Figurine of a male votary

Fragmentary figurine of a male votary (right) with elaborate hairstyle and a simple loincloth suspended from a girdle with a round buckle (or knot). The roughly triangular feature just below the buckle represents either a dagger or a sheath for a dagger. The arms of the figurine are missing but, as we know from other well-preserved examples, they were originally folded in front of the chest in the standard Minoan gesture of worshipping. Handmade clay figurines were the commonest type of votive offering in the cult areas of Minoan Crete. They are particularly ubiquitous in peak-sanctuaries, open-air places of worship on the summit of hills or mountains. It is highly probable that this figurine comes from a peak sanctuary, too. During the Protoplatial or Old Palace period (ca. 1900-1700 BC), worship in the peak-sanctuaries had a strong folk character. The devotees offered to the deity clay models of animals, possibly as substitutes for actual sacrifices, as well as human figurines in attitudes of adoration. They also offered models of individual parts of the body (legs, arms, palms, etc.), which presumably begged a cure. Several figurines bore painted decoration. This one preserves faint traces of red and black colour on the face and various parts of the body.