Large globular flask

Minoan, about 1400-1350 BC
From Maroni, Cyprus

A fine and well-preserved Minoan vessel

This flask was found in a tomb, where it was presumably buried with someone rich enough to have owned such a fine Minoan Cretan object. The flask has been restored from fragments, but it is essentially complete. A good state of preservation is typical of pottery found in tombs. The flask may originally have been imported for its contents, but in itself it is a distinguished example of the Minoan potter's art, and may have been admired as such at the time.

The flask was made from two hemispherical halves joined together, with the foot, handles and neck added separately. The rounded shape is very pleasing, and the painted decoration has been skilfully applied.

P. Betancourt, The history of Minoan pottery (Princeton University Press, 1985)