Middle Minoan votive terracotta figure fragment

G65

£800.00

Available

The upper part of a hand-modelled terracotta votive figure with braided hair and wearing an anchor shaped pendant necklace. The facial features are rendered in typical Minoan style with a pinched nose and applied pellet eyes.

The anchor-shaped pendant is a rare depiction and almost certainly held a specific significance like the more common labrys of double-axe. A depleted silver pendant of this anchor shape was found at the early Minoan cemetery at Petras (see link below).

Culture
Crete, Middle Minoan I, c. 2000-1800 BC

Size
8.5 x 4.1 cms, 12 cms tall including stand

Condition
Fragment as seen in the photographs, a repair between the hair and head; mounted on an onyx display stand

Provenance
Ex. private collection, Saarbrucken, Germany; acquired 1980’s-early 2000’s. Accompanied by an export permit issued by the German Ministry for Art and Culture. Underside of display base with a stock label A241 and inscribed “Kreta Kupferzeit”.

For an example of a Minoan anchor-shape pendant, please see:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Small-anchor-pendant-width-around-28-cm-made-of-depleted-silver-from-the-rock-shelter_fig7_349523073

For a figure fragment excavated by Sir Arthur Evans retaining part of a pendant on the chest, please see:
https://www.ashmolean.org/collections-online#/item/ash-object-478964

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