Breastplate with figurative representations, bronze, chased, bronze, Total: Height: 45,50 cm, protective clothing, weapons (warfare/military), sphinx, snakes, Greek antiquity, The breastplate is decorated with figurative representations in flat relief and fine chasing. Sea snakes circle around the chest muscles, on them are heraldic lions. Griffins and warriors on the ribcage, indicated in the so-called knee diagram, complete the rich decoration. The general stylization of the breast modeling adheres to the large sculpture of the time, which is also known as the so-called Daedal art. This breastplate comes from a larger complex of helmets, tanks and mitres found in 1964 in Aphrati (ant. Arkades) in southern central Crete. They were deposited in monumental clay vessels in a cult or assembly building. The more extensive part of the find is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In Cretan works, an eastern influence is more often observed, since the island of Crete played an important role in conveying eastern art traditions to the West. As Erika Simon recently pointed out, the weapons of Arkades were probably used in the ritual weapon dance and not in combat. They were then consecrated to a deity.

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