Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Clay objects : Strainer pyxis with double axes [Π3598]

Strainer pyxis with double axes

Π3598

Clay

Incomplete, mended and restored.

Height: 15.2 cm. Rim diameter: 8 cm.

Gournia

House D, Room 24

Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan ΙB period.:

1500-1450 BC:

Gallery:

Case:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). The New Palaces. The zenith of Minoan civilisation

Settlements of East Crete

Description

This vessel from Gournia is a strainer pyxis with globular body. It has a pierced partition, the strainer, at the point where the body joins the trumpet-shaped foot. It was probably used for drying herbs and aromatic plants. The interior was ventilated through the wide opening in the foot and the mouth with the low rim, which could be sealed with a stopper to protect the contents. The vase has a decorative zone on the shoulder with six double axes and semicircles in dark paint with white highlights. The choice of subject, the double axe, and the stylised repeated pattern are features of the vase-painting style known as the Special Palatial Tradition of the Late Minoan IB period. The depiction of the double axe, a highly significant symbolic theme in the religion and ritual practice of Minoan Crete, may indicate that the vessel served a special purpose beyond its practical domestic function; for example, the vessel itself or its contents may have been used in ceremonies involving offerings to the deity.

Bibliography:

Boyd-Hawes, H., B.E. Williams, R.B. Seager, E.H. Hall. Gournia, Vasiliki and other prehistoric sites on the isthmus of Hierapetra, Crete. Excavations of the Wells-Houston-Cramp Expeditions, 1901, 1903, 1904. Philadelphia, 1908, pl. VII, 21.

Author:

I. N.

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