Spinning utensil
Π19202
Clay
Incomplete, mended and restored
Height: 2.6 cm. Rim diameter: 10 cm. Base diameter: 5 cm.
Archanes
Palatial building. K.G. Kalpakis plot. Square Α6. Group Α51.
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period:
1700-1450 BC:
Gallery:
VICase:
Case 55Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Private and public life. Bread and circusesHome handicrafts. Crafts (Weaving)
Description
The colourful decorated textiles depicted in the Minoan frescoes, and especially the numerousloomweights found at most Neopalatial sites, show that weaving was one of the main craft activities in Crete at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. This utensil is a typical tool for spinning. In effect, it is a bowl containing a vertical strap handle through which the thread was passed. The Homeric term dimiteus has been applied to such utensils; it describes the process of producing a thicker yarn from a double thread (dimiton), whence the English word “dimity”.Photographs' metadata