Published: April 10, 2018 By

Catalogue Entry

Photograph of stirrup jar, tan with reddish-brown slip decoration, from side angle against neutral gray background.

This vase is one ofÌýa collection of Greek vasesÌýheld by the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØArt Museum.

Gift to Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØClassics Department
Transferred to Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØMuseum of Natural History
Ìý(2006)

Height: 9.8 cm
Diameter (max.): 13.3 cm
Date: 14th century B.C.E.
Origin: Greece

Description: Squat jar with large, round body and shallow convex top. Narrow neck protrudes vertically from top of vessel body, ending in narrow, rounded mouth. In center of top, immediately behind neck,Ìýis an upright post to which two handles are attached. TanÌýclay with red slip decoration. Body decorated with four thick, red bands that create four clay-colored registers, beginning with base; two of these clay-colored registersÌýfilled with narrow red bands. Shoulder or top of vase decorated with groups of v-patterns. Base of neck ringed with red slip.ÌýHandles painted red. Top of central post painted in bulls-eye pattern.Ìý

Additional photos of this vessel show details of its base, top, neck, and decorations.

Discussion

This squat stirrup jar dates to the Late Helladic IIIA:2 period, approximately 1,374-1,300 B.C.E. (1).ÌýThe jar is made from a pinkish-buff clay and is decorated with a reddish-brown slip.ÌýPhotograph of stirrup jar, tan with reddish-brown slip decoration, from high angle against neutral gray background.

The stirrup jar shape functioned as a container for the transport or storage of wine and/or oil. It was often used as a burial offering and is frequently found in tombs (2). The stirrup jar developed in the Middle Minoan Period (c. 2,000-1,650 B.C.E.) on Crete, possibly at . It became a popular shape in the Late Helladic IIIA period (c. 1,400- ,100 B.C.E.) and lasted until the Iron Age (after c. 1,100 B.C.E.) (3).Ìý

Comparanda

  • ¹ó³Ü°ù³Ü³¾²¹°ù°ì,ÌýThe Mycenaean Pottery, p. 30, Fig. 5; p. 383, Fig. 67; p. 385, motif 59.

Footnotes

  1. Chara Tzavella-Evjen,ÌýGreek and Roman Vases and Statuettes from the University of Colorado CollectionÌý(Athens: Archaiologikon Deltion, 1973):Ìý192-197; Arne ¹ó³Ü°ù³Ü³¾²¹°ù°ì,ÌýThe Mycenaean Pottery: Analysis and ClassificationÌý(Stockholm: VictorÌýPettersons Bokindustriaktiebolag, 1941).
  2. P.A. Mountjoy,ÌýMycenaean Pottery: An Introduction. (Oxford: Oxford University Committee for Archaeology, 1993): 71.
  3. A. D. Lacy,ÌýGreek Pottery in the Bronze AgeÌý(London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1967):Ìý202; ¹ó³Ü°ù³Ü³¾²¹°ù°ì,ÌýThe Mycenaean Pottery.

Reference

  • Chara Tzavella-Evjen,ÌýGreek and Roman Vases and Statuettes from the University of Colorado CollectionÌý(Athens: Archaiologikon Deltion, 1973): 192-197.Ìý