The dog pursuit scenes from Tell el Dab c a and Kea

Author(s): Nanno Marinatos and Lyvia Morgan

Reviewed work(s):
Source: British School at Athens Studies, Vol. 13, AEGEAN WALL PAINTING: A TRIBUTE TO
MARK CAMERON (2005), pp. 119-122
Published by: British School at Athens
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40960397 .
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6
The dog pursuitscenesfrom
Tell el Dabca and Kea
NannoMarinatosandLyviaMorgan
THE DOG PURSUIT SCENE FROM TELL EL
DABCA

and upright.
His body,however,
risesupwardsand he
musthavebeenin a flying
gallop.His headis notpreservedbutitis likelythatitwasturnedbackwards
for
NannoMarinatos
thereasonsexplainedabove.The fleeing
animalis bitThereexistseveralhunting
scenesfromTell el Dabca
tenbya largegreydogofwhichonlythesilhouette,
the
whichincludelionsandleopards,
wildgoats,bullsand
forepawsand red collarare preserved.The latteris
otherungulates,
humanhunters
anddogswithcollars. important
becauseit showsthepositionof theneck.
Hereonelargefragment
PLATE Red bloodis trickling
fromthevictim'swound.
(F 33) willbe treated,
15.i.1Its narrative
contextis notyetunderstood
but
Belowtheanimalsisa landscape.
The terrain
isrocky;
thefragment
is largeenoughtomerita reconstruction, therocksareoval,paintedbluehighlighted
withgreen,
evenat thisstageofthework.
whichhasnowturnedintoblack,liketheleavesofthe
Twolargeanimals
wildgoatsbuttheycould
(probably
plants.There is quitea lot of undulationsuggesting
alsobe wildantelopes)
arepursuedbya dog.The body
unevengroundhills.Plantsaregrowing
fromthesoil.
andlegsofthepreyanimalsaregrey,
outlinedinblack,
must
have
had
leaveswith
Theyoriginally
blue/green
redstalks.Now theleavesareblack,due to thediscolexactlyas on theantelopesfromThera,RoomB i.2
The reasonwe could not determinewithcertainty orationproducedbychemicalreactions
withthesoil.
whether
theungulates
areantelopes
orgoatsis because
Itispossiblethatmenalsofeatured
inthisscenesince
bothanimals
havethesamedistinctive
ontheir thedoghasa collarandshouldhavebeenaccompanied
markings
bodiesand legs.Comparewiththeungulatefromthe
butno humanfigurein a scalematching
bya master,
faiencematerial
oftheTempleRepositories
Knossos.3 theanimalshasas yetbeenidentified.
Allinall,theMinoanstookliberties
withthe
The closestparallelsforourscenesarefurnished
especially
by
thegoatsfromthe
horns,as we can tellbycomparing
glypticart.On a seal fromCrete,datedby Evansto
withthoseinglyptic
scenes.4
Since
MM II, a goatin flying
TempleRepositories
gallopis bittenbya dog.8On a
scenesshowgoatsbeingpursuedbydogsmost
seal fromKoukounaranearPylos,thesamepatternis
glyptic
we optedforthewildgoatalternative
for
A dog
frequently,
repeatedbut the goat'shornsare different.9
ouranimals.
a
occurs
on
a
seal
found
at
attacking goat
Mycenae.10
A bit of a hornis preservedagainstthe bodyof
The goatturnsto facethedog whois bitingitsbody.
oneoftheTellelDabcaanimals.
It wascurvedandblue.
This representation
is a good parallelfortheTell el
Thereis no headleft,butitis almostcertainthatboth
Dabca paintingbecause of the turnedhead of the
headswereturnedbackwards,
theanimalsfacingtheir victimandbecausethedogbitesitsvictimin approxiThis postureis in factformulaic.
It occurson
pursuer.
matelythesamespot.
seals,5on a goldplaquefromtheShaftGraves6where
a lionchasesa goat,etc.Anotherrepresentation
of a
goatwithitshead turnedcomesfroma fragmentary
seal impressionfromthe Temple Repositoriesat
Knossos.7The turnedheadcanbe seenas a convention 1 Bietak19950,pi-4> I- See alsoMorganiQQSa,36.
2 Doumas 1992,pls.82-4.
forthepursuedand defeated,as thoughthe animal
3 PM I fig.366.
wantsto knowits killer,or betteryet,to rebuffthe
Fordiscussion
oftheseanimalsinAegeanartseeMorgan1988,
4
withitshorns.
predator
41-67.
The first
animaloftheTellel Dabcapainting,
on the
5 CMS I no.372;V no.656;V Suppl. iA no. 105;V Suppl. iB
leftedgeofthefragment,
wasclearly
brokendown.His
no.74; XIII no.71.
hoofsarewellpreserved
andtheyshowthatitwasin a
6 MarinatosandHirmeri960,pls. 198-9.
itis likelythat
kneeling
position.As no dogis evident,
7 Pini 1990,pl. VI a = CMS II.8 no.530.
itwasstruckbya missile.
8 PM I 716,fie.mq c: CMS VII no. .
To theright,
andoverlapping
thebrokendownun9 CMS V Suppl. iB no. 190.
isa secondone.His front
gulate,
legsarewellpreserved 10 CMS V Suppl. iB no.74.

120

NANNO MARINATOS AND L YVIA MORGAN

The Minoansevidently
did notshrinkfromshowthe
moment
of
attack
which
can also be deduced
ing
fromthenumerousseals showingmenwithcollared
none
dogs,orscenesofgoatspursuedbydogs.However,
oftheglyptic
scenescanrenderthesenseofdramathat
thepainting
The redblood,dripping
fromthe
imparts.
animal'swoundcannotleavethespectator
unaffected.
in glypticart,
Turningnowto further
comparanda
it is noteworthy
thatdogs can be shownas either
of
oftheirmastersor as soleprotagonists
companions
is a hunting
sceneon a sealthechase.Of greatinterest
fromPalaikastro
wheretwodogsattacka
impression
the
first
from
the
thesecondfromthe
front,
largegoat,
A man(oris he a god?)loomslargeinthebackback.11
his
ground,perhapsholdinga missileand extending
hisnature,
he
armina gesture
ofcommand.
Whatever
thedogsbeing
is themaster,
atthetopofthehierarchy,
in itsexecution
underhiscommand.12
Alsoimpressive
fromChania,wherea hunteris
is theseal(impression)
tocontrolhisdog.13
trying
unOtherexamplesincludebull,dogand hunter,14
and
and
hunter,
dog,17
dog,16
goat
gulate dog,15
solitary
a lionanda dog.18
twohunters,
Finally,we havehunterswithoutdogs in Minoan
as whena hunterstepson thebellyof a
iconography,
defeated
up-side-downgoat.19Ring and seal
huge
from
theTempleRepositories,
Knossos,
impressions
us withrelatedscenes.We concludethat
also furnish
embeddedin thereperand dogswerefirmly
hunters
and
toireofAegeaniconography it shouldbe stressed
thatseveralof the glypticscenes discussedabove
in Creteitself.The Tell el Dabca paintings
originate
whathadalreadybeensuggested
confirm
bytheseals,
in
is
embedded
namelythathuntingiconography

and is nota Mycenaeaninvention.

Minoan tradition

THE DOG PURSUITSCENEFROMKEA

LyviaMorgan
wall paintingsof AyiaIrini,
Amongsttheminiature
of
white
is
a
scene
Kea,
dogsin pursuitoffallowdeer
hereby wayof
scene
is presented
The
(PLATE15.2).
disscene
the
with
recently
dog pursuit
comparison
coveredat Tell el Dabca.
As NannoMarinatospointsout,bothdogsand the
withMycenaean
art,have
hunt,thoughlongassociated
It was
in glyptic
artinparticular.20
a Minoantradition,
than
for
the
Cretans
theme
a
less
popular
apparently
oftheShaftGraveart
as theimagery
themainlanders,
andPylos
Orchomenos
ofTiryns,
andthewallpaintings
remindus, and it was neversuchan integralpartof
as itwasinEgypt,yet
cyclesofpaintings
iconographic
interestwasshared.Whatis particularly
thetradition
and
Dabca
Tell
el
from
scenes
in
the
dog pursuit
ing
of
extantwallpaintings
Kea is thattheyaretheearliest
thisthemebyAegeanartists.Sincetheyare virtually
is worthwhile.
in date,a comparison
contemporary

The miniature
friezeswerepaintedaroundthewalls
ofa largehall(N.20),thewindows
ofwhichwouldhave
afforded
a clearviewoftheentrance
tothesettlement,
theharbour
andthecoastalland.21
The scenesarealive
withactivity:
womenin thesettlements,
menin proover
rocks
or
nearwater,
cession,dancing,climbing
in
kill
the
from
a hunt,
cooking largecauldrons,
bringing
boats
and
Numerous
propelling
ships.
(fragmentary)
animalsmaybe partofa herding
scene,horsesareassociated
bothwithsettlements
anda chariot.
The setting
initscomis a richtapestry
oflandscape,
unparalleled
a
riverine
the
sea
and
coast,
landscapeand
plexity:
land
with
various
riverlets,
marshy
plantsand multicolouredrocks,blue skywithbillowingclouds.The
froma
hunter
hascaptureda deer,whichhangslifeless
in
and
horses
the
direche
walks
near
the
chariot
pole;
the
tionof thecauldronscene,presumably
delivering
maindelicacyof the feastforthe festivalwhichthe
The huntercamefromthesouthcelebrate.
paintings
towardsthe
westpartof theroom,movingeastwards
cauldrons.
The dogpursuitscenecamefromthewest
movetowards(i.e. behind)
walland theprotagonists
thehunter.
thescene
ofthepaintings,
Despitetherichsettings
of dogspursuingdeeris devoidof anylandscapedetails.It is paintedon a plainyellowochrebackground.
The scaleoftheanimalsis largerthanthatoftherest
somescenes.The pursuitis therefore
oftheminiature
ofthe
whatsetasidefromtherest,andoneis reminded
miniature
huntscenefromThera,in whichcat and
huntbirdsanddeer.22
Thoughtheseanimalsare
griffin
thisscenetooissetaside
setina lushriverine
landscape,
in thatthelandscapeis
fromtherestoftheminiatures
and theanimalsareagainon a largerscale.I
different
speculatethatthereasonis thesameinbothcases:that
ofas takingplacebeyondthevithesceneis thought
sion of the eye. At Kea, whilefeasting,festivities,
andshipscouldallmostlikelyhavebeenseen
buildings
fromthewindowsofthepaintedroom(whichI think
wasa banqueting
hall),a deerhunt,hadittakenplace,
The landscape
have
been
would
beyondthesettlement.
in
the
reflected
is
the
of
bay,marshy
paintings closely
next
coastand (nowdried-up)riverbed immediately
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

CMS V Suppl. iB no.341.

See alsoPini1992,pl. I, e = CMS II. 8 no.236.
CMS V Suppl. 1A no. 174.
CMS II. 3 no.9.
CMS XIII 71.
CMS II.3 no. 160.
CMSV no.656.
CMS XI no.33.
PM IV 577,fig.559.
Cf.Morgan19950,34oftheminiature
paintings
Morgan1998^.Finalpublication
willappearina volumeoftheKeosseries:Morganin preparation.
Uoumas1992,pls.30-34;Morgan1955,140-50(deer:54-oj.

THE DOG PURSUIT SCENES FROM TELL EL DABCAAND KEA

andthemarshes
ofKea hadwildanitothesettlement,
as 40 yearsago.
malsin themuntilas recently
circumstanThe questionoflandscapeis,however,
since
the
are
and
tial,
paintings fragmentary itcouldbe
thatthe
thatit is simplyan accidentof preservation
of
the
hunt
are
devoid
of
water
or
vegetation,
pieces
rocks.It willbe notedthattheTellel Dabcahuntis also
paintedon a yellowochregroundand had thefragmentin PLATE15.1 beenbrokenhigherup, thattoo
wouldhaveappearedtobe on a plainground.Yetfrom
thisand otherhuntpieces,it is clearthata landscape
hasbeenprovided.
The questionofscale,howsetting
is
more
and
to note
ever,
conclusive, it is interesting
thatatTell el Dabca,as at Kea andThera,theanimals
ofthehuntsceneareon a somewhat
largerscalethan
otherscenes.Onlyat Tell el Dabcado thereappearto
be hunters
associated
withthehunt,atKea the
directly
- a hunterhas killedhis prey
narrative
is sequential
ittothecooks- andatTherathehunt
andisbringing
is devoidofhumanintervention.
Whatis specific
tothesescenesfromKea andTell el
Dabcais thatthepredators
aredogs.The preyare,in
bothscenes,
atTellelDabca,
ungulates:
goatsorantelope
fallowdeerat Kea. At Tell el Dabca,thedogsarenot
theonlypredators,
lionsandleopardsforman importantpartofthecomposition.
AtKea, thedogsarethe
In
attackers.
the
both, presenceofmanthehunter
only
is impliedbythedogsandconfirmed
bytheirexistence
inthescenes.This presenceis madeexplicit
elsewhere
in theTell el Dabca sceneby theinclusionof a red
collararoundtheneckofthedog.
The first
questiontoaskis whyfallowdeerareporin
the
Kea scene,and goat/antelope
in theone
trayed
fromTellel Dabca.The nextquestionis whether
there
is anynotabledifference
in theportrayal
ofthedog.
ThattheanimalsintheKea painting
arefallowdeer
isevident
from
thecoloration
andspots.The pubictuft
on oneoftheanimalsclearlyindicates
a malefawn,but
theothers(therearefurther
fragments
beyondthosein
PLATE15.2)couldbe eitherfawnsor doesin summer.
Thereare no antlersamongstthefragments,
but the
adultmale shedshis antlerseach April.The white
andthespotsindicate
a summer
coat(Mayunderbelly
A summer
October)intheadult,ora juvenile.23
setting
is therefore
indicated,no doubttheseasonin which
thehuntwas mostfavoured.As so oftenin Aegean
painting,the animalis therefore
closelyobserved.
Whetheror not fallowdeerexistedon the Cycladic
islandsin theBronzeAge is a mootpoint,butthatit
didelsewhere
in Greeceand wasthechiefpreyin the
dramaofthehuntinAegeanartis notin doubt.
In contrast,deerwereapparently
rarein ancient
Egyptand thereare relativelyfewrepresentations
ofthemin eitheroffering
or hunting
scenesfromthe
whentheydisappearalto4thtothemid-18thdynasty,
The painting
from
TellelDabcaisindisputably
gether.24
andtechnique,
Aegeaninidiom,iconography
yeta characteristic
ofboththeTell el Dabcapaintings
andthose

12 1

fromtheAegean,is thattheartists
werealwayscareful
to includespeciesof animalsand plantswhichwould
be at homein thesettingof theirphysicalspace.The
areall
plantsandanimalsintheTell el Dabcapaintings
familiar
totheartistic
visionofAegeanpainters;
equally,
thereareno crotheyareat homein Egypt.Notably,
cuses- a favourite
ofMinoanpainters
butnotpartof
theindigenous
floraof Egypt.However,somefallow
deerfragments
survivefromthepaintings;
mystudy
ofthembeganwhilethisbookwasin press.
The dogsare similarly
distinguished,
althoughthe
nature
of
both
makes
thecomfragmentary
paintings
Both
are
slender
with
parisonincomplete.
dogs
long
muzzle,ofgreyhound
legsandnarrow
type,akintothe
mostcommonvarieties
inEgypt,thetesem,whichhas
ears
and
curled
pricked
tail,and thesaluki,whichhas
ears
and
loose
tail.25
The earsoftheKea dogshave
drop
notsurvived,
butmay,likethatfromTell el Dabca,be
at intermediate
height,applicableto eitherbutmore
characteristic
of the prickears, stretching
back as
theanimalrushesforward.
The curvedbutloosetail
identifiesthe Kea dog as a greyhound(whichhas
earsbutloosetail)orsaluki.In theTellelDabca
pricked
the tail is missing,but otherfragments
of
fragment
thepaintingdisplaya tightly
curledtailof thetesem.
These varietieswereused in Egyptforhuntingin
thedesert,thetesembeingpopularin theOld Kingdom,salukiintheNewKingdom.Greyhounds,
though
less popular,appearwithbothothertypesin Middle
Kingdompaintings.
Whatdistinguishes
theTell el Dabcadogfromthat
- blackon white- and the
of Kea, is themarkings
collar.Bothfeatures
are commonin Egyptianpaintbutareabsentat
ingsandinlaterMycenaeanpaintings
Kea. Again,itis likelythatthepainter
wantedthedogs
tobe recognisable
as typestoan Egyptian
as wellas an
andhasmodified
Aegeanobserver,
accordingly.
The dogsin bothpaintings
arein 'flying
gallop',a
basedin
characteristically
Aegeananimalmovement,
on thefelinerunbutappliedindiscriminately
to
reality
all quadrupeds.In deference
to therealities
ofanimal
in theKea fragment
thedog is in a wider
movement,
the
gallopthanthedeer.In theTell el Dabcafragments
havealreadybeenfelled,onestanding
goats/antelopes
ontoitsforelegs.
In bothcases,
still,theothercollapsing
thedog springsforward
to bitetheunderbelly
of the
deer,almosttherein the case of Kea, triumphantly
bloodinthecaseofTellelDabca.Bothofthese
drawing
- theflying
features
bitegallopandtheunderbelly
arespecifically
Aegean.
Paintersfromthe Aegeanand Egyptclearlyexchangedideas,viewedoneanother's
work,adoptedand
adaptedmotifsin a spiritof international
exchange.
23
24
25

Walkeretal. 1975,1387.
OsbornandOsbornova1998,153-4.
OsbornandOsbornova1998,59-66.

122

NANNOMARINATOS AND L YVIAMORGAN

Yetthelanguageofartwassharedonlyon certainlevels, in scenes whichare not restrictedby specific

timeandplacebut
toa particular
religious
iconography
It was,
to
life
like
the
hunt,pertain
which,
experiences.
the
for
the
of
therefore,
dog
possible
painter
perfectly
as much
sceneatTellelDabcatocreatea picture
pursuit
at homein Egyptas in theAegeanyetin specifically
Aegeanidiom.

These twopaintings,
of thesameperiodbutfrom
locations,
providea clear
widelydifferent
geographical
One in whichAegean
exampleof a sharedtradition.
ofMinoan
artists
farafieldfromtheepicentre
working
use a commonlanguage
cultureandfromone another,
of themesand idioms;a languagewhichis adaptable
yetremains
accordingto thelocationofthepainting,
Aegean.
recognisably