Head of human figurine
Π803
Clay
Good
Height: 25 cm.
Kalo Chorio
Mazas Hill
Subminoan-Protogeometric period:
1050 - 900 BC:
Gallery:
XICase:
125Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Postpalatial period (1300-1100 BC). Settlements. Sanctuaries. TombsCommunal shrines
Description
Clay head of a large human figurine, hollow inside, with highly stressed facial features. It has a distinctly protruding triangular face with curved cheeks. The nose is triangular and pointed, while the eyes are represented by hemispherical buttons in the cavity under the prominent brows. The ears are large, disc-shaped protrusions with a hole in each. The surface of the skull is relatively flat, with a central hole, which does not exclude the possibility that the head may have been crowned with a separate headdress (such as a conical tiara), perhaps of a different material (perhaps perishable), now lost, which would have given the plastic artwork an imposing air. A horizontal braid of two twisted locks of hair encircles the crown of the head. The back of the head and neck are covered with vertical tresses divided by rather deep grooves. The head is an exceptional example of large anthropomorphic coroplastic in the centuries of the transition from the second to the first millennium BC. Its findspot on the hilltop may be connected to the presence of a intercommunal “peak” sanctuary in the area.Bibliography:
Rethemiotakis G. 1998. Ανθρωπομορφική πηλοπλαστική στην Κρήτη, από τη Νεοανακτορική έως την Υπομινωική περίοδο, Βιβλιοθήκη της Εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας, no. 174. pp. 29, 90, n. 237, pl. 74 α - γ (esp. 69)Author:
D. S.Photographs' metadata