STANDING CASE F. The Fitzwilliam Goddess

Accession Number GR.1.1926
Year 1920s
Dimensions h. 22 cm
Medium marble
Location Fitzwilliam Museum
View in Collection

The Fitzwilliam Goddess was identified as genuine by Evans but is now widely regarded as fake. It was said to have been smuggled out of Crete and acquired by Charles Seltman. When Evans refused to buy it because of the high price, Seltman sold it to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

Bibliography

Evans, Arthur. 1928. The Palace of Minos at Knossos, II, p. 235-7, fig. 133

Myres, John (ed.). 1936. British Archaeological Discoveries in Greece and Crete 1886-1936, p. 17

Butcher, Kevin and Gill, David. 1993. “The Director, the Dealer, the Goddess, and Her Champions: The Acquisition of the Fitzwilliam Goddess”, American Journal of Archaeology 97(3), pp.
383-401