Hagia Triada Sarcophagus

The Sarcophagus of Hagia Triada depicts Minoan funerary rites to honour the dead. Sacrifices and gift giving as part of the procession are shown on each of the sides. On one side, the people are presenting the gifts to the dead man himself, standing outside his tomb. The piece has a strong emphasis on line, shape, and colour. Many patterns adorn around the main register. The entire piece is filled with colour, though now most of it has faded. Strong lines separate each part of the patterns and main register. The emphasis on line is apparent, especially when looking at a work comprised of different registers. Horizontal and vertical lines are used to break the sections up clearly as well as add detail. Different lighter line weights adorn the …show more content…
The focus on primary colours around the outer registers shows that this piece was probably very loud to the eye. Each basic shape alternates between red, blue, yellow, or white. The reason these colours were used together was most likely due to them having the strongest pigments as well as being the most readily available to use. On the inner main register, a darker brown colour was used to differentiate males from females, who were depicted as very fair-skinned as was a staple of the time period. In a time when the human form was shown simply and uniformly, colour was often used as the defining factor to show things like gender and status. All of these elements work together to inform the viewer. Without the strong lines and bold colours, there would be less differentiating between figures and shapes. The Minoans did not have all the resources and subsequent techniques built from those resources to create their artwork. Still, the registers are clear and the main section is clearly recognizable as a honourary procession. With their basic colours and shapes, they were still able to create an identifiable image, which is a testament to their