Mycenaean Art

Mycenaean art is similar to that of the Minoans and much of it has been found in the royal graves at Mycenae.

The Mask of Agamemnon

MaskOfAgamemnon.jpg
The Mask of Agamemnon. Athens National Archaeologocial Museum. (c) Xuan Che

The Mask of Agamemnon is a gold funeral mask discovered at the site of Mycenae.

German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, who discovered the artifact in 1876, believed that the funeral mask of Mycenaean king Agamemnon, leader of the Achaeans in Homer’s epic of the Trojan War, the Iliad, but modern archaeological research suggests that the mask dates to c. 1600 BC, predating the period of the legendary Trojan War by about 400 years.

Pottery

Mycenaean pottery was quite similar to Minoan pottery but the decoration was not always as finely executed.

Stirrup jar with octopus, c. 1200-1100 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • Stirrup vase, c. 1400-1200 BC.
    Stirrup vase, c. 1400-1200 BC. (c) Marie-Lan Nguyen
  • Pyriform jar from chamber tomb 10 of the Dendra cemetery, c. 1500-1450 BC.
    Pyriform jar from chamber tomb 10 of the Dendra cemetery, c. 1500-1450 BC. (c) Schuppi
  • Amphora with Palm Trees, c. 1500 BC. From Mycenaean cemetery at Argive Deiras.
    Amphora with Palm Trees, c. 1500 BC. From Mycenaean cemetery at Argive Deiras. (c) Sharon Mollerus

Frescoes

Again, Mycenaean frescoes copied the style of the Minoans and decorated the palace walls at sites such as Mycenae, Pylos and Tiryns. However, only fragments have survived.

1. Detail of a well dressed woman in a procession, Tiryns, 1400-1200 BC.
2. The Lyre Player fresco from the Palace of Nestor, Pylos, 1400-1200 BC.
3. A fresco of female figures in a chariot accompanying the boar hunt, Tiryns, 1400-1300 BC.
4. Fresco of dogs chasing a boar during a hunt, Tiryns, 1400-1300 BC.
5. Daemons in procession, Mycenae.
6. A fresco of a Mycenaean woman, 1400-1200 BC.
All (c) Antiquated Antiquarian

Sculpture

The Mycenaeans did not produce large sculptures but instead made clay figurines that have been found at sites across the Mycenaean world, dating to c. 1400-1200 BC, and remarkably similar in design. Highly stylized to the point of being almost unrecognisable as human forms, the figures are most commonly female and standing, probably representing a nature goddess.

Three female figures, c. 1400-1300 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Metalwork

The Mycenaeans were very adapt at metalwork and used gold, glass, faience, precious and semi-precious stones and amber to produce necklaces, pendants, death masks, daggers, drinking cups and much more.

Bronze, silver and gold inlaid dagger, 1550-1500 BC. Athens National Archaeological Museum. (c) Neoclassicism Enthusiast
1. Mycenaean death mask, c. 1600-1500 BC, Mycenae.
2. The Cup of Nestor, c. 1600-1500 BC, Mycenae.
3. Rhyton in the form of a bull’s head, c. 1600-1500 BC, Mycenae.
4. Gold diadem, c. 1600-1500, Mycenae.
All (c) Boundless.com

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