Carlotta - the museum database

Comments (2)

A.I. 2328+2340+2373 :: Figurine, Sculpture

Object description: Minotaur with cylindrical animal’s body (The centaurs from Ayia Irini are referred to as minotaurs by Gjerstad since they have human head and torso, and the body of a bull instead of a horse). Freely hanging tail. Buttock hole. Legs tapering downwards. Human body cylindrical. Marked male genital organs. Above these a broad girdle. Female breasts. Right arm uplifted holding goblet. Left arm bent down holding object now missing. Broad, ovoid head with large, globular eyes and ridged eyebrows. Sloping forehead, roughly shaped ears, straight, projecting nose, pellet mouth. Band around head. Plain plaits of hair falling down neck, two thick, twisted plaits in front falling along neck on to breasts. Wheelmade, except arms and head. Red-brown clay, light slip.

Data elements
References (16)

Inventory number

A.I. 2328+2340+2373

Serie nummer

5917

Object

Figurine; Sculpture

Object, Swedish

Figur; Skulptur [?]

Country - Findspot

Cyprus : Europe

Place - Findspot

Ajia Irini

Geographic name, alternative

Agia Irini; Ayia Irini

Material

Terracotta; Earthenware; Clay; Pottery

Material, Swedish

Terrakotta; Keramik; Lera; Keramik

Exhibitions

MMs permanent Cyprus Exhibition 1989-2005.

Conservation RAÄ.

Motif

Minotaur

Context

Sanctuary. Square L 6. Levels 97.7-98.7.

Acquisition

SCE 1929-1930.

Description, Swedish

Minotaur; Figurin av terrakotta. Minotaur Ajia Irini; Statyett i terrakotta, minotaur

Description

Minotaur with cylindrical animal’s body (The centaurs from Ayia Irini are referred to as minotaurs by Gjerstad since they have human head and torso, and the body of a bull instead of a horse). Freely hanging tail. Buttock hole. Legs tapering downwards. Human body cylindrical. Marked male genital organs. Above these a broad girdle. Female breasts. Right arm uplifted holding goblet. Left arm bent down holding object now missing. Broad, ovoid head with large, globular eyes and ridged eyebrows. Sloping forehead, roughly shaped ears, straight, projecting nose, pellet mouth. Band around head. Plain plaits of hair falling down neck, two thick, twisted plaits in front falling along neck on to breasts. Wheelmade, except arms and head. Red-brown clay, light slip.

Period

C.A. I-II. (700-475 BC)

Exhibition - Current

Cypern genom tiderna

Description: New Cypriot gallery.
The Leventis Gallery of Cypriote Antiquities
The island of Cyprus is situated in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, and this location has always made the island a crossroad of peoples, goods and ideas originating in ancient Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Greece.
This exhibition consists of about 1500 archaeological finds, which span more than 7000 years. They testify to an ever increasing intensification of contacts between Cyprus and the outside world, and an unusual open-mindedness towards new ideas and influences.
This not only led to a diversification of religious beliefs, but also resulted in exceptional innovative and unique works of art, that have become a true hallmark of Cyprus.
Most of the items in the exhibition were brought to light at the many sites excavated by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition between 1927 and 1931. The background to the
Swedish Cyprus Expedition is told in the study corner adjacent to the museum café: The A.G. Leventis Gallery of Cypriote Antiquities: the Mezzanine Floor.
In accordance with the practice of the time, the excavation finds were subsequently divided between Sweden and Cyprus with permission from the British colonial
government. (www.medelhavmuseet.se, 2010-09-01)
Time - Start: 2009-01-302009-01-30 [?]

Exhibition, Part of - Current

Exhibition; showcase 10:08:08.

Event - Was Present At

Swedish Cyprus Expedition (1927-1931)

Description: The Swedish Cyprus Expedition was a project to systematically investigate the archaeology of the entire early history of Cyprus. It took place between September 1927 and March 1931 and was led by three archaeologists: Einar Gjerstad, Erik Sjöqvist and Alfred Westholm together with architect John Lindros.
Archaeological excavations were made at locations all over Cyprus including Lapithos, Nitovikla, Ajia Irini and Enkomi. The results were published in four volumes from 1934 to 1972. Most of the finds are now kept at the Cyprus Museum; Nicosia and Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm.
In the early 1970s Paul Åström from the University of Gothenburg continued the tradition of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition with his excavations at the ancient city of Hala Sultan Tekke / Dromolaxia-Vizatzia near Larnaca. He concentrated mainly on the investigation of the late history of the city, viz. the later part of Late Cypriote period (Late Bronze Age). After the untimely death of Paul Åström, Peter M. Fischer from the same university received the permission by the Department of Antiquities (2009) to continue the excavations there (2010). The main objective of the first season of the renewed excavations is to investigate the earliest history of the city which seems to have its roots in the Middle Cypriote period (Middle Bronze Age). (wikipedia, 2012-04-23)
Source - http: collections.smvk.se, en.wikipedia.org, sv.wikipedia.org, swedishcyprusexpedition.se

Comments

Type 2, period 4 (SCE II, pl CCXXVIII:3-4).

Face.

Keyword

Google Art; vcm; Ceramics

NegNo

3274D

Publications

- Karageorghis et al., 2003, no. 190.

- SCE II, 760, 785, pl CCXXVIII:3-4.

- SCE IV:2, 347 n. 3, fig 60b.

- MedMusM 2, 1977, 40, pl XXVI:1.

- Sophocleous, S, Atlas des Répresentations Chypro-Archaiques des Divinités, SIMA Pocket-book 33, Göteborg 1985, pl 4:3.

- Sophocleous, S, 'L´Aphrodite en tant qu´androgyne', Archaeologia Cypria I, 1985, Nicosia 1985, 79-96, pl XVI:10.

- Karageorghis, V,The Coroplastic Art of Ancient Cyprus. IV. The Cypro-Archaic Period. Monsters, Animals and Miscellanea, Nicosia 1996, pl 3:1.

;

Function: Long wheel-made animal body with long tubular legs. It has a cylindrical torso with male genital organs, female breasts, and thin, short arms. It has a broad, ovoid head with locks of hair hanging down. The statuette served as a votive gift at the cult centre excavated at Ayia Irini, Cyprus.

Acquisition: Excavated at the cult site at Ayia Irini, north-western Cyprus by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition in 1929. Acquired by the Cyprus Collections, subsequently the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm in 1931 when the finds from Cyprus were brought to Sweden and the museum set up.

Why this is a masterpiece

The object is a good example of this category of terracotta statuette from Ayia Irini. The minotaur embodies an intermediate stage between the theriomorph and human shape of the votive figures at the sanctuary. Other minotaurs were also found, but this is well preserved and well executed.

History of the Object

Excavated at the cult site at Ayia Irini, north-western Cyprus by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition in 1929. (Virtual Collection of Masterpieces, http://masterpieces.asemus.museum/Default.aspx)

PhotoNegNo

3268D-3278D. 5501-5505.

Reference - Published in

Gjerstad, Einar (red.) (1935). The Swedish Cyprus expedition: finds and results of the excavation in Cyprus 1927-1931. Vol. 2

Source - http: archive.org, libris.kb.se

Gjerstad, Einar (red.) (1948). The Swedish Cyprus expedition: finds and results of the excavation in Cyprus 1927-1931. Vol. 4. P. 2 The Cypro-geometric, Cypro-archaic and Cypro-classical periods.

Source - http: libris.kb.se

Karageorghis, Vassos, Styrenius, Carl-Gustaf & Winbladh, Marie-Louise (1977). Cypriote antiquities in the Medelhavsmuseet, Memoir 2

Source - http: libris.kb.se, books.google.se

Medelhavsmuseet (2003). The Cyprus collections in the Medelhavsmuseet

Source - http: libris.kb.se, books.google.se

Source - http

artsandculture.google.com

; commons.wikimedia.org

Length / Längd

21,3 cm

Height / Höjd

43,0 cm

Dimensions

L. 21.3. H. 43.0.

Condition

Left foreleg restored. Object in left hand, two of hair plaits on back of head, and end of tail missing. Mended at junction between animal’s and human bodies, and on right foreleg.

Original register

Cyprus

Here you can leave a comment. You have to supply an e-mail, an alias and you have to accept the agreements.

Comments (2)

Magnus Johansson (National Museums of World Culture)2024-07-22 23:12:40
Thanks for your comment. The centaurs from Ayia Irini are referred to as minotaurs by Gjerstad since they have human head and torso, and the body of a bull instead of a horse.
AJ2024-07-16 10:42:33
Minotaur? Are you sure it's not a centaur???

Important to know about the information in the online collection database

Users of the database are warned that some records may include language or terminology dating from the 19th and 20th centuries which depicted people in ways that are obsolete and/or offensive. We are conscious that the inclusion of such terminology is problematic. As an institution, we have chosen to include this historic information in our database because it is part of the documentation for the object, photograph, or archival item. Where known, objects associated with, or photographs depicting, ritual or ceremonial activity have been hidden in the publicly accessible database as there may be restrictions relating to the age, gender, initiation and ceremonial status or clan of the person who may see them. The database may also include the names of deceased persons, which could cause sadness or distress, particularly to relatives of these people.

Click here for more information.

A.I. 2328+2340+2373 :: Figurine, Sculpture

Leave a comment

Comments (2)

Magnus Johansson (National Museums of World Culture)2024-07-22 23:12:40

AJ2024-07-16 10:42:33

Important to know about the information in the online collection database