aegaean art arthistorysurveyi_stokstad
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Aegean ArtArt History Survey I
T,R, 12-1:20PMProfessor Paige Prater
Cyclades Crete Mainland (Mycenaen/Helladic)
Aegean Cultures 3000BCE-1100BCE
‘Cycladica’ craze, post WWII (forgeries, lost context)
DATES: ◦ Relative
Pottery◦ Thera explosion (Cycladic island) 1650-1625BCE,
based on: Greenland’s ice cores CA tree rings Irish tree rings
Challenges to Aegean Archaeology!
Sea-faring, agriculture, herding, crafts, and trade (Egypt and Near East)
Lots of white marble available! (Naxos & Paros)
Low quality clay (since 6000 BCE) Gravetop sculptures (lying on top)
◦ Obsidian scrapers and chisels◦ Emery polishing stones
Cyclades 3000-2000 BCE
Cycladic Figures of Women• Inches-5’ tall• Funerary offerings - theory• Painted face, jewelry, dots• Likely reclining
Seated Harp Player, 2700-2500 BCE, marble, 11.5”
Cyclades 3000-2000 BCE
Largest of the Aegean islands: 155x36 mi Economically self-sufficient BUT NO ORES Trade with Egypt, Near East, Greece, & Anatolia Sir Arthur Evans named it after legend of
King Minos who ruled from Knossos, the capital (discovered in 1900CE).
http://youtu.be/x3dak2YQdPM
◦ OLD PALACE PERIOD: 1900-1700 BCE◦ NEW PALACE PERIOD: 1700-1450 BCE
Crete (Minoan) 1900-1450 BCE
Not sure if there was a king Rubble/mud bricks finished with dressed
stone Timber bracing Plaster walls and flooring Multi-storied, flat-roofed, MANY COLUMNS Workshops and centralized food
storage/management◦ Single storeroom: ceramic containers to hold
20,000 gallons of olive oil!
Knossos -2000-1375BCE
Knossos -2000-1375BCE
Central courtyard Theatre/performance area Complicated layout = labyrinth = maze Courtyards, apartments, administrative
suites, baths Efficient system of terracotta pipes 3 stories around central court
Knossos -2000-1375BCE
Knossos - RECONSTRUCTED
Columns tapered toward bottom (upside down tree trunks)
Bull Leaping – 1550-1450 BCE (Palace complex, Knossos, Crete)
Thin walls Use of color Stylized, painted
decoration
Kamares Ware (Minoan Ceramics)
Phaistos, Crete, 2000-1900 BCE.
Octopus Flask, Palaikastro, Crete. New Palace Period, 1500-1450BCE.
Imported gold Lost-wax casting Inlay Filigree Repousse Niello – powdered nigellum (alloy of lead,
silver, copper, and sulfur) rubbed into engraved lines, fused via heat http://youtu.be/8hUBqZduE0c
Gilding – affixing gold-leaf
Minoan goldwork
Pendant of Gold Bees. Chryssolakos, near Mallia, Crete, Old Palace Period, 1700-1550 BCE.
Minoan goldwork
Vapheio Cup. Found near Sparta, Greece, 1650-1450 BCE.
Woman or Goddess with Snakes
From Knossos, New Palace Period, 1700-1550 BCE
Minoan fashion: wide belt, flounced skirt, apron
Minoan Sculpture
Young Girl Gathering Saffron Crocus Flowers
• Wall-painting detail from Room 3 of House Xeste 3, Akrotiri, Thera.
• Cyclades BEFORE 1630BCE
• Similar fashion to goddess sculpture…!
Landscape, Akrotiri, Minoan New Palace Period • Thera,
Cyclades island, Minoan
• 1st (Abstract) landscape
• Undulating landscape
• Colors appear fanciful (arbitrary)
• Stylized lines define form
• Lilies, swallows, expression of movement
Harvester VaseNew Palace Period, 1500BCE
RHYTON: pours liquidSTEATITE: soapstone
3000 BCE Early Bronze Age in the Cyclades 2200 BCE First Palaces at Knossos, Crete 2000 BCE First pictographic script, Crete 1900 BCE Old Palace Period 1650-25BCE Destruction of Thera;
earthquake/volcanic eruption! 1600 BCE Mycnaeans rise to power 1450 BCE Destruction of minoan palaces; Knossos
occupied by Mycenaeans 1400 BCE Knossos burned/not rebuilt 1300 BCE Mycenaean walls on acropolis in Athens 1100 BCE End of Mycenaean dominance
Sequence of Time/Events
CITADELS: megalith strongholds to protect ruler’s palace
MEGARON: axial plan Tholos/Beehive/Vaulted
tombs (round, stone)
Mainland: Mycenaean (Helladic) 1600-1100 BCE
“Mask of Agamemnon”Funerary mask from royal tombs, Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece, 1600-1550 BCE.
Dagger Blade with Lion Hunt, 1550-1500 BCE – Mycenae, Greece.
German Troy (Turkey) & Mycenae, Greece 19th Century Businessman Lawsuit with Ottoman Govt Tomb of Agamemnon Controversy of Mask 4 excavations
Heinrich Schliemann
Citadel at Mycenae 1600-1200BCE
Treasury of Atreus (tomb) 1300-1200 BCE
Lion Gate, Mycenae – 1250 BCE
Aegean dates/authenticity – how do we know?
Reconstruction – when is it authorized? Significance of animals, such as lions –
where else/what context? Role of women – gender in ancient cultures? Architectural differences/similarities
between societies – structural/utilitarian?
Questions for thought/discussion: