Tau-, Psi- and phi- type figurines date back to 1450–1100 BC in Mycenaean Greece. They were typically small (about 10cm high), made of terracotta, although a group of

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

figurines has been found, and were found in tombs, shrines and settlement areas. They are classified by their shape and a resemblance to the Greek letters of

tau Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or \boldsymbol\tau; el, ταυ ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English ...

(τ), psi (ψ) and

phi Phi (; uppercase Φ, lowercase φ or ϕ; grc, ϕεῖ ''pheî'' ; Modern Greek: ''fi'' ) is the 21st letter of the Greek alphabet. In Archaic and Classical Greek (c. 9th century BC to 4th century BC), it represented an aspirated voicele ...

(Φ), according to a typological system created by

Arne Furumark Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessaly) ...

in 1941. Their function/purpose is unknown, although it has been suggested that their purpose changed with the context in which they were found. Possible uses were children's toys, votive figurines or grave offerings. Some figurines appear to wear flattened headdresses, which suggests they may be goddesses. However, it is difficult to distinguish between goddesses and worshippers. It is likely that they were made by the same craftsmen who made Mycenaean vases, as the decoration techniques are similar. Examples of such figurines are held by the

Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art The Nicholas P. Goulandris Foundation - Museum of Cycladic Art is a museum of Athens. It houses a notable collection of artifacts of Cycladic art. The museum was founded in 1986 in order to house the collection of Cycladic and Ancient Greek art ...

(Athens), the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

(London), and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

(New York) among other places.

References

Archaeological artefact types Ancient Greek pottery figurines Mycenaean art {{ceramics-stub

See also

References