• Palace Style pithos with relief papyri, medallions and circles



Palace Style pithos with relief papyri, medallions and circles
Palace Style pithos with relief papyri, medallions and circles

Palace Style pithos with relief papyri, medallions and circles

Π2762
Clay
Incomplete, mended and restored
Height: 97 cm. Rim diameter: 64 cm.
Knossos
Royal Villa
Late Bronze Age, Final Palatial period, Late Minoan II period:
1450 -1400 BC:
Gallery:
IX
Case:
Not in case
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Final Palatial period (1450-1300 BC). The Knossos monopalatial system
Palatial Style vessels
Description
This distinctive pithos stands out for its shape, which is almost conical with curved walls, and its decoration, combining painted and relief elements. Clusters of plants extend almost the full height of the body, from just above the narrow base to just under the wide mouth. The plants have curved leafy stems ending in waz-lilies, a hybrid decorative motif combining elements of lilies and papyrus flowers. Particularly interesting features are the plant details rendered in low relief with applied clay, the relief circles with central knob, and the repeated foliate rosettes between the flowers. The pithos belongs to the large vessels of the Palace Style, mainly pithoid jars of various types. They stand out for the striking decoration which usually covers the whole surface of the body, featuring stylised motifs from the natural world or pictorial or abstract themes, simplified but rendered with a monumentality inspired by the large-scale painting of the frescoes.
Bibliography:
Evans, A.J. The Palace of Minos: A Comparative Account of the Successive Stages of the Early Cretan Civilization as Illustrated by the Discoveries at Knossos. Vol. ΙΙ, 2, London, 1928, 400-1, fig. 231. Betancourt, P.P. The History of Minoan Pottery. Princeton, 1985, pl. 24Δ.
Author:
I. N.


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