Date ca. 1500 BCE
Movement Aegean | Second Palace Period
Provenance Knossos “Palace” Complex, Crete
Housed at Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens
Wall frescoes such as the miniature one featured here were painted upon grand halls of the “palace” complex and surrounding Minoan structures. Here, crowds look upon a ritual or game of sorts in the central court. The males, painted in shorthand against a brown swath, and females, painted upon a white swath, surround a central shrine and two groups of women. Images such as these reinforce speculation of a Minoan culture that emphasized ritualistic ceremonies.