Minoan Cushion Seals
Innovation in Form, Style, and Use in Bronze Age Glyptic
by Giulia Dionisio, Anna Margherita Jasink and Judith Weingarten
This book is the first to examine all aspects of cushion seals and to compare them with other contemporary forms of glyptic art. It aims to cast new light on style and form at the transition from the Protopalatial to early Neopalatial period on Crete.
This book is about a single Minoan seal shape, the cushion seal – a rectangular stone with biconvex faces — so called because its profile resembles a cushion. This shape is specific to Minoan culture. The first securely-dated cushions appear in Middle Minoan IIB but its floruit is Middle Minoan III-Late Minoan IA, after which it essentially dies out. While, in its early days, the materials, style, and motifs were similar to those of other seal shapes, it later developed a recognizable, perhaps semi-independent style and iconography of its own. Some of the finest examples of Minoan glyptic art appear on cushions. Who crafted them? Had they any special meaning? Why did the shape so abruptly disppear? This book is the first to examine all aspects of cushion seals and to compare them with other contemporary forms of glyptic art. It aims to cast new light on style and form at the transition from the Protopalatial to early Neopalatial period on Crete.
Preface Introduction 1. Organisation of the study 2. Origin and development of the cushion shape 3. Distribution and dating (Maps I-IV) 4. Terminology Chapter I 1. Materials and colours (Tables I 1-2) 2. Manufacturing techniques 3. Cushions with two engraved faces (Table I 3
Images I 1) 4. Cushions in vertical orientation (Table I 4
Images I 2) Chapter II Decorative and ornamental iconography (Table II 1
Images II 1-3)) 1. Architectonic and related motifs 2. Concentric circles with central dot 3. Geometric motifs Chapter III Scribal (Hieroglyphic) and post-scribal (talismanic) signs and motifs 1. Hieroglyphic script (Images III 1) 2. Talismanic and related motifs ((Table III 1
Images III 2) Chapter IV Figurative Iconography (Table IV 1
Images IV 1-3) 1. Animals: Sea creatures Caprids Bovines Lions Bucrania Birds Scorpions Hybrid and fantastic creatures 2. Human figures with animals 3. Human figures alone Chapter V Cushion seals in metal (Images V 1) Chapter VI Seal impressions stamped by cushion seals (Images VI 1) Chapter VII 1. Stylistic groups and workshops Chapter VIII Conclusions: the role of the cushion seals in Minoan glyptic Concordances Appendices A. Published and unpublished cushion seals without CMS numbers B. The on-line database catalog Catalogue Illustrations References
- By (author) Giulia Dionisio
- By (author) Anna Margherita Jasink
- By (author) Judith Weingarten
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