Rhyton of the Special Palatial Tradition



Rhyton of the Special Palatial Tradition

Π13925
Clay
Incomplete, mended and restored.
Height: 12 cm. Rim diameter 15.5 cm.
Zakros
Palace, Building Γ, Room Θ
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan ΙI period.:
1500-1450 BC:
Gallery:
IV
Case:
43
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). The New Palaces. The zenith of Minoan civilisation
Palace of Zakros
Description
This type of rhyton from the palace of Zakros resembles the semiglobular cup in shape, the only difference being the conical bottom. From a functional point of view, the vessel is essentially a large funnel for transporting and filtering liquids, by fitting the narrow end into the narrow mouth of larger vessels. The decoration covering both the inner and the outer surface is particularly interesting, as it condenses the main elements of the Special Palatial Tradition of the period, which includes the Marine Style. The outside is dominated by the repeated motif of a double running spiral with wavy dotted lines and a double arch motif with lozenges. Inside the rim are stacked chevrons and an ivy-leaf pattern, while the bottom of the vessel is decorated with a stylised rock ornament and seaweed with corals.
Bibliography:
Platon, N. "Ανασκαφή Ζάκρου". Πρακτικά της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας 1962 (1965): pl. 155α. Platon, N. Zakros. The Discovery of a Lost Palace of ancient Crete. New York, 1971, 108. Mountjoy, P.A. “The Marine Style Pottery of LM IB/LH IIA: Towards a Corpus”. Annual of the British School at Athens 79 (1984): 197 (Zakros 13), pl. 28a. Koehl, R.B. Aegean Bronze Age Rhyta. INSTAP Prehistory Monographs 19. Philadelphia, Penn., 2006, 131, no. 371, pl. 30.
Author:
I. N.


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