Chapter 4

Survey of Art I

Chapter 4-6

THE ART OF THE PREHISTORIC AEGEAN

Between 3000 and 1200 BC three important civilizations flourished on the islands in the Aegean Sea and on the mainland of Greece: the Cycladic civilization on the islands of the Cyclades, the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, and the Mycenaean civilization on the Greek mainland.

Homer describes in The Iliad the might and splendor of the Greek armies poised before the walls of Troy.

Aegean

Bronze Age in the Aegean empire.

Hallmarks of Aegean Society was use of

Bronze.

Known for their creation of objects for export out

of bronze

Frescos discovered

in the ruins of

volcanic eruption

that destroyed lost

town of Akrotiri.

“Flotilla”

fresco New

Palace

periodc.

1650 BC.

Two figures – marble about 13” in height c.

2500-2200 BC.

• Surviving art shows the development of original forms and styles with an interest in nature. This is manifested by items such as the precious metalwork and carved stone vases of the second palaces. Some of these are decorated with bull and lion heads, from which liquids were poured at ritual occasions. Even much earlier, decorative vitality was illustrated in the mottled surface colourings of Vasilki ware (the result of skilful painting and kiln control), and also in the seals enlivened by linear plant and animal motifs. A large number of high-quality ceramics were produced during the time of the first palaces (2000-1700 BC).

Seated Harpist

Marble statue

from Keros,

Cyclades,

c.2300 BC

Kamares vase

Phaistos

c. 1800 BC

THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS

• catastrophic earthquake in about 1700 BC left the magnificent palace at Knossos in ruins. However, impressive and extensive reconstruction work produced an even more glamorous successor. This second palace was built on the terraced mound around a central court, with the surrounding quarters -up to four storeys high in places —spreading out in a design more concerned with practicality than symmetry.

• Among many imposing features were monumental entrances, staircases, colonnaded halls, lightwells, lustral basins, and extensive storage facilities. Lavish use was made of wooden columns, tapered at the base, which contributed to the light, airy atmosphere. The frescos took much of their inspiration from nature: flowers and animals mingle with humans in symbolically charged settings. Colours were bright, if not always strictly realistic, species were at times hybridized, and human anatomy was carefully portrayed.

• Occasional scenes of court life exist, such as ritual dances, as well as sporting events, such as bull-leaping. After about 145O BC, development towards a more static and formalized style (found also in pottery) is evident in friezes, such as the Campstool and Cup-Bearer frescos: reliefs like the Lily-Princeretain the older, naturalistic style.

Knossos Interior

• This work, pan of the Taureador fresco from the east side of the Palace at Knossos. shows a sport invoking three figures and a bull. From Persia to Egypt. the bull was an important animal in ancient symbolism, and was often ritually sacrificed. In Crete, contests pitting bull against athletes (in a ritual activity termed taurokathapsia, or bull-leaping) arc portrayed in various media: the danger seems to apply solely to the humans. This painting, made with pigments on lime plaster, features a beautiful palette of subdued colours, including ochre and blue.

Minoan gold

pendant of bees

encircling the

Sun, showing

the use of

granulation, from

a tomb at Mallia,

17th century BC.

c. 1700-1550

BC.

The history of saffron

in human cultivation

and use reaches back

more than 3,000 years

and spans many

cultures, continents,

and civilizations.

Saffron, a spice

derived from the dried

stigmas of the saffron

crocus (Crocus

sativus), has remained

among the world's

costliest substances

throughout history.

With its bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and slight metallic notes,

saffron has been used as a seasoning, fragrance, dye, and medicine.

Saffron is native to Southwest Asia, but was first cultivated in Greece.

Young Girl Gathering crocus Flowers Fresco 1630BC.

Detail of facade of the house

CRETAN MASTERS: "BULL-LEAPING"

Minoan Snake

Goddess

from Knossos, Crete

c. 1600 BC.

faïence,

height 13 1/2 inches

(34.3 cm)

"Snake Goddess"

• The faïence figurine knowntoday as the "SnakeGoddess" was originallyidentified as a "votary".When found it was missingits head, most of its hat, theright arm, the lower part ofthe snake held in the righthand, and large segments ofthe skirt.

Stone Rhytons

• Stone Vases

• Vessels for pouring liquids

• Carved from steatite (greenish or brown soapstone

"Harvester Vase,"

From Aghia Triada in south central Crete (new palace period), showing harvesters returning from the fields singing, with big sheaves of grain. While agricultural labor is often depicted negatively in later Greek writing and art, this positive depiction is again typical of the Minoan attitude toward life and nature--as far as we can tell.

Harvester Vase New Palace period c. 1650-1450 BC.

Steatite, diameter 4 ½ “

This is a ritual vessel

made of carved stone,

with inlaid shell, jasper

and crystal. The horns

have been restored;

they were probably

originally made of

wood. The piece is

hollow with a hole in the

top where liquid could

be poured in; when the

head was tipped the

liquid would pour out

from the mouth. It dates

between the 17th-15th

centuries B.C. and was

found at Knossos.

Octopus Flask

(Marine Style),

c. 1500 B.C.

• At the end of the Middle Minoan era the Kamares style has been relegated to background and a new style stealing from wall paintings of this period was developed. This new style delt mainly with vivid representation of human and animal figures in dark colors on light colored clay.

Vapheio Cup, c. 1650-1450 BC. Gold

Metalwork

• The relief style is executed in the repousse’ –the technique of hammering from the back of the sheet.

CITADEL AT MYCENAE

• The primary remains at Mycenae are walls and tombs--the palace itself has largely been destroyed.

• Citadel of Mycenae, once the most powerful kingdom in Greece (1600 - 1200 BC). The citadel is known for its walls, so thick that the ancient Greeks thought they must have been built by Cyclops, the mythical one-eyed giants. The picture shows a passage through the wall to a secret cistern.Mycenae, Greece

• The palace where Agamemnon was murdered by his wife and her lover after he returned victorious from the Trojan war. One of the most impressive features of the citadel is the Grave Circle A which contains six royal shaft graves. It is located just inside the Lion Gates to the right, and it contrasts beautifully with the angular designs of all the other adjasent structures. A great number of Kterismata (objects buried alongside the dead) and gold death masks were unearthed from this grave site and they are now located at the Archaeological museum in Athens. All that remains today of the acropolis are the building foundations that outline the ancient palace quarters, and the immense wall that crowns the top of the hill.

Funerary Mask (Mask of Agamemnon) c. 1600-1500 B.C.

Tholos – The treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece c. 1300-12 BC.

Reconstruction of the Interior of a Megaron

The Lion's (Lioness) Gate, Mycenae, c. 1250 (Cyclopean)

Interior of "Treasury of Atreus" (corbeled arch)

One thing the Myceneans

did not copy or adapt from

the Minoans was their skill

in metalwork, especially

inlay on swords or dagger

blades. The top two

examples show a dagger-

blade from Grave Circle A

at Mycenae, with lion-

hunting scenes on opposite

sides (16th century); the

example below that is from

Pylos (15th century). The

scenes are reminiscent of

similes and descriptions in

Homer.

Dagger Blade With Lion Hunt –c. 1550-1500 BC. Bronze inlaid with

gold, silver, and niello 9” (23.8 cm)

(Alternant view) Dagger Blade With Lion Hunt –c. 1550-1500 BC. Bronze inlaid with gold, silver, and niello 9” (23.8 cm)

• Niello is a black metallic alloy of sulphur, copper, silver, and usually lead, used as an inlay on engraved metal. It can be used for filling in designs cut from metal.

• Decoration with inlaid scenes attest to the wealth of a ruling elite.

Creto-Mycenaean,

found in Mycenae,

fifteenth century BC.

Two goddesses sit

with arms intertwined

while a divine child

plays on their laps. It

has been suggested

that this tiny figurine

(3" high) represents

Demeter and

Persephone, while

the infant is Iacchus

or Zagreus.

Warrior vase from Mycenae

Warrior vase from Mycenae

• "Apart from these figured representations, one may say that Cretan vase-painting, after its brilliant achievements in the Kamares, shaft graves, and Palace styles, sinks down to that primitive level from which it started: it becomes once more a geometric style."