Cypriot scenes with sphinxes at the World Tree. Compositional and semantic features
https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2019-10-21-37
Abstract
The heraldic composition with sphinxes and the World Tree appears in Cyprus in the Late Bronze Age (1600–1050 BC), but its reproduction by local masters is known only from the Cypro-archaic period (750–480 BC). The predominance of such images in the Еast and South-East of Cyprus provides reason to associate them with Phoenician expansion. The characteristic features of Cypriot iconography include the ascending movement of the sphinxes. In many cases they inhale the fragrance of lotus flowers, which appear as parts of the World Tree. The contrast between diurnal and nocturnal, as well as between the upper and lower worlds, expressed in the details of the Cypriot versions of the composition with sphinxes, invites examination of it in the context of Resurrection symbolism.
About the Author
D. A. Kalinichev
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Dmitry A. Kalinichev
bld. 12, Volkhonka str., Moscow, 119019, Russia
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Review
For citations:
Kalinichev D.A. Cypriot scenes with sphinxes at the World Tree. Compositional and semantic features. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2019;(10):21-37. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2019-10-21-37
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