Minoan seals are
impression seal
The impression seal is a common seal that leaves an impression, typically in clay and less often in sealing wax. In antiquity they were common, largely because they served to authenticate legal documents, such as tax receipts, contracts, wills an ...
s in the form of
carved gemstones and similar pieces in metal,
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
and other materials produced in the
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450BC ...
. They are an important part of
Minoan art
Minoan art is the art produced by the Bronze Age Aegean Minoan civilization from about 3000 to 1100 BC, though the most extensive and finest survivals come from approximately 2300 to 1400 BC. It forms part of the wider grouping of Aegean art ...
, and have been found in quantity at specific sites, for example in
Knossos
Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...
,
Mallia and
Phaistos
Phaistos ( el, Φαιστός, ; Ancient Greek: , , Minoan: PA-I-TO?http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/download/11991/4031&ved=2ahUKEwjor62y3bHoAhUEqYsKHZaZArAQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1MwIv3ekgX-SxkJrbORipd ), also transliterated as Phaestos, ...
. They were evidently used as a means of identifying documents and objects.
Minoan seals are of a small size, 'pocket-size', in the manner of a personal amulet. Many of the images are a similar size to a human fingernail, with a high proportion that of the nail of a little finger. They might be thought of as equivalent to the pocket-sized,
scaraboid seal
Scarabs were popular amulets and impression seals in ancient Egypt. They survive in large numbers and, through their inscriptions and typology, are an important source of information for archaeologists and historians of the ancient world. They ...
s of
Ancient Egypt, which were sometimes imitated in Crete. However Minoan seals can be larger, with largest examples of many inches.
Minoan seals are the most common surviving type of Minoan art after pottery, with several thousand known, from EM II onwards, in addition to over a thousand impressions, few of which match surviving seals.
Cylinder seal
A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...
s are common in early periods, much less so later. Seals with different shapes and multiple faces are especially common, unusually so by comparison with later and neighbouring cultures: "
lentoid
Lentoid is a geometric shape of a three-dimensional body, best described as a circle viewed from one direction and a convex lens viewed from every orthogonal direction. It has no strict mathematical definition, but may be described as the volume e ...
" ones have two faces, usually curving towards a thin circular edge, and there are many "prism" ones with three flat faces. A seal-carving workshop from MM I excavated at
Malia mostly made this type; here, as throughout the surviving seals, there are wide variations in the quality of the carving. Often seals are pierced, so they can be worn around the neck or wrist on a string. Probably many early examples were in wood, and have not survived. Ivory and soft stone were the main surviving materials for early seals, the body of which were quite often formed as animals or birds. From the Middle Minoan period fast rotary drills were used, enabling harder stones to be utilized.
![Pini-plombe-orig-II2 316d 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Pini-plombe-orig-II2_316d_3.2.jpg)
Later, some are extremely fine
engraved gem
An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a major lu ...
s; other seals are in gold, usually on
signet ring
A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with a ...
s. The subjects shown cover the full range of Minoan art. The so-called
Theseus Ring was found in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
; it is gold, with a bull-leaping scene in
intaglio on the flat
bezel. The
Pylos Combat Agate
The Pylos Combat Agate is a Minoan sealstone of the Mycenaean era, likely manufactured in Late Minoan Crete. It depicts two warriors engaged in hand-to-hand combat, with a third warrior lying on the ground. It was discovered in the Griffin Warri ...
is an exceptionally fine
engraved gem
An engraved gem, frequently referred to as an intaglio, is a small and usually semi-precious gemstone that has been carved, in the Western tradition normally with images or inscriptions only on one face. The engraving of gemstones was a major lu ...
, probably made in the Late Minoan, but found in a Mycenaean context. This is a common issue: Minoan art was exported around the
Aegean sea
The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...
and beyond, and many finds in Mycenaean and other contexts are thought to be either made in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
or by Cretan or Cretan-trained artists working outside Crete.
Subjects depicted
Some seals are carved on more than one face, as many as eight in one case. Some have
Minoan hieroglyphs. Most early seals carry geometric patterns or plant-like designs. Birds and animals, both land and marine, generally appear rather earlier than human figures. Mythological and fantastic creatures such as the
griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
,
sphinx
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
and
Minoan Genius
The Minoan Genius is a fantastic mythological creature that was common in the Minoan art of the Bronze Age Minoan civilization in ancient Crete. It is portrayed sometimes with the head of a lion, or of hippopotamus, or of other animals. It is m ...
also appear. Figurative designs gradually become more complicated, to include dance and
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
es. One common
iconographic
Iconology is a method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of the visual arts used by Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and their followers that uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visu ...
motif in
Minoan art
Minoan art is the art produced by the Bronze Age Aegean Minoan civilization from about 3000 to 1100 BC, though the most extensive and finest survivals come from approximately 2300 to 1400 BC. It forms part of the wider grouping of Aegean art ...
, especially
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
es, is
bull-leaping
Bull-leaping ( grc, ταυροκαθάψια, ) is a term for various types of non-violent bull fighting. Some are based on an ancient ritual from the Minoan civilization involving an acrobat leaping over the back of a charging bull (or cow). ...
; the example illustrated shows leapers and a bull. Other themes are varied, including for example: 'pottery and a plant'-(with 5 moon/planet crescents), '
confronted-goats', and a 'single bird'.
![Seal MET DP110335 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Seal_MET_DP110335_%28cropped%29.jpg)
In a large group of sealings from the palace at
Phaistos
Phaistos ( el, Φαιστός, ; Ancient Greek: , , Minoan: PA-I-TO?http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/download/11991/4031&ved=2ahUKEwjor62y3bHoAhUEqYsKHZaZArAQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1MwIv3ekgX-SxkJrbORipd ), also transliterated as Phaestos, ...
that seem to be early MM II, or around 1800 BC, over two thirds of the nearly 300 designs abstract patterns, some very simple, but others complicated and sophisticated. The sharp curving of bodies, typical of human bull-leaper figures, is often seen in animals in round images, though others are seen in a natural profile. Some seals seem to show their dependence on images from frescos by having a "dado" of lines or ornament beneath the main image, typical of
Minoan painting
Minoan art is the art produced by the Bronze Age Aegean Minoan civilization from about 3000 to 1100 BC, though the most extensive and finest survivals come from approximately 2300 to 1400 BC. It forms part of the wider grouping of Aegean art, ...
.
In MM III, from c. 1700 on a class of "
talisman
A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
ic seals" appear, that are thought to have had a magical function. Often they are too deeply cut to be very effective in sealing, and may have been just carried as
amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects ...
s. They are less often found outside Crete than other types. Their designs are typically bold and deeply cut, "executed in a brisk and time-saving technique".
What may be a regional style on large sealings from
Zakros Zakros ( el, Ζάκρος; Linear B: zakoro) is a site on the eastern coast of the island of Crete, Greece, containing ruins from the Minoan civilization. The site is often known to archaeologists as Zakro or Kato Zakro. It is believed to have been ...
in LM I has exotic hybrid monsters such as "Eagle Ladies", a pair of breasts with wings and either a bird's head or a helmet with no head. Another has male human legs, bird's wings and a horned goat's head, and a third large breasts, the wings of a butterfly, a human head with crown and animal legs. Though "no doubt the designs had some magical import", there seems also to be a strong element of whimsical fantasy.
When metal, mostly as gold rings, was used, complex designs with many figures were possible.
Significant archaeological finds
At
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...
, the
shaft grave
A shaft tomb or shaft grave is a type of deep rectangular burial structure, similar in shape to the much shallower cist grave, containing a floor of pebbles, walls of rubble masonry, and a roof constructed of wooden planks.
Practice
The pract ...
circles
A and
B are groups of elite burials with rich
grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.
They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
that include many seals that are thought to be Minoan, certainly in terms of their tradition, and probably in terms of their place of manufacture. For
Sinclair Hood
Martin Sinclair Frankland Hood, FBA (31 January 1917 – 18 January 2021), generally known as Sinclair Hood, was a British archaeologist and academic. He was Director of the British School of Archaeology at Athens from 1954 to 1962, and led t ...
, these objects (specifically those from Circle A) "raise in an acute form the related questions of how to distinguish mainland from Cretan work, and the significance of any distinction that may exist". The eight seals (three stone, five gold) found in Shaft
Grave Circle A
Grave Circle A is a 16th-century BC royal cemetery situated to the south of the Lion Gate, the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece. This burial complex was initially constructed outside the walls of Mycenae and ...
are of the large multi-figure type. Although scenes of combat and hunting predominate, all were found in the graves of women. It does not seem that seals were actually used for making impressions on the Greek mainland at this point, so these objects, usually though to be of Minoan workmanship, were apparently treated as jewellery for women.
The ''tholos'' or
beehive tomb
A beehive tomb, also known as a tholos tomb (plural tholoi; from Greek θολωτός τάφος, θολωτοί τάφοι, "domed tombs"), is a burial structure characterized by its false dome created by corbelling, the superposition of suc ...
at
Vaphio
Vaphio, Vafio or Vapheio is an ancient site in Laconia, Greece, on the right bank of the Eurotas, some five miles south of Sparta. It is famous for its ''tholos'' or "beehive" tomb, excavated in 1889 by Christos Tsountas. This consists of a walle ...
(or Vapheio) near
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
is another famous find that has generated much discussion as to the origin of many pieces; the two gold cups are now usually thought to be Cretan in the case of one, and the other Mycenaen, made to match. The 43 seals in the tomb include a variety of fine stones, and gold, and several have parallels in Cretan finds. The princely figure buried there seems to have worn them on his wrists, like a modern
charm bracelet
A charm bracelet is a type of bracelet which carries personal jewelled ornaments or "charms", such as decorative pendants or trinkets. The decorative ''charms'' usually carry personal or sentimental attachment by the owner.
History
The wearing ...
.
Sinclair Hood
Martin Sinclair Frankland Hood, FBA (31 January 1917 – 18 January 2021), generally known as Sinclair Hood, was a British archaeologist and academic. He was Director of the British School of Archaeology at Athens from 1954 to 1962, and led t ...
believed that at this date "it was broadly speaking possible to classify the finer seals as being of Cretan, the more crudely engraved of mainland manufacture", but that "this criterion no longer applies after the mainland conquest of Crete c. 1450".
In 2015, an international team of archaeologists led by University of Cincinnati researchers discovered the
Griffin Warrior Tomb
The Griffin Warrior Tomb is a Bronze Age shaft tomb dating to around 1450 BC, near the ancient city of Pylos in Greece. The grave was discovered by a research team sponsored by the University of Cincinnati and led by husband-and-wife archaeologi ...
, an undisturbed Bronze Age warrior’s tomb at
Pylos
Pylos (, ; el, Πύλος), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is th ...
in southwestern Greece. The grave contained more than 50 gold or hardstone seal-stones, with intricate carvings in Minoan style showing goddesses, altars, reeds, lions and bulls, some with bull-jumpers soaring over the bull’s horns – all in Minoan style and probably made in Crete. The
Pylos Combat Agate
The Pylos Combat Agate is a Minoan sealstone of the Mycenaean era, likely manufactured in Late Minoan Crete. It depicts two warriors engaged in hand-to-hand combat, with a third warrior lying on the ground. It was discovered in the Griffin Warri ...
is the most remarkable of these.
Gallery
File:Minoan seal.JPG, Early ivory "knob seal" with impression, the knob formed as a monkey.[Hood, 212]
File:Pini-eber-original-I 294 3.JPG, Boar-hunting gem
File:Pini-eber-zeichnung-I 294 1.JPG, Drawing of last seal
File:Minoische Siegel.jpg, Fish and animal seals and impressions
File:Jasper triangular prism MET DP114459 DP114456 (cropped).jpg, one of the carved faces of a prism seal in jasper
File:Jasper triangular prism MET DP114461 (cropped).jpg, End view of the same "prism" seal in jasper
File:Agate lentoid seal MET DP141655 DP141657.jpg, Lentoid Late Minoan seal in agate
Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancie ...
: seal and impression
File:Agate lentoid seal MET DP141656 (cropped).jpg, Side view of same seal
File:Museu arqueologic de Creta14.jpg, museum examples—impressions
(stamp seal
__NOTOC__
The stamp seal is a carved object, usually stone, first made in the 4th millennium BC, and probably earlier. They were used to impress their picture or inscription into soft, prepared clay.
Seal devices have seldom survived through ti ...
s also shown)
Notes
References
*
Ceram, C.W. ''The March of Archaeology,'' C.W.Ceram, translated from the German,
Richard and Clara Winston
Richard Winston (1917 – December 22, 1979) and Clara Brussel Winston (1921 – November 7, 1983), were prominent American translators of German works into English.Fraser, C. Gerald (5 January 1980)Richard Winston, 62, Translator of Books from Ger ...
, (Alfred A. Knopf, New York), c 1958.
*
Hood, Sinclair, ''The Arts in Prehistoric Greece'', 1978, Penguin (Penguin/Yale History of Art), {{ISBN, 0140561420
Amulets
Hardstone carving
Cylinder and impression seals in archaeology
Seals
Seals may refer to:
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...