The Netherlands Institute at Athens, in collaboration with the Royal Museums of Art and History Brussels, The National Archaeological Museum Athens, The Archaeological Research Unit of the University of Cyprus, The École française d’Athènes and The University College Roosevelt (NL) are very pleased to announce our next lecture in our Lecture series and Discussion Forum TEXNH: Making, creating, and agency networks in the Ancient Mediterranean world.
“On artistic transformations and models in Minoan iconography: Some examples of warlike scenes”
by Prof. Fritz Blakolmer, Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Vienna
Discussant: Dr. Vasiliki Pliatsika, National Archaeological Museum
Abstract
Our actual knowledge of Minoan iconography permits us to investigate more closely aspects of cross-craft interaction or, at least, to make some observations on the interrelation between different artistic media. Especially in the Neopalatial period of Crete (17th-16th century BCE), Minoan imagery mainly consists of iconographic cycles, which allows us to approach issues such as pictorial prototypes and imitations in diverse artistic media such as relief vases made of stone or precious metal and seal images.
Based on two prominent examples of warlike iconography from early Mycenaean mainland sites, the silver Battle Krater from Shaft Grave IV at Mycenae and the prominent Combat Agate seal stone from the Tomb of the Griffin Warrior at Pylos, both most probably imported from Minoan Crete, this lecture aims at tracing the possible origin of their frieze-like iconography back to (badly preserved) large-scale scenes in monumental stucco reliefs in the Palace of Knossos.
Literature:
F. Blakolmer, «The Silver Battle Krater from Shaft Grave IV at Mycenae: evidence of Fighting “Heroes” on Minoan Palace Walls at Knossos?», in: R. Laffineur and S.P. Morris (eds.), EPOS. Proc. of the 11th Intern. Aegean Conf., Los Angeles, UCLA – The J. Paul Getty Villa, 20-23 April 2006, Aegaeum 28 (Liège and Austin 2007), pp. 213-224.
S.R. Stocker and J.L. Davis, «The Combat Agate from the Grave of the Griffin Warrior at Pylos», Hesperia 86 (2017), pp. 583-605.