PLASTER SCULPTURELarge-scale figural art is very rare on
the Greek mainland, as on Crete, other than the Minoan-style paint-
ings that once adorned the walls of Mycenaean palaces. The triangu-
lar relief (FIG. 4-1) of the Lion Gate at Mycenae is exceptional, as is
the painted plaster head (FIG. 4-24) of a woman, goddess, or, per-
haps, sphinx found at Mycenae. The white flesh tone indicates that
the head is female. The hair and eyes are dark blue, almost black, and
the lips, ears, and headband are red. The artist decorated the cheeks
and chin with red circles surrounded by a ring of red dots, recallingthe facial paint or tattoos recorded on Early Cycladic figurines of
women. Although the large staring eyes give the face a menacing, if
not terrifying, expression appropriate for a guardian figure such as a
sphinx, the closest parallels to this work in the prehistoric Aegean are
terracotta images of goddesses. This head may therefore be a very
early example of a monumental cult statue in Greece.
Were it not for this plaster head and a few other exceptional pieces,
art historians might have concluded—wrongly—that the Mycenaeans
had no monumental freestanding statuary—a reminder that it isMycenaean Art 954-23Inlaid dagger blade with lion hunt, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1600–1500 bce.Bronze, inlaid with gold, silver, and niello,
9 long. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
The treasures buried with the Mycenaean kings attest to their wealth. The lion hunters on this bronze dagger are Minoan in style, but the
metalworker borrowed the subject from the artistic repertory of the Near East.4-24Female head,
from Mycenae,
Greece, ca. 1300–
1250 bce.Painted
plaster, 6–^12 high.
National Archaeo-
logical Museum,
Athens.
This painted white
plaster head of a
woman with large
staring eyes may be
a very early example
of a monumental
statue of a goddess
in Greece, but some
scholars think it is
the head of a sphinx.1 in.1 in.4-24ATw o
goddesses
and a child,
Mycenae, ca.
1400–1250 BCE.