Cuirass of a Roman marble statue of the Emperor Hadrian, Knossos, Crete

Photographer Harold Nossiter Senior (1875 - 1956)

Date1936

Object number00014810

NameNitrate negative

MediumCellulose nitrate negative, black and white

DimensionsOverall: 92 x 60 mm

ClassificationsPhotographs

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Mr and Mrs Nossiter

Terms

DescriptionCuirass (body armour) of a marble statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian at Villa Ariadne, Knossos. Harold Nossiter Senior stands to the right of the statue. This image was taken on 7 March 1936 soon after its discovery in 1935 near the ruins of the Minoan Palace of Knossos. The ruins of the Roman city, Colonia Iulia Nobilis Cnossus, and the Roman villa where this statue was found, are close to the palace site. The statue dates to around 126 AD, its cuirass depicts a Goddess dressed as an Amazon, most likely Roma - Virtus, being crowned by Victories and with her feet resting on the she-wolf of Rome suckling Romulus and Remus. The attributes of Athena - Minerva, the owl an snake appear on either side of the Goddess.HistoryHarold Nossiter (senior) became the first Australian to skipper a yacht around the world under an Australian flag from 1935-1937 in schooner SIRIUS leaving Sydney on 14 July 1935 with two of this sons Harold Junior and Richard (Dick). According to letter 00028671 written by Harold Junior the Nossiters visited Knossos on 7 March 1936 seeing both Bronze Age Minoan ruins and the much later Roman ruins. The cuirassed marble statue shown in the image was a recent find, it had been discovered in a vineyard on land owned by British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1935 and taken by him to Villa Ariadne. Sir Arthur Evans built Villa Ariadne as a base for excavations at the Minoan Palace at Knossos. The cuirassed statue was found at the site of a Roman villa near the ruins of the Roman city of Knossos.SignificanceThis collection of nitrate negatives was taken by Harold Nossiter and his son Harold Nossiter Junior in the 1920s and 30s and provides an interesting, and personal record of sailing in Harold Nossiter’s yachts UTIEKAH II, on the NSW coast, and SIRIUS, on the world cruise from 1935 - 1937. It shows a range of subjects from pleasure cruising with family and friends, times on board the world cruise, the activities of the crew, and their visits to then exotic ports of call. They provide a wonderful, lively record of the increasing popularity of cruising as a sport in the 1920s and 30s and the first world cruise by an Australian yacht.