The Mycenaean culture dominated Greece during
the Bronze Age with its power, art, and wealth.
According to legend, the city of Mycenae was
founded by the hero Perseus on the shores of
the Peloponniese. A land of valiant warriors,
Mycenae is celebrated by Homer as the home of
Agamemnon, the heroic king who led the Greeks
to victory against Troy. Furthermore, recent
archaeological excavations of Mycenaean palaces
attest to their wealth, described by Homer as
“:Mycenae, rich in gold.” Culturally, the
Mycenaeans were heavily indebted to the Minoan
civilization of Crete. Noted for their utilitarian
pottery, Mycenaean vessels have been excavated
throughout the Mediterranean, attesting wide
range of their influence on the art and commerce
of the ancient world. The script of Linear B was
employed by Mycenaean scribes to record their
early Greek language. Linear B would replace
Linear A, the script of the Minoans, on Crete,
revealing that the Mycenaeans would grow to
dominate the civilization they grew out of.
Although the Mycenaean civilization began to
mysteriously decline after the 13th Century B.C.,
ruins of their constructions, described as
Cyclopean because early historians thought only
the Cyclops was capable of building with such
large boulders, survive today, testifying to the
greatness of this ancient culture.
This terracotta vessel has an oval body
articulated with decorative bands painted in an
orange/brown hue. Three hands are attached to
the shoulders with undulating lines connecting
the joins. A band of diagonal cross-hatching
adorns the space in between the handles, framed
by a thick band above and below. The bottom of
the vessel features two series of concentric
rings, echoing the design just below the join of
the neck and shoulder. In addition, the rim has
been painted with similar concentric rings, while
the inside of the neck is solid orange/brown.
This ancient vessel bears a heavy debt to Minoan
pottery and is a type of ware that would have
been exported throughout the Mediterranean
world. Wine or water would have once flowed
out from within the hollow confines of this
vessel, be it in Greece, Egypt, or the Levant.
- (X.0050)
|
