Archaic II

Terracotta model of a shrine

The model originally had pilasters on either side of the opening. The vertical form inside is an aniconic representation of the fertility goddess Astarte. Similar depictions are known from the Levant and Cyprus. Model shrines began to be made in Cyprus during the Chalcolithic period and, due to Phoenician influence, were produced in particular quantity during the Archaic period. All of the excavated examples come from tombs. H. 3 15/16 in. (10 cm)

Date

600 - 480 BC

Accession No.

74.51.1754

Collection

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance

References

Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1894. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 2. pl. XIII.103, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1895. The Terracottas and Pottery of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in Halls 4 and 15. no. 337, p. 29, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 2131, p. 348, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Culican, William. 1976. "A Terracotta Shrine from Achzib." Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina-Vereins, 92(1). p. 47, n.2.Karageorghis, Vassos. 1996. "The Cypro-archaic period monsters, animals and miscellanea." The Coroplastic Art of Ancient Cyprus, Vol. 6. no. T10, p. 64, pl. XXXV.6, Nicosia: Foundation Anastasios G. Leventis.Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 218, pp. 144-45, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Karageorghis, Vassos, Gloria Merker, and Joan R. Mertens. 2016. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Terracottas. no. 258, pp. 149-50, Online Publication, [CD-Rom 2004], New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.