Bronze statuette (inv. no NAM P 6284) depicting the Minoan type of adorant, said to have been found in Milatos, near Malia, Crete.
Bronze statuette (inv. no NAM P 6284) depicting the Minoan type of adorant, said to have been found in Milatos, near Malia, Crete.
Bronze statuette (inv. no NAM P 6284) depicting the Minoan type of adorant, said to have been found in Milatos, near Malia, Crete.
Bronze statuette (inv. no NAM P 6284) depicting the Minoan type of adorant, said to have been found in Milatos, near Malia, Crete.
Bronze statuette (inv. no NAM P 6284) depicting the Minoan type of adorant, said to have been found in Milatos, near Malia, Crete.
Bronze statuette (inv. no NAM P 6284) depicting the Minoan type of adorant, said to have been found in Milatos, near Malia, Crete.
Gold cup from the Vapheio in Laconia tholos tomb (inv. no NAM P 1759). It depicts a farmer taming a bull. Crafted in a Minoan palatial workshop. Ca 1500 BC (Photographic Archive of the National Archaeological Museum).
Fragment of a Minoan steatite vase with bull-leaping scene (inv. no NAM P 10591), found on the Athenian Acropolis. 1600-1450 BC. (Photographic Archive of the National Archaeological Museum).
The Unseen Museum is the well-known exhibition project of the National Archaeological Museum of Athens that brings to the fore antiquities stored in its vaults away from the visitor’s eyes.
In the summer of 2023 the Unseen Museum presents the “strange story of a Cretan kouros”. It is a bronze statuette of rare beauty that depicts the Minoan type of adorant. The figurine is said to have been found in Milatos, near Malia, Crete during the final years of the World War I. It was acquired by the National Archaeological Museum in 1923 and exhibited for a short time in the 1920’s. Its uncertain provenance, the unusual naturalistic rendering of various details, combined with its large size make it unique and raise doubts about its authenticity. The display of the bronze kouros in the Unseen Museum marks the re-examination of an old riddle employing modern archaeometry, which is expected to shed light on its true origin. The “strange story of a Cretan kouros” is exhibited in the “Hall of the Altar” (no. 34) from Tuesday, August 1 to Monday, October 16, 2023.
