Obsidian triton vessel



Obsidian triton vessel

Λ360
Obsidian
Incomplete, mended and restored
Height: 29 cm.
Hagia Triada
Villa
Late Bronze Age, Neopalatial period.:
1700-1450 BC:
Gallery:
V
Case:
50
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). The New Palaces. The zenith of Minoan civilisation
Trade and foreign contacts. Minoan Thalassocracy. International commerce and cultural influences
Description
Vessel in the shape of a triton shell (the precise species is Tonna dolium, the spotted tun) of glassy black obsidian with white inclusions. The raw material was quarried on the islet of Gyali near Nisyros and processed in Minoan Crete. Gyali obsidian was mainly used for making vessels, as it does not lend itself to knapping for the production of tools. The vessel is the work of a skilled craftsman with expertise in working the hard but brittle material. Although it does not have a hole in the pointed end, meaning that it is not a rhyton, the shape and material of the vessel show that it was a valuable object, perhaps serving a ceremonial purpose.
Bibliography:
Mosso, A. Le Origini della Civilta Mediterranea. Milano, 1912, 287, fig. 181. Warren, P. Minoan Stone Vases. Cambridge Classical Studies, Cambridge, 1969, P497, Type 35, 91.
Author:
I. N.


Photographs' metadata