Egyptian alabastron
Λ601
Stone (Travertine or "Egyptian Alabaster")
Mended from fragments.
Height: 18.25 cm. Rim diameter: 9.6 cm. Maximum diameter: 16 cm.
Knossos
Isopata
(Second Transitional Period - New Kingdom: 18th Dynasty) Late Bronze Age. Final Palatial period, Late Minoan ΙΙ - ΙΙΙΑ1 (distinction between Egyptian and Minoan dating).:
1650 - 1425 BC (1400 - 1375 BC):
Gallery:
XCase:
101Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC) - Final Palatial period (1450-1300 BC).The cemeteriesThe cemeteries of Knossos
Description
This alabastron is one of ten Egyptian vases accompanying Minoan burials of the Late Minoan II period in the Royal Tomb of Isopata. They form the largest group of imported stone vessels found in an Aegean tomb of this period. Half of them are alabastra, containers for perfumed oils which were used by the Egyptians in funerary rituals, something which the users of the Minoan tomb may have known. The grave goods accompanying the earliest burials in the Isopata Tomb were Minoan and Egyptian, while some of the architectural features of the Minoan tomb are reminiscent of similar features of Egyptian tombs. The Isopata Tomb was located roughly midway between the palace of Knossos and the harbour of Katsambas. The largest known Late Minoan tomb in the area, it must have been associated with the Knossian ruling class. Unfortunately it was already partly destroyed before being excavated, and was then completely razed during the Second World War.Bibliography:
Evans, A. J. The Prehistoric Tombs of Knossos. London, 1906, 136-172. Karetsou, A., M. Andreadaki-Vlazaki, and N. Papadakis (eds). Κρήτη - Αίγυπτος. Πολιτισμικοί δεσμοί τριών χιλιετιών. Κατάλογος Έκθεσης. Heraklion, 2000, 232-233, 236, no. 232α. Phillips, J. Aegyptiaca on the island of Crete in their chronological context: A critical review, Volume Ι (p. 49-55)/Volume II (p. 132), Vienna, 2008. Preston, L. "Mortuary Practices at Late Minoan II Knossos." Annual of the British School at Athens 94 (1999): 131-143.Author:
E. S.Photographs' metadata