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Cyclades Islands | Santorini

Thera Wall Paintings Copies P. Nomikos Museum

The life-sized three-dimensional wall-paintings reproduced and exhibited here were sponsored by the "Thera Foundation, Petros M. Nomikos", and produced in France by Transfer Relief SA, using the Kodak Pathé process. Other similar Kodak Pathé commissions have been funded by the Getty Museum of California and the French government for the Egyptian tomb of Sennefer and the Lascaux Caves, respectively.

The manufacturing of these images involved a long, complex, and laborious process which necessitated the transfer of photographic emulsions onto a synthetic substrate that exactly replicates that of the original wall-painting plaster. This substrate was generated from a stereo-photogram of the original wall-painting in much that same way satellite imagery is used to render computerized topography in 3D.

Following the completion of the substrate, the photographic emulsion was then bonded to create the wall-paintings presented in the museum and shown in this album. Each image in the museum is rendered in a 1/1 scale, and has been stereo photographed using 20x25 cm. negatives so as to reduce peripheral image distortion and provide the very highest resolution. The results are exceptionally realistic and accurate, and this exhibition in Fira remains the only place where one can view, enjoy and study all of the wall-paintings of Thera.

For more detailed information about the technical and artistic aspects of the wall-paintings restoration please consult The Petros Nomikos Museum of Wall-Paintings of Akrotiri : A detailed reference for the inquisitive traveller.

Photos: Michael Tziotis

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Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

Xeste 3 - A Large Mansion

Xeste 3 is a large mansion located in the southwestern corner of the excavation. In the eastern section, in Rooms 2 and 3, were the wall-paintings with the “Frieze of Spirals” and the “Adorants”. The eastern portion of Xeste 3 has larger, more impressive rooms than the western part of the building. The presence of a “Lustral Basin” led Prof. Spyros Marinatos to associate this building with a religious and public function. In this area, offerings and rituals may well have taken place; indeed, the themes of the wall-paintings found within this grand structure support Marinatos’s interpretation.

In Room 3, on the ground floor of the eastern section, many impressive wall-paintings were found. In zone a, was the wall-painting of the “Adorants”. Also on the ground floor, in zone b of Room 3, were wall-paintings depicting three “Naked Boys” and an “Adult Male”. On the first floor, in zone a of Room 3, were the “Saffron-Gatherers”. In zone b of the same room was the fragmentary fresco of a “Wild Duck”. The western section of Xeste 3 is comprised of much smaller rooms. On the ground floor, ceramic vessels indicate that these areas were used for storage areas, while the upper areas were probably used for sleeping. The wall-painting or the “Rosettes” Frieze was found in Room9 of the western section.



Xeste 3: Plan of the building

Xeste 3: Plan of the building
“Frieze with Spirals”, Xeste 3, Room 2, H. 0.37 / W. 3,70 m.

“Frieze with Spirals”, Xeste 3, Room 2, H. 0.37 / W. 3,70 m.


This decorative composition of running spirals decorated the upper portions of the walls of room 2, Xeste 3. The Frieze once ran above the doors and lintels of the room.

A Panorama of the whole Frieze; please use the cursor to view the photo all the way to its right and left.
“Naked Boys”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, Middle Corridor, H. 1,92  W. 1,93 m

“Naked Boys”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, Middle Corridor, H. 1,92 W. 1,93 m


Four male figures are depicted in a series of wall-paintings, which once adorned the relatively large room 3b.

Three of them are naked youths with shaven heads (blue). One boy, in the northern corridor, holds a bowl (or fire box) in both hands. In the wall-painting in the middle corridor, shown here, another figure holds a colorful striped cloth; in the same frame, the third and smallest boy, rendered in yellow ochre, poses with his arms outstretched. The fourth figure, an adult male, clothed in a Minoan loincloth, holds a large vessel, tipping it as if to pour out some liquid. The adult’s scale and age make him the focus of this wall-painting series: indeed, the young boys are turned as if directed towards him.

Two interpretations of this scene have been suggested:

Firstly, that the artist is describing an initiation ritual possibly including the shaving of heads. With this interpretation we assume that the jug the adult male is holding would have been used for washing the head, and that the bowl/ fire box the boy on the right is holding was used to receive the shaved hair. This ritual may then have ended with the newly initiated boy being dressed in the fine fabric held by the other youth.

A second explanation is derived from the subject of the wall-painting of the “Saffron-gatherers” in the neighboring room. In this room, women are shown gathering saffron in what seems to be an ornate ritual. According to this interpretation, the men may have been helping in the same ritual.
“Naked Boys”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, Middle Corridor, H. 1,92  W. 1,93 m

“Naked Boys”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, Middle Corridor, H. 1,92 W. 1,93 m


Detail from the previous photo
“Adult Male”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, West Wall, H. 1,93  W. 1,82 m

“Adult Male”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, West Wall, H. 1,93 W. 1,82 m


The fourth figure, photographed here, is an adult male, clothed in a Minoan loincloth; he holds a large vessel, tipping it as if to pour out some liquid. The adult’s scale and age make him the focus of this wall-painting series: indeed, the young boys are turned as if directed towards him.
“Adult Male”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, West Wall, H. 1,93  W. 1,82 m

“Adult Male”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, West Wall, H. 1,93 W. 1,82 m


Detail from the previous photo.
“Naked Boy”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, North Corridor, H. 1,75  W. 1,24 m

“Naked Boy”, Xeste 3, Room 3b, Ground floor, North Corridor, H. 1,75 W. 1,24 m


Α boy, in the northern corridor of Room 3b, holds a bowl (or fire box) in both hands. This wall-painting is part of the series of frescoes from Room 3b we show in the previous photos.
“Rosettes”

“Rosettes”


Xeste 3, Room 9, First floor, H. 1.91, W. 2.52

This purely decorative painting in high-relief is unique to Acrotiri.

Double undulating relief bands pass through painted rings forming a network of lozenges (rhombuses), each enclosing four rosettes. This motif is one of the most beautiful and artistically unique non-figurative art forms found in Acrotiri.

The bas-relief details and the plasticity of modeling require a high degree of precision and accurate reproducibility, making this wall-painting aesthetically and technically very developed.
“Rosettes” (Detail)

“Rosettes” (Detail)


Xeste 3, Room 9, First floor, H. 1.91, W. 2.52
Drawing of Xeste 3, Room 3a

Drawing of Xeste 3, Room 3a


First floor: “Saffron-Gatherers” on the East wall (to the right), “Mistress of Animals” and “Saffron Gatherer” on the Northern Wall (facing us).

Ground floor: “Adorants” - “Lustral Basin”; North wall
“Mistress of Animals” and “Saffron Gatherer”

“Mistress of Animals” and “Saffron Gatherer”


Xeste 3, Room 3a, Northern Wall. H. 2.30 / W. 3.22 m

The northern wall also depicts a crocus-filled landscape. Here, a third female figure empties crocus stamens from her basket into a larger holding vessel. We can assume that she is a third saffron-gatherer. To the right, seated upon a stepped pedestal, is a fourth female figure. Positioned well above the other three females, this woman is richly dressed, adorned with an assortment of jewelry.
Animal themes and motifs decorate this central figure; she wears two necklaces, one with duck beads and the other with a dragonfly motif and on her head, a snake-like band. In front of her is a blue monkey climbing up the pedestal, holding outstretched a posy of crocuses. At her side sits a Griffin. The Griffin, half-lion half-eagle, is a mythical creature long associated with majesty and power.
Placed on this “podium” in the midst of real and mythical animals, academics have interpreted the woman as a divinity and thus named her the “Mistress of Animals”. It is possible that this wall-painting depicts a religious celebration, the offering of the crocus harvest to the Nature Goddess.

While this wall-painting seems to depict elements of the divine, the act of saffron gathering is firmly rooted in reality and represents ancient traditions of dyeing, of fine perfume and pharmacology.
“Mistress of Animals” and “Saffron Gatherer” (Figure to the left)

“Mistress of Animals” and “Saffron Gatherer” (Figure to the left)


Xeste 3, Room 3a, Northern Wall.
“Mistress of Animals” and “Saffron Gatherer” (Figure to the right - the “Mistress of Animals” )

“Mistress of Animals” and “Saffron Gatherer” (Figure to the right - the “Mistress of Animals” )


Xeste 3, Room 3a, Northern Wall.
“Saffron-Gatherers”

“Saffron-Gatherers”


The “Saffron-Gatherers” and the “Mistress of Animals” constitute a series of wall-paintings that decorated room 3a on the first floor of Xeste 3. The Saffron-Gatherers fresco occupies the first floor's East wall, and its dimensions are Η. 2.44 / W. 2.66 m.

On the east wall, two women, one younger than the other, are depicted in a field of crocuses. The older figure is gathering the stamens of flowers with her right hand, while holding a basket in her left. The younger figure, with the shaved blue head, is gathering the stamens with both hands. The difference in age and the manner in which the two figures engage each other visually implies a teacher-student relationship.

Scholars believe that either the Crocus sativus or the Crocus cartwrightianus are depicted in the wall-painting. The Crocus sativus grows even today on the Aegean islands and mainland Greece, flowering for a few days at the end of the summer. Cultivated since antiquity, saffron, which is derived from the stamen of the crocus, has been used as a dye, a pharmaceutical product and a perfume for centuries.
Uses of saffron in Akrotiri are likely to have included, but were not limited to the dyeing of robes. Saffron-colored robes are found throughout the wall-paintings, mostly adorning women. In Classical Greece, crocus dye was a symbol of supremacy and wealth. Saffron-colored clothing is often mentioned in ancient mythology, tragedies, and poetry.
“Saffron-Gatherers” (Figure to the left)

“Saffron-Gatherers” (Figure to the left)
“Saffron-Gatherers” (Figure to the right)

“Saffron-Gatherers” (Figure to the right)
“Saffron-Gatherers” (Middle Section)

“Saffron-Gatherers” (Middle Section)
“Adorants” - “Lustral Basin”. Xeste 3, Ground floor, Room 3a, North wall, H. 1.43  W. 3.91 m

“Adorants” - “Lustral Basin”. Xeste 3, Ground floor, Room 3a, North wall, H. 1.43 W. 3.91 m


The three elaborately dressed women in this wall-painting appear to be heading towards what scholars have interpreted as an altar shrine. The 'shrine' structure, located on the east wall (not exhibited), shows several large horns, from whose tips drip red drops, possibly blood. The women's rich clothing, fine jewelry, and meticulous grooming indicate the social status and importance of this composition.
The figure on the left is wearing a transparent diaphanous bodice of the highest quality embroidered with crocus stamens. In her right hand, between her elegant fingers, is a necklace. The figure in the middle is painted in profile, sitting down and holding her injured leg with one hand; the other hand is held to her forehead. The “hand to forehead” gesture finds parallels in Egyptian iconography where it is used to depict lament. The third female figure, the youngest of the three, is clad in a polka-dotted garment, and is shown with a shaved head (blue) and with two long tresses of black hair.

The iconography and youth of the third female figure, as well as the “women only” environment in the wall-painting have led scholars to the conclusion that this wall-painting represents an initiation ritual of religious significance.
“Adorants” (Detail 1)

“Adorants” (Detail 1)


The figure on the left is wearing a transparent diaphanous bodice of the highest quality embroidered with crocus stamens. In her right hand, between her elegant fingers, is a necklace.
“Adorants” (Detail of the previous photo)

“Adorants” (Detail of the previous photo)


Photo of a slide at the museum
“Adorants” (Another detail of the same fresco)

“Adorants” (Another detail of the same fresco)


The necklace held by the woman at the left as shown in a transparency at the exhibition.
“Adorants” (Detail 2)

“Adorants” (Detail 2)


The figure in the middle is painted in profile, sitting down and holding her injured leg with one hand; the other hand is held to her forehead. The “hand to forehead” gesture finds parallels in Egyptian iconography where it is used to depict lament. The third female figure, the youngest of the three, is clad in a polka-dotted garment, and is shown with a shaved head (blue) and with two long tresses of black hair.
“Adorants” (Detail of the previous photo)

“Adorants” (Detail of the previous photo)


A transparency on show at the museum.
“Adorants” (Detail 3)

“Adorants” (Detail 3)


The iconography and youth of the third female figure, as well as the “women only” environment in the wall-painting have led scholars to the conclusion that this wall-painting represents an initiation ritual of religious significance.
“Wild Duck”

“Wild Duck”


Xeste 3, Room 3b, First Floor

Several representations of ducks are found on the wall-paintings at Akrotiri. Ducks are usually shown in their natural habitat, with the exception of the duck motif found on the necklace heads of the "Mistress of Animals".
Here, the bird is depicted in profile, with its wings folded upward. As only a few fragments of this wall-painting remain, we are unclear as to its exact context.

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