La Parisienne (fresco)

The Minoan fresco fragment known as La Parisienne, or sometimes the Minoan Lady, is part of the Camp Stool Fresco, which was probably painted on the wall of the Sanctuary Hall on the room sometimes called the piano nobile at the palace of Knossos. It dates to the Final Palatial Period, c. 1450–1350/1300 BC, and is now in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

La Parisienne
Created	c. 1400 BC
Discovered	before 1964 Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Present location	Heraklion, Crete, Greece

The sacral knot worn at the back of the neck seems to indicate that she is a priestess or even a goddess. Archaeological researches in Minoan palaces, cemeteries and settlements has brought to light a multitude of objects related to beautification. Edmond Pottier gave her the name as he felt she resembled a contemporary woman from Paris.

It seems that there were beautification areas in the palaces of Knossos, Zakros and Pylos. These beauty objects were used during the whole Aegean Bronze Age. By using these objects, the Minoan ladies highlighted the red lips and the white of the face. In the fresco of the Parisienne, the use of black for emphasizing the form of the eyes and red for the lips can clearly be seen.

See also

• List of Aegean frescos

Bibliography

• A. Evans, The Palace of Minos at Knossos III repr. New York 1964
• A. Papaefthymiou-Papanthimou Utensils and toiletries of the Cretan-Mycenaean Age, Thessaloniki 1979
• Poursat, J.C., Les Ivoires myceniens, Paris 1977
• Palmer L, The Interpretation of Mycenaean Greek Texts, Oxford 1963.

External links

• "Minoan woman or goddess from the palace of Knossos (“La Parisienne”)" by Senta German, Khan Academy
• Greek thesaurus - Minoan civilization
• Kathimerini newspaper - 7 days
• Herakleion Archaeological Museum