Worshipper from Crete

This man in veneration, the statuette of a worshipper, is the oldest bronze artefact belonging to the Classical collection of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. The Bronze Age started around 3000 B.C. and heralded a new archaeological era. This statue was found in Crete, where from 2000 to 1450 B.C. a rich civilization flourished, thought to have come to an abrupt end through volcanic eruptions.
Between 1900 and 1905 the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941) excavated the remnants of this civilization. The hill covering the palace of Knossos proved to contain many treasures. In Greek mythology the palace lived on as the ‘labyrinth’, the home of the Minotaur, eventually slain by the Athenian hero Theseus.
Statues of worshippers made of various materials have been discovered, but the specimen in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden is unique because of the round, soft hat. The cast statuette is massive and the bronze has not been polished. It is a far cry still from the refinement of the classical Greek bronze processing. The pose, with both arms plifted, is not seen all that often. It is a pose of veneration for the great goddess of Crete. The hands and the lower legs have broken off the statuette.