Limestone votive relief fragment of a seated deity with an inscribed dedication to Apollo

Limestone votive relief fragment of a seated deity with an inscribed dedication to Apollo

Description:

Inscribed "Onasioros dedicated to the god Apollo in (good fortune!)"



The inscription on this relief is in Cypriote syllabary, the origin of which has proven difficult to trace. Past attempts have been made to link it to Egyptian and Hittite hieroglyphics, the letter forms of the Phoencian alphabet and to the Cretan script Linear A, as well as the Mycenaean script Linear B.


WebPub GR 2012 Cesnola: 3 1/4 × 6 1/2 × 1 1/8 in., 0.5 lb. (8.3 × 16.5 × 2.9 cm, 0.2 kg)

Period:

Hellenistic

Date:

299 - 200 BC

Collection:

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Provenance:

From the sanctuary of Golgoi - Ayios Photios, Cyprus March - April 1870, found in Golgoi; until 1874, collection of Luigi Palma di Cesnola; acquired in 1874, purchased from L.P. di Cesnola.

References:

Doell, Johannes. 1873. Die Sammlung Cesnola. no. 769, p. 50, St. Petersburg: L’Académie Impérial des Sciences.Hall, Isaac H. 1874. "Cypriote Inscriptions of the Di Cesnola Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Journal of the American Oriental Society, 10: no. 23, p. 213, pl. VI.Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1903. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 3. pl. CXXXIV.1, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1874, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Masson, Olivier. 1961. Les Inscriptions Chypriotes Syllabiques: Recueil Critique et Commenté. no. 267, pl. XLV.2, Paris: E. de Boccard.Hermary, Antoine and Joan R. Mertens. 2013. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Stone Sculpture. no. 454, p. 325, Online Publication, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.Bombardieri, Luca and Elisa Panero. 2021. Cyprus : Crossroads of Civilization : Guide to the exhibition p. 104, London: DeArtcom.Bombardieri, Luca and Elisa Panero. 2021. Cyprus: Crossroads of Civilizations : exhibition catalog no. 150, p. 317, London: DeArtcom.

Accession Number:

74.51.2313