Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Clay objects : Clay alabastron [Π1587]

Clay alabastron

Π1587

Clay

Intact

Height: 37.5 cm.

Phaistos

Kalyvia, Tomb 11

Late Bronze Age. Final Palatial period, Late Minoan ΙΙΙΑ1- ΙΙΙΑ2 early.:

1400-1350 BC:

Gallery:

Case:

110

Exhibition thematic unit:

Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC) - Final Palatial period (1450-1300 BC).The cemeteries

Cemeteries of Phaistos

Description

Clay closed vessel (alabastron) from a burial assemblage from Kalyvia in Phaistos. Decorated with motifs in brown paint on a light ground. This is an exceptional example from a workshop operating in the wider Phaistos area. In the Late Minoan IIIA period, which covers the 14th century BC, vases were predominantly decorated with human and animal themes, as opposed to the preceding late Neopalatial period (1600-1450 BC), when these were not used. They are rendered in an abstract style. On this alabastron from Kalyvia, the centre of the vase is occupied by a panel containing a stylised bird with raised wings, gripping a large fish in its talons. The scene is framed by a wealth of filling motifs, while the rest of the vessel is covered with a chequerboard pattern . Birds like this one and similar examples on another alabastron from the same cemetery (Π1588) are often found on larnakes of the same period, sometimes alongside sea creatures.

Bibliography:

Savignoni, L. Scavi e scoperte nella necropoli di Phaestos (Monumenti Antichi 14), 1904, pl. XXXVII. Popham, M. “Late Minoan Pottery, a Summary.” Annual of the British School at Athens 62 (1967): 337-351. Betancourt, P.P. Introduction to Aegean Art, Philadelphia, 2007, 188-189.

Author:

G. F.

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