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)