Kymbe with Lilies - 1600 BC - Elongated Open Vessel - Thera Museum - Reproduction - Ceramic Artifact

Item Specifics

Material: Ceramic
Condition: New, Handmade in Greece.
Height: 10 cm - 3,9 inches
Width: 30 cm - 11,8 inches
Length: 21 cm - 8,3 inches
Weight: 1500 g

The kymbe, an elongated open vessel, is a characteristic Theran pottery shape of unknown use. The decorative motifs show Minoan influence, but the use of polychrome paint and the light-on-dark contrast are clearly local.
Lilies.They are a common motif in Akrotiri, but also in Crete, at the time. Some scholars think that they convey some specific symbolic meanings, others point out that they are common as an actual plant in the region and thus make for a familiar image. The truth may be somewhere in the middle, as we see lilies depicted on pottery, but also in wall paintings, including sometimes in fairly prominent positions. On our vase, they are highly stylised, reduced to a simple but compelling shape, the essence of lily, so to speak, painted in bold and clearly well-experienced brush-strokes.