Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – Procession of Mature Women

Find spot:  Akrotiri, island of Thera (Santorini), Xesté 3, wall paintings, 1st story, north corridor wall and south corridor wall Date: 17th century BCE (circa 1600–1550 BCE)Clothing depicted: snood, heanos, cloak, necklace, Museum link: (probably) Museum of Prehistoric Thira, Santorini https://www.namuseum.gr/ en/collection/syllogi-archaiotiton-thiras/ “Excavated by Spyridon Marinatos in 1973, the upper portions of two of the figures were published in color in 1992 by Christos…

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Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – Adorants

Find spot:  Akrotiri, island of Thera (Santorini), Xeste 3, Room 3, ground floor, north wallDate: 1600 BCE Clothing depicted: heanos, wrap skirt, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, fillet, hair pin, belt, veil, Museum link: Museum of Prehistoric Thira, Santorini https://www.namuseum.gr/en/collection/syllogi-archaiotiton-thiras/ cat. no of Akrotiri frescoes 233 Akrotiri was covered by volcanic debris following the eruption of the Thera volcano c. 1500 B. C. E.. This preserved many…

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Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – Saffron gatherers

Find spot:  Akrotiri, island of Thera (Santorini), Xeste 3, Room 3, 1st floor, east wallDate: 17th century BCE (circa 1600–1550 BCE)Clothing depicted: heanos, wrap skirt, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, fillet, belt, shaved head, basketMuseum link: Museum of Prehistoric Thira, Santorini https://www.namuseum.gr/en/collection/syllogi-archaiotiton-thiras/ Akrotiri was covered by volcanic debris following the eruption of the Thera volcano c. 1500 B. C. E.. This preserved many of the buildings…

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Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Ivory Pyxis from Mochlos

Find spot:  Mochlos, CreteDate: LM IB period (the end of the Neopalatial Period 1670-1430 BCE)Dimensions: the lid measures ca. 11 by 14 cmClothing depicted: heanos, wrap skirt, bolero jacket, loincloth with codpiece, shoes, necklaceeMuseum link:  Sitia Museum https://archaeologicalmuseums.gr/en /museum/5df34af3deca5e2d79e8c15b/archaeological-museum-of-siteia In Ancient Greece, a pyxis is a small, cylindrical container, typically with a removable lid, used to store small items such as jewelry,…

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Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – Room of the Frescoes

Find spot:  Mykenai, Akropolis, Citadel House area, room 31 (“Room of the Frescoes”) Date: 1250 BCEClothing depicted: lily hat, possibly chemise, bracelets, tied wrap, heanos and/or bolero jacketMuseum link: Mykenai, Archaeological Museum 385  This is the largest fresco in situ. It includes three women on two different levels. The frescoes are located behind a household altar indicating that at least one of the women is…

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Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – The Mykenaia

Find spot:  “House of the High Priest” Southwest Building at the Acropolis of Mycenae, Cult CentreDate: 13th century BCEClothing depicted: heanos, bolero jacket, wrap skirt, bracelets, necklace, head wrap, beltMuseum link: National Archaeological Museum of Athens https://www.namuseum.gr/en/collection/syllogi-mykinaikon-archaiotiton/ What I see:She has two right hands. In “New Reconstruction of the “Mykenaia” and a Seated Woman from Mycenae” the author, Bernice R. Jones, notes,…

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Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Hagia Triada Sarcophagus

Find spot:  Crete, Hagia Triada, Tomb 4.Date: about 1400 BCEClothing depicted: heanos, possibly bolero jacket, tulip hat, hide skirtMuseum link: Archaeological Museum of Heraklion http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/4/eh430.jsp?obj_id=7913 This masterpiece is a unique stone chest sarcophagus which was discovered in a funerary building near the Villa of Hagia Triada by Italian archaeologist Roberto Paribeni in 1903. The outer surface is covered with a thin coat of…

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Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – Camp Stool Fresco or Libation Fresco

Find spot:  Crete, Knossos, on the wall of Sanctuary Hall of the Piano Nobile (Upper Floor or “Floor of the Noble”)Date: 1450-1350/1300 BCEClothing depicted: sacral knot, heanos, striped cloth, makeupMuseum link: Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete A fresco which was painted on the wall of Sacntary Hall depicting men and women in a ceremonial banqueting scene.

Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – “La Parisienne”

Find spot:  Crete, Knossos, on the Sanctuary Hall of the Piano Nobile (Upper Floor or “Floor of the Noble”)Date: 1450-1350/1300 BCEClothing depicted: sacral knot, heanos, striped cloth, makeupMuseum link: Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete https://heraklionmuseum.gr/en/exhibit/la-parisienne-fresco/ “La Parisienne” is part of the Camp Stool Fresco. Edmond Pottier gave her the name as he felt she resembled a contemporary woman from Paris.

Minoan/Mycenaean Source Materials

Fresco – Ladies in Blue

Find spot: Crete, Knossos, near Royal Magazines. Found before 1914Date: ca. 1525-1450 BCEClothing depicted: short-sleeved bodice (probably heanos), possible diaphanous chemise, bracelets, necklacesMuseum link: Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete “This group of three women was originally restored by E. Gillieron, pere on the basis of other fragments of frescos from Knossos, mostly of a much smaller scale. It has been shown that details of…

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