DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.810#0419
79Q COMPARISON WITH RELIEF OF 'YOUNG PRINCE'
as the visible impersonation of the all-seeing presence of the divinity. The
' Eye of Horus', so familiar in Egyptian religious Art, seems to have supplied
a suggestion of this symbolic usage ;' we may even refer to the ' Eye of God '
in the rayed triangle so familiar in old illustrated Bibles. On another
signet it is coupled with the ear which also recurs in the background of
a Minoan cult scene 2 with an analogous reference to an all-hearing Power.3
' Young
Prince '
on H.
Triada
cup com-
pared.
Comparison with ' Young Prince ' on the Hagia Triada Cup.
The Priest-King of the painted relief moves in Elysian fields amidst
mystic blooms and butterflies from another sphere, and if his attitude be
rightly interpreted, is leading a Griffin, wearing, like himself, the sacral lily
crown. In contrast to this semi-divine impersonation the little relief on
a cup from the Palace of Hagia Triada shows us contemporary portrayal of
a Minoan prince in more mundane surroundings, and is reproduced in this
place for the interesting comparisons it supplies (Fig. 516), here developed
as it would appear on a flat surface.4 If we may judge from the ' triple
gradation ' below, the architectonic significance of which has been already
pointed out,5 the design was taken from an original in painted plaster relief
on a Palace wall. The great value of the little scene on the vase is that
it gives in a practically complete form what it is almost hopeless to recover
in the case of painted stucco remains otherwise than in an incomplete and
fragmentary state.
The young Minoan prince is shown outside the gate of his residence,
here indicated by the pillar of rectangular blocks ■ behind him, giving orders
to an officer of his guard. Though in this case there seems to have been
nothing more on his head than a band or simple diadem, the superior rank
of the youthful chieftain is shown not only by his greater stature but by the
decorations that he wears round his neck and arms. In addition to the
1 The eyes on the butterflies' wings on the
sealing from the ' Little Palace' illustrated in
Fig. 515 certainly suggest this influence.
2 It is seen on a gold signet, said to be from
the Vapheio Tomb, and now in the Ashmolean
Museum. See p. 842, Fig. 557. Both the
' eye' and ' ear' symbol are here seen in the
field.
3 On the votive bronze plate from the
Psychro Cave (P. of M., i, p. 632, Fig. 470)
the object between the dove and the sacral
horns may also probably be recognized as
a human ear.
4 Drawn by Mr. E.J.Lambert. For the shape
and the ' poncho'-wearing figure, see Fig. 476,
p. 743. A plain stone goblet of the same shape
as that with the reliefs was found by Mr. Seager
at Pseira (Excavs., cW., p. 35, Fig. 15, m),
probably in a L. M. I connexion.
6 Vol. i, p. 687 seqq.
6 Similar indications of buildings are seen
on the wings of Minoan intaglio designs.
as the visible impersonation of the all-seeing presence of the divinity. The
' Eye of Horus', so familiar in Egyptian religious Art, seems to have supplied
a suggestion of this symbolic usage ;' we may even refer to the ' Eye of God '
in the rayed triangle so familiar in old illustrated Bibles. On another
signet it is coupled with the ear which also recurs in the background of
a Minoan cult scene 2 with an analogous reference to an all-hearing Power.3
' Young
Prince '
on H.
Triada
cup com-
pared.
Comparison with ' Young Prince ' on the Hagia Triada Cup.
The Priest-King of the painted relief moves in Elysian fields amidst
mystic blooms and butterflies from another sphere, and if his attitude be
rightly interpreted, is leading a Griffin, wearing, like himself, the sacral lily
crown. In contrast to this semi-divine impersonation the little relief on
a cup from the Palace of Hagia Triada shows us contemporary portrayal of
a Minoan prince in more mundane surroundings, and is reproduced in this
place for the interesting comparisons it supplies (Fig. 516), here developed
as it would appear on a flat surface.4 If we may judge from the ' triple
gradation ' below, the architectonic significance of which has been already
pointed out,5 the design was taken from an original in painted plaster relief
on a Palace wall. The great value of the little scene on the vase is that
it gives in a practically complete form what it is almost hopeless to recover
in the case of painted stucco remains otherwise than in an incomplete and
fragmentary state.
The young Minoan prince is shown outside the gate of his residence,
here indicated by the pillar of rectangular blocks ■ behind him, giving orders
to an officer of his guard. Though in this case there seems to have been
nothing more on his head than a band or simple diadem, the superior rank
of the youthful chieftain is shown not only by his greater stature but by the
decorations that he wears round his neck and arms. In addition to the
1 The eyes on the butterflies' wings on the
sealing from the ' Little Palace' illustrated in
Fig. 515 certainly suggest this influence.
2 It is seen on a gold signet, said to be from
the Vapheio Tomb, and now in the Ashmolean
Museum. See p. 842, Fig. 557. Both the
' eye' and ' ear' symbol are here seen in the
field.
3 On the votive bronze plate from the
Psychro Cave (P. of M., i, p. 632, Fig. 470)
the object between the dove and the sacral
horns may also probably be recognized as
a human ear.
4 Drawn by Mr. E.J.Lambert. For the shape
and the ' poncho'-wearing figure, see Fig. 476,
p. 743. A plain stone goblet of the same shape
as that with the reliefs was found by Mr. Seager
at Pseira (Excavs., cW., p. 35, Fig. 15, m),
probably in a L. M. I connexion.
6 Vol. i, p. 687 seqq.
6 Similar indications of buildings are seen
on the wings of Minoan intaglio designs.