Rhyton
with Marine Decoration
with Marine Decoration
Artist: N/A
Material: Ceramic Clay (wheel-made), hand-painted
Relative/Absolute Date: 1500 BC
Culture: Aegean
Ancient Context: Minoan
Scale: 13 "
Current Location: Heraklion Archaeological Museum in Crete
URL: https://library-artstor-org.fcep.ohlone.edu/#/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822000415347
This is a Minoan rhyton with marine decorations. As this vase appears in a much different shape than the Octopus Flask (object one). A rhyton is a type of drinking vessel. This rhyton can be mentioned alongside the previous pottery item as both forms sit as such unique pieces on their own. The long vessel is painted with marine motifs from top to bottom, the composition of the painting holding no space for pause, again capturing a vibrancy of the sea and the culture of those who made and appreciated these pieces of art.
This is another pottery that can be noted as a Kamares Ware piece. Kamares Ware is the first widely-traded pottery produced in Crete. They would often be created on a potter's wheel, which was noted as a new invention of the Middle Minoan Era and furthermore the rise of this type of pottery (German). These pottery pieces could be characterized by the contrast of a light-on-dark value scheme with naturalistic and "elegant" shapes of decoration: from flowers and leaves to the human form... to what we see and have been looking at, the Marine Style of decoration.