• Strainer pyxis with decoration of crocuses and spirals



Strainer pyxis with decoration of crocuses and spirals
Strainer pyxis with decoration of crocuses and spirals

Strainer pyxis with decoration of crocuses and spirals

Π2087
Clay
Incomplete, mended and restored.
Height 20.5 cm.
Zakros
Pit Ι
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan ΙA period.:
1600-1500 BC:
Gallery:
IV
Case:
42
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). The New Palaces. The zenith of Minoan civilisation
Archanes Palatial Centre - Palace of Zakros
Description
The term "strainer pyxis" refers to vessels with a globular or cylindrical body and tall foot, with a pierced partition, the strainer, inside at the point where the body joins the foot. This vessel from Zakros is an example of a strainer pyxis with globular body and flanged rim, perhaps for a lid. It is elaborately decorated with themes which were particularly popular in the Late Minoan IA period: running spirals on the upper body, crocuses in a wide band on the belly, and a zone of tortoiseshell ripple on the foot. An interesting feature is the combination of the two styles, dark-on-light for the spirals and light-on-dark for the crocuses, a style that seems to have been particularly popular with the pottery workshops of East Crete. Various suggestions have been put forward regarding the use of these vessels. Most of them are relatively large, indicating that they were used for processing large quantities of materials, perhaps in the context of some domestic or workshop activity. As strainers, they may have served to filter grape must, olive oil or other liquids. However, this does not explain the presence of lids for the mouth of the vessels, or the usually large diameter of the foot, which would make it difficult to fit into a collection vessel. Another interpretation is that they were used to dry herbs; this requires controlled lighting and ventilation, while the lid may have prevented foreign bodies or insects from falling in. The crocus, a theme that is often depicted on vessels of this type, including this example from Zakros, may indicate that they were used in the processing of crocus pistils to produce saffron, a substance used as a dye, a spice and a medicine. The frequent depiction of crocuses in the iconography of the Minoan world, for example in the frescoes and on special vessels (such as rhyta and tripod tables), is clearly linked to the special significance attributed to the medicinal properties of saffron. This may have been the original reason for the semiotic entry of the crocus as a symbol into the ideological sphere.
Bibliography:
Hogarth, D.G. "Bronze Age vases from Zakros". Journal of Hellenic Studies 22 (1902): pI. XII, 2. Evans, A.J. The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilization as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. Vol. II,2, London, 1928, PM II, 472, fig. 279.
Author:
I. N.


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