A MINOAN GRIFFIN

A MINOAN GRIFFIN 

#griffin #minoan #Larnax 

The Griffins from the Knossos Throne room for various pieces of century or seal rings are better known than this work which is somewhat less refined.

 It makes me think of some later Protgeometric and Geometric period art. The wings however instead of being furled or seen in profile are spread up and down across the clay panel which is one side of an larnax. The idea of the griffin being near a plant in bloom is very Minoan and we can see an avian crest and a tapered beak plus a leonine tail. This shows us how far back stories about griffins existed. 

The Kamares Krater

 May is early summer a time of Flowers so here's a Minoan Krater.

KAMARES KRATER

#kamares #krater #minoan 

We can see elements on this that appear in later Greek art though it was long centuries before Greek potters regained the skills of the Minoans.

MINOAN bulls head Rhyton

 MINOAN BULL'S HEAD 

Anima head rhytons were popular objects throughout centuries of Greek art.

You may have seen images of heads carved from stone and adorned with gold or enamel such as this?

However clay was also used!

Here's a lesser known Minoan work dated to about 1500 BCE!

Next time back to the Alpha variants series! 

Kamares Ware - Two

 Kamares ware Two 

This is Minoan Kamares Ware.

We know there was a tin trade route exporting ceramics and wine from the Mediterranean up to Britain and British tin and other items vice versa. 

While to my knowledge no Kamares ware has been found in Britain I wonder seeing these spirals if there were metal versions of this that reached Britain or Central Europe and influenced later Celtic art?

Minoan Bird Motif Vessel

Looking at this Minoan ouring Vessel I find myself wondering what the Minoans were using to apply color? The curved liens suggest some kind of brush but of what materials?

I do wonder if using a different kind of tool to apply colors might also be an explanation for the reversion to a more geometric style after the fall of Knossos and Mycenae. Or perhaps whichever animal the hairs came from for Minoan brushes was over hunted and came near to extinction?

Its splendid work matching the curves of the vessel and makes me wish more Minoan frescoes survived apart from Thera and Knossos so we could see more examples of Minoan painting.

Minoan and Mycenaean Depictions of an Octopus

just reposting  a old favorite  anyone see the documentary on octopus intelligence the other night ? some people think a giant octopus might have been the partial inspiration for the Hydra. The first image is Minoan

This one was from a mainland potter  a more severe formal flatter depiction but still with rhythm and symmetry

what a difference though !

Minoan Master of the Palace

This Minoan Seal caught my eye the other day.

Is this a god guarding a palace or a monarch proclaiming his status as ruler?

The Minoan culture shared some traits with later Classical Greek culture but this positioning suggests a confidence almost arrogance that reminds us that Helladic Minoan and Mycenaean cultures were dominated by aristocrats and hereditary rulers.  The Greeks didnt build palaces again on this scale with multiple storeys and towers until the Age of Alexander.