• Rhyton in the shape of a female figure



Rhyton in the shape of a female figure
Rhyton in the shape of a female figure
Rhyton in the shape of a female figure

Rhyton in the shape of a female figure

Π5499
Clay
Intact
Height: 18 cm.
Mochlos
Tomb ΧΙΙΙ
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period, Early Minoan ΙΙ - ΙII period.:
2600-2100 BC:
Gallery:
II
Case:
22
Exhibition thematic unit:
Middle Bronze Age - Late Prepalatial-Protopalatial period (2200-1700 BC). From small communities to towns
Description
Unusual rhyton in the shape of a woman holding her breasts, found in the cemetery of Mochlos. There is a vertical handle on the back. The vessel was filled through the opening in the top of the head and the liquid was poured out through the perforated breasts of the figure. The face is stylised, similarly to female figurines of the same period. The strip of clay around the head represents a head covering, although some scholars interpret it as a snake. The arms and breasts have been modelled separately and attached to the body of the handmade vessel, while the fingers are rendered by incisions. Linear motifs typical of White-on-Dark Ware cover the body and the head covering, probably representing decorated garments. A similar rhyton has been found in the cemetery of Malia. Some scholars believe that these rhyta represent fertility goddesses, while others emphasise their function as cult vessels.
Bibliography:
Koehl, R. B. Aegean Bronze Age Rhyta. Prehistory Monographs 19. Philadelphia, 2006, 77, 335-336, pl. 4. Seager, R.B. Explorations in the Island of Mochlos. Boston and New York, 1912, 64, figs 32, 34. Warren, P. "The Beginnings of Minoan Religion." In G. Carratelli και G. Rizza (eds), Antichit? Cretesi: studi in honore di Doro Levi. Cronache di Archeologia 12. Catania, 1973, 137-147.
Author:
E. S.


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