'One find of capital importance': A reassessment of the statue of user from Knossos

David Gill, Joan Padgham

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A fragmentary Egyptian Middle Kingdom statuette was found in the north-west area of Central Court at Knossos in 1900. The three hieroglyphic texts show that the statue was mortuary in character, and that it was linked to a gold-caster called User of the Wadjet nome in Egypt. The User statuette is part of a wider distribution of Middle Kingdom statues from Nubia, Anatolia, and the Levant which have been found in funerary and non-funerary contexts. Theories for this distribution are reviewed including diplomatic gifts and exchanges, dedications in sanctuaries, the movement of specialised Egyptian workers, portable funerary statues and looting. Looting of tombs in the Wadjet nome followed by redistribution of finds looks like the most likely explanation for the appearance of User's statuette on Crete.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41-59
Number of pages19
JournalAnnual of the British School at Athens
Volume100
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2005
Externally publishedYes

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