• Tripod brazier with white spiral decoration



Tripod brazier with white spiral decoration
Tripod brazier with white spiral decoration
Tripod brazier with white spiral decoration

Tripod brazier with white spiral decoration

Π3014
Clay
Incomplete, mended and restored
Height: 18.5 cm. Length: 35 cm. Diameter: 25 cm.
Hagia Triada
Royal Villa, Room 72
Late Bronze Age, Neopalatial period, Middle Minoan IIIB period:
1650 -1600 BC:
Gallery:
VI
Case:
Case 56
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Private and public life. Bread and circuses
Daily life. Personal care
Description
This tripod vessel is a brazier or incense burner, a type of utensil to which various functions have been attributed. They were probably used as burners for aromatic plant oils and resins to scent rooms, although they may also have served to prepare perfumes and melt unguents. This burner consists of a bowl-shaped body with a domed capsule, closed on top and pierced underneath, through which the heat would have been diffused to the inside of the vessel. The three legs ensured that it stood securely over the fire, while the long rod-shaped handle would have made it easier to remove from the fire, avoiding any spillage. It bears interesting spiral decoration in white paint on the red surface. The use of incense and incense burners appears to have been quite widespread in Minoan Crete, both for practical purposes and in the context of rituals and healing practices.
Bibliography:
Halbherr, F., E. Stefani and L. Banti. "Haghia Triada nel periodo tardo palaziale". Annuario della Scuola Archeologica di Atene 55 (1977), 169, fig. 106. Puglisi, D. Ceramiche TM I da Haghia Triada (Creta): contesti produzioni funzioni. I. I materiali dai primi scavi. Thiasos Monografie 4, Roma, 2013, T.8, 34-35, tav. 10.
Author:
I. N.


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