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| Description | | Exhibits |

The permanent exhibition of the Heraklion Archaeological Museum

Golden ring with religious representation
The Isopata signet ring

This famous ring from the Isopata tomb, near Knossos, is a masterpiece of Minoan gold work. The bezel depicts four female figures, richly clad in characteristic Minoan garments, moving through a landscape of lilies. Three of them dance in ecstasy, their arms raised in the air, while the fourth one, placed in the centre of the scene and slightly higher than the others, makes a gesture - possibly of benediction. Their generously proportioned bodies and opulent garments are rendered in remarkable detail, as opposed to their minuscule heads. A fifth figure, much smaller than the others, appears to be descending from the sky and completes the composition together with other religious symbols frequently encountered on similar representations, such as the sacred eye, the snake and the chrysalis.

Exhibit Features
Date: Late Bronze Age, 1600 - 1400 BC
Place of discovery: Knosos, Isopata grave
Dimensions: diameter: 0,021 m
Material: Gold
Inventory number: ΑΕ 424
Exhibition hole: Hall VI
Copyright: Hellenic Ministry of Culture
 
 
 
  Suggestive Bibliography
 
Ελληνική Τέχνη, Η αυγή της ελληνικής τέχνης, Αθήνα, 1994, αρ. 81, 201, 325
 
Σακελλαράκης Ι.Α., Μουσείο Ηρακλείου, Αθήνα, 2003, 59, 61
 
Βασιλάκης Α., Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Ηρακλείου, Αθήνα, χ.χ., 117