Minoan Artifacts Land in Manhattan

[Angelo]

Minoan Artifacts Land in Manhattan
Museums

By BRENDA SMILEY
February 28, 2008

Provenance is one of the most pressing concerns in the world of antiquities. But an upcoming exhibit of Minoan art circumvents that topic. More than 280 artifacts are coming straight from Greece to Manhattan as part of "From the Land of the Labyrinth: Minoan Crete, 3000 – 1100 B.C.," which will open at the Onassis Cultural Center on March 13.

"We are bringing treasures from the Labyrinth that have never been seen here before," president of the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, Anthony Papadimitriou, said. "This is Minoan art, from the first palaces in Europe. We have pieces that were found in the palaces, in Knossos, in the Labyrinth."

Arranged chronologically and thematically to show all aspects of Minoan life and culture, the exhibit displays Crete's role as a naval superpower and thriving Mediterranean trade entrepot. At its zenith (1900–1450 B.C.E.), Bronze Age Minoan Crete produced an array of expressive metalwork and art objects. Gemstone seals, pottery, figurines, ceremonial vessels, jewelry, inscribed tablets, swords, tools, coffins, grand pithoi, or storage jars, and the nature-inspired frescoes all attest to a flourishing culture that faced few threats — other than earthquakes.

Despite the decorative objects, perhaps the best known element of the culture is the legend of the Minotaur: how King Minos, who ruled the oceans, took revenge for his murdered son by demanding tribute from the Athenians of seven youths and seven virgins to feed to his bloodthirsty Minotaur, half bull, half man, which he kept in a labyrinthine maze in his palace at Knossos.

The overlapping or combination of human and animal life was a common feature of Minoan artistic vocabulary. Images of warriors in bull-leaping games or bare-breasted goddesses handling snakes are easy to find. According to the curator of the exhibit and the director of the 25th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Greece, Maria Vlazaki, one of the highlights of the show is the Zakros Bull's Head Rhyton, a religious libation vessel that was incised with wavy shapes. Considered an important symbol of Minoan civilization, this extremely rare artifact was found in the 1960s by Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Platon in the ruins of the palace of Zakros, which was destroyed around 1450 B.C.E. Fewer than 25 similar vessels exist and the most famous of them remains in Crete's Heraklion Museum. "It is one of the best preserved examples of this type of vessel," Ms. Vlazaki said.

Another recurring theme is that of the double axe, an emblematic symbol. The great palace at Knossos had a Hall of the Double Axes and, according to Ms. Vlazaki, the word "labyrinth" refers to the palace itself. "The current theory is that 'labyrinth,' a word of pre-Greek origin, was derived from labrys (double axe), the most eminent symbol of Minoan religion, meaning 'The House of the Double Axe.'"

Minoan Artifacts Land in Manhattan - February 28, 2008 - The New York Sun

[Prokomenos]

This is definately something to go see. Making it part of my to do list..

[Napalm]

Definitely looks interesting.