• Stone ritual amphora



Stone ritual amphora
Stone ritual amphora

Stone ritual amphora

Λ2720
Stone (Limestone)
Mended from fragments, restored on one handle.
Height: 37.8 cm. Rim diameter: 17.3cm.
Zakros
Palace
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan ΙI period.:
1500 - 1450 BC:
Gallery:
VIII
Case:
88
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Minoan religion. Palace cult
Palace of Zakros. The Treasury of the Shrine
Description
Stone ritual amphora. The body, the high S-shaped handles, the two parts of the double neck, and the collar around the base of the neck were all made separately before being assembled. Each of these elements is also found in other vessels of the Neopalatial period, but their combination in this amphora produces a unique and distinctive shape. This vase displays the unparalleled skill of the Minoan stone-carver, who used the natural veins in the stone to create a multicoloured, nearly circular design in the centre of the body. The amphora was found with a multitude of cult vessels in the Treasury of the Shrine of the palace of Zakros, which remained almost intact after the destruction of the palace circa 1450 BC. It came to light during the excavations by Nikolaos Platon.
Bibliography:
Dimopoulou, Ν. "Οι Τέχνες". In S. Mandalaki and G. Rethemiotakis, Μινωικός κόσμος. Ταξίδι στις Απαρχές της Ευρώπης, Heraklion, 2015, 168. Platon, Ν. Ζάκρος. Το Νέον Μινωικόν Ανάκτορον. Athens, 1974, 12, 150-151, fig. 95. Warren, P. Minoan Stone Vases. Cambridge, 1969, 89.
Author:
E. S.


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