what was minoan pottery used for

Where did the Minoans make pottery?

Minoan pottery. Pots that contained oils and ointments, exported from 18th century BC Crete, have been found at sites through the Aegean islands and mainland Greece, on Cyprus, along coastal Syria and in Egypt, showing the wide trading contacts of the Minoans.

Why was art important to the Minoans?

Artwork such as paintings, potttery, sculptures, and architectural designs were important to the people of the Minoan civilization in Crete. Their decorative wares were covered in bold, flowing, rhythmic movements with patterns using linked curvilinear and undulating lines.

What are the characteristics of Minoan architecture?

The crudity of barbitone knobbiness, or of toucan like spouts had gone and the Minoans were now displaying an exuberance that was sophisticated, self confident and controlled. The decoration was an elaboration of the white on black style of Vasiliki pottery, the patterns drawn in white, red, orange and yellow against a black ground.

How did the Minoans paint on plaster?

Minoans painted their pottery decorations on wet plaster, which allowed the pigments of metal to bind to the plaster. However, this required the painter to exercise specific skills that allowed him or her to work within the time constraints imposed by the color on the plaster drying.

What is the subject of much Minoan pottery?

Well-known themes in Minoan fresco painting include fanciful floral arrangements, heavily adorned women and men, shrines and other religious motifs, and, perhaps most well-known, acrobats or athletes leaping over a bull. Not suprisingly, some of the most decorative ceramic types also come from the Late Minoan period.

What was Minoan pottery made of?

clayThe Egyptians called the Minoans “the Sea Peoples” and had a fond appreciation for Minoan pottery and ceramics, prized for their innovative shapes and sea-inspired designs. Their vases and jugs were made in fine clay with thin walls and was an outstanding achievement at this time.

What is Minoan art best known for?

Since wood and textiles have decomposed, the best-preserved (and most instructive) surviving examples of Minoan art are its pottery, palace architecture (with frescos which include "the earliest pure landscapes anywhere"), small sculptures in various materials, jewellery, metal vessels, and intricately-carved seals.

What subjects were most often depicted on Minoan pottery?

The Marine style, perhaps, produced the most distinctive of all Minoan pottery with detailed, naturalistic depictions of octopuses, argonauts, starfish, triton shells, sponges, coral, rocks and seaweed.

How can you tell Minoan art?

The characteristic elegance of form of Minoan potter is complemented by the dynamic lines of naturalistic scenes that decorate the surfaces. The sweeping curves of the profile are emphasized through bold lines that traverse the surface and radiate in their contrast between dark and light values.

What were the most important products of Minoan Crete?

Cretan exports consisted of timber, foodstuffs, cloth, and, most likely, olive oil, as well as finely crafted luxury goods. In exchange, the Minoans imported tin, copper, gold, silver, emery, fine stones, ivory, and some manufactured objects.

What traits characterize Minoan art in general?

Wall Paintings Minoans relied heavily on religious iconography, depicting the images of their gods and especially goddesses. Common motifs are also processions and sacred rituals, such as bull-leaping.

What is the style of Minoan paintings?

Minoan painting commonly consisted of wall paintings done in the fresco technique, as mentioned above, in the true fresco technique also referred to as buon fresco. This consisted of color pigments applied onto wet plaster, typically limestone.

How was Mycenaean pottery made?

Minoan Origins In terms of raw material though, Mycenaean pottery is in fact often superior in quality to Minoan as the majority was made from old Yellow Minyan Clay and fired at higher temperatures than on Crete.

What is the octopus flask made of?

ceramicThe Octopus Storage Jar is made of ceramic and was produced sometime between the years of 1500 and 1450 BC [2].

How was the octopus vase made?

Its shape is somewhat unusual, constructed by slipping together, while still leather hard (clay that is not quite dry), two shallow plates which had been made on a fast spinning potter's wheel and with highly refined clay.

Where is Minoan art from?

CreteThe art of the Minoan civilization of Bronze Age Crete (2000-1500 BCE) displays a love of animal, sea, and plant life, which was used to decorate frescoes and pottery and also inspired forms in jewellery, stone vessels, and sculpture.

What did the Minoans do with their art?

Art, being closely related to religion, found its way into the shrines of the Minoans. The Minoan people lifted their eyes to the hills and chose (as did many other cultures) to believe that their protective divinity resided in the caves of the mountains. They carved votive offerings in great abundance … the indestructible part of which was in the form of pottery. The cave of Kamares is one such cave (mountain shrine) and the richness of discovery that it afforded the archaeologists caused them to give the name to an entire style of pottery – Kamares ware. Unlike earlier Cretan Pottery, Kamares ware was thrown on the wheel and the shapes were more delicate – sometimes eggshell thin. The crudity of barbitone knobbiness, or of toucan like spouts had gone and the Minoans were now displaying an exuberance that was sophisticated, self confident and controlled. The decoration was an elaboration of the white on black style of Vasiliki pottery, the patterns drawn in white, red, orange and yellow against a black ground.

What was Minoan art inspired by?

The Minoan artist was both a realist and a sentimentalist. He was inspired by the life of the seashore. He collected shells, he peered down from his fishing boat through the clear water at the writhing octopus and he delighted to see the grace of the dolphin and the flying fish. With this free and naturalistic way of thinking and living, the creative Minoan was unlike most of his contemporaries in the Bronze Age world. He liked to portray vital nature and natural vitality.

What was the Floral style of pottery?

Between 1550 and 1500 BC, the favored patterns on pottery were spirals and leaf shapes – imitating plants and flowers. Thus, this stage in pottery was named, the Floral Style. By 1500 BC, the Marine Style had evolved. This was one of the finest Minoan pottery styles.

What is the cave of Kamares?

They carved votive offerings in great abundance … the indestructible part of which was in the form of pottery. The cave of Kamares is one such cave (mountain shrine) and the richness of discovery that it afforded the archaeologists caused them to give the name to an entire style of pottery – Kamares ware.

Why is pottery important to archaeologists?

These changes in pottery decoration help to tell archaeologists and art historians something about the feelings of the ancients who created these functional artworks. In addition to telling a great deal about the people and their feelings, pottery can be an invaluable dating tool.

What would happen if a clay basket was accidentally burned?

If a clay lined basket had been accidentally burned, the people would have seen that clay – when fired – became hard and could be refired without harm being done to it. Thus, the possibilities of cooking would have been enormously extended. Eventually, pottery would become and art form in itself as knowledge of building and decorating increased.

What was the last Minoan style?

The Marine style was the last “purely Minoan” style to develop before the Mycenean invasion of 1450 BC.

What is the Minoan pottery?

Among the earliest Early Minoan pottery types is Incised Ware, characterized by incised decoration of parallel lines creating patterns on the surface of the clay. Contemporary with Incised Ware is Aghios Onouphrios Ware, a type simply painted with dark red or black diagonal lines, which form both series of parallel lines and criss-crosses on a light surface; these designs typically appear on jugs and bowls (2). Vasilike Ware, with its mottled surface achieved by novel means of firing, was probably meant to approximate more substantial and expensive stone vessels. A reddish coat of paint increased the stone-like appearance of Vasilike Ware vessels. At this time, vessels carved of such variegated and colorful stone as serpentine and alabaster are indeed known (3).

What is the name of the stone vessel that was carved in the early Minoan period?

At this time, vessels carved of such variegated and colorful stone as serpentine and alabaster are indeed known (3). The CU Art Museum's collection contains one vessel from the Early Minoan period, an incised pyxis with its lid intact.

What was the design of the Kamares Ware?

Pottery in the Middle Minoan Period was transformed by the introduction of the fast potter's wheel, an innovation that led to thinner and finer wares, which, in turn, led to finer decoration. Kamares Ware is decorated with abstract designs, often in complex patterns. Kamares Ware decoration is light-on-dark polychrome and sometimes includes animal or figural representations rather than abstract patterns. The same types of patterns are found on a much thinner type of vessel known as eggshell ware because of its extreme delicacy and fineness (4). An incredible variety of designs adorned the vases of the Middle Minoan period though eventually the energy of the earlier Kamares Ware calmed a bit, becoming more formal with the introduction of repeated vegetal motifs and other nature-inspired designs (5).

What were the themes of the late Minoan period?

Well-known themes in Minoan fresco painting include fanciful floral arrangements, heavily adorned women and men, shrines and other religious motifs, and, perhaps most well-known, acrobats or athletes leaping over a bull. Not suprisingly, some of the most decorative ceramic types also come from the Late Minoan period. During this later period of Minoan history, dark-on-light pottery predominated, replacing the earlier polychrome, light-on-dark wares. The Floral Style was one early result of this shift, featuring vases covered in repeated decorative floral motifs. A simliar and contemporary style was the Pattern Style, which covered vessels in geometric designs, rather than florals. The patterns may have been inspired by the borders of fresco paintings in the great palaces (6). Slightly later in date came the delightful Marine Style, which exhibited sinuous octopuses, realistic fishes, dancing dolphins, and speeding nautiluses, as well as jagged, spiky seaweed nad rocks.

What is Vasilike Ware?

On Vasilike Ware, see Philip P. Betancourt, Vasilike Ware: An Early Bronze Age Pottery Style in Crete (Göteborg: Paul Åströms Forlag, 1979); see also Pedley, Greek Art and Archaeology : 32-3, fig. 1.6.

What period did decorative ceramics come from?

Not suprisingly, some of the most decorative ceramic types also come from the Late Minoan period. During this later period of Minoan history, dark-on-light pottery predominated, replacing the earlier polychrome, light-on-dark wares. The Floral Style was one early result of this shift, featuring vases covered in repeated decorative floral motifs.

Which Greeks occupied Crete?

This change from the exuberant Marine and Floral Styles to the more formalized and symmetrical Palace Style is often seen as evidence that Mycenaean Greeks, who originated on the mainland, occupied Crete and imposed their stylistic sensibilities on the native Minoan art (8).

What is Minoan pottery?

Minoan pottery is more than a useful tool for dating the mute Minoan civilization. Its restless sequence of rapidly maturing artistic styles reveal something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they assist archaeologists to assign relative dates to the strata of their sites.

What is the name of the late Minoan pottery?

Some authors just use the name "Mycenaean Koine"; that is, the Late Minoan pottery of Crete was to some degree just a variety of widespread Mycenaean forms. The designs are found also on seals and sealings, in frescoes and on other artifacts. Often Late Minoan pottery is not easily placed in subperiods.

What is Koumasa Ware?

In EM IIA, the geometric slip-painted designs of Koumasa Ware seem to have developed from the wares of Aghios Onouphrios. The designs are in red or black on a light background. Forms are cups, bowls, jugs and teapots ( Example: "Goddess of Myrtos" ). Also from EM IIA are the cylindrical and spherical pyxides called Fine Gray Ware or just Gray Ware, featuring a polished surface with incised diagonals, dots, rings and semicircles. ( Example )

What materials were used in the late Minoan period?

Often Late Minoan pottery is not easily placed in subperiods. In addition are imports from the neighboring coasts of the Mediterranean. Ceramic is not the only material used: breccia, calcite, chlorite, schist, dolomite and other colored and patterned stone were carved into pottery forms.

What is LMI in art?

Marine and Floral Styles. LMI marks the highwater of Minoan influence throughout the southern Aegean (Peloponnese, Cyclades, Dodecanese, southwestern Anatolia). Late Minoan pottery was being widely exported; it has turned up in Cyprus, the Cylades, Egypt and Mycenae.

How did Evans classify fine pottery?

Evans classified fine pottery by the changes in its forms and styles of decoration. Platon concentrated on the episodic history of the Palace of Knossos. Currently a new method is in its infancy, fabric analysis, which features geologic analysis of coarse and mainly undecorated sherds as though they were rocks.

Where were pots found?

Pots that contained oils and ointments, exported from 18th century BC Crete, have been found at sites through the Aegean islands and mainland Greece, on Cyprus, along the coastal Syria and in Egypt, showing the wide trading contacts of the Minoans.

What type of art did the Minoans create?

Their decorative wares were covered in bold, flowing, rhythmic movements with patterns using linked curvilinear and undulating lines. Minoans painted their pottery decorations on wet plaster, which allowed the pigments of metal to bind to the plaster. However, this required the painter to exercise specific skills that allowed him or her to work within the time constraints imposed by the color on the plaster drying. This type of art encouraged improvisation and personal expression because there was very little time for the painter to create highly detailed art pieces. Flowing broad strokes were favored, which covered the surface more rapidly and gave their art a stylized, abstract appearance.

What was the Minoan art style?

Minoan pottery was initially decorated with designs in dark, often shiny paint (vitreous slip), in shades of red, brown, and black, on a light surface. Between 1900-1700BC the Kamáres style developed into the most colourful and vibrant style of pottery form and decoration yet seen anywhere. Images were painted on a black-brown background in reds, whites and blues. Sea and shore fauna and flora were the most important source of design. The animals displayed a playful nature and emphasised a flambuoyant liveliness characteristic of Cretean Art. Nowhere else in the art of the ancient world was such a lightness of spirit displayed, compared to the creativity of the Minoans at the height of their power in the early 15th century BC.

What is the name of the vase that depicts boxing, wrestling, and bull-leaping?

1. The Boxer Rhyton. Steatite libation vase with relief scenes of boxing, wrestling and bull-leaping. Ayia Triada. New-Palace period (1500-1450 BC)

What was the Minoan civilization?

From around 2700 to 1450 BC, the Minoan civilization flourished as a seafaring and mercantile culture. The vibrant Minos culture was centred around the island of Crete and eventually dominated the Agean region. Along with its exceptionally advantageous position at the intersection of sea routes leading to the countries of the Middle East, its trading contributed to the high flowering of the culture and art of Crete. The Egyptians called the Minoans “the Sea Peoples” and had a fond appreciation for Minoan pottery and ceramics, prized for their innovative shapes and sea-inspired designs. Their vases and jugs were made in fine clay with thin walls and was an outstanding achievement at this time. Historians have learned everything there is to know about the Minoan people through their artwork. Artwork such as paintings, potttery, sculptures, and architectural designs were important to the people of the Minoan civilization in Crete.

What is a rhyton vase?

Libation vase (rhyton) of serpentine, in the shape of a bull’s head with inlays of shell, rock crystal and jasper in the muzzle and eyes. Knossos. New-Palace period (1600-1500 BC)

Where is the Minoan ring?

This famous Minoan gold ring from the Isopata tomb, near Knossos, depicts four dancing female figures, richly clad in characteristic Minoan attire, moving through a landscape of lilies. Three of them raise their arms in ecstasy, while the fourth one, placed in the centre of the scene and slightly higher than the others, makes a gesture – possibly of benediction. A fifth figure, much smaller than the others, appears to be descending from the sky ( top left ) and completes the composition together with other religious symbols frequently encountered on similar representations, such as the sacred eye, the snake and the chrysalis.

When was marine ceramics made?

Marine Style Ceramics of the Cretan-Minoan Neopalatial Period (c. 1650 BC to 1450 BC).

Introduction

Early Minoan Period

Middle Minoan Period

• Pottery in the Middle Minoan Period was transformed by the introduction of the fast potter's wheel, an innovation that led to thinner and finer wares, which, in turn, led to finer decoration. Kamares Wareis decorated with abstract designs, often in complex patterns. Kamares Ware decoration is light-on-dark polychrome and sometimes includes animal o...

See more on colorado.edu

Late Minoan Period

Footnotes