty and fragrance, who represents the blue lotus flowers of the Nile. Figurines of Nefertum were thought to bring their owners good fortune. This example was found in the rich burial of a little girl, among a multitude of pottery and objects of gold, silver, bronze, glass, faience, amber and rock crystal.
Bibliography:
Coldstream J.N. - Catling H.W.(eds), Knossos North Cemetery, Early Greek Tombs, Athens, 1996, (vol. Ι) 124, (vol. II), 604-605, fig. 182, pl. 297. Stampolidis N. Chr. - Karetsou A. (eds) Ανατολική Μεσόγειος, Κύπρος-Δωδεκάνησα-Κρήτη, 16ος-6ος αι. π.Χ., Heraklion, 1998, 220. Karetsou A. - Andreaki-Vlazaki M., Crete-Egypt, Three thousand years of cultural links, Herakleion-Cairo, 2001, 355.
Author:
S. P.


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