Stone biconical pyxis with relief spirals
Λ2339
Stone (Chlorite)
Good
Height: 11.85 cm. each conical part
Maronia Sitia
Cave
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period. Early Minoan ΙΙΑ period:
2600-2300 BC:
Gallery:
ICase:
9Exhibition thematic unit:
Early Bronze Age - Prepalatial period (3000 - 1900 BC). Settlements and cemeteries - the rise of ruling groupsStone vessels
Description
Biconical chlorite pyxis (box). It consist of three parts: the lid and two matching conical pieces which fit together to form the biconical body. The artisan may have chosen this solution to minimise the risk of breaking the vessel while carving it. The surfaces are decorated with typical motifs of the period: relief running spirals and filled triangles. The pyxis was found in a burial rock shelter in East Crete. The wide geographical distribution across the island of stone vessels of similar shape and decoration is believed to indicate that they were only produced by a limited number of workshops. This example is dated to the beginning of the period in which stone-carving flourished in Crete, around the same time that metal tools has become systematically available. The decorative motifs on the Maronia pyxis are also very popular on stone vessels from the Cyclades, to such an extent that it is not always clear whether they were produced in Crete or the Cyclades. They are evidence of the cultural osmosis observed in many different areas in the East Aegean in the mid-3rd millennium BC, the time of what is known as the “International Spirit”.Bibliography:
Warren, P. 1969. Minoan Stone Vases. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, P452, p. 81 Bevan, A. Stone vessels and values in the Bronze Age Mediterranean. Cambridge University Press, C33A, p. 86, p. 232. Legarra Herrero, B. 2014. Mortuary Behavior and Social Trajectories in Pre- and Protopalatial Crete, Philadelphia: INSTAP Academic Press. Prehistory Monographs, volume 44, p. 123.Author:
I. G.Photographs' metadata