Back With A Vengeance...

He's back!

After he disappeared in a flurry of feathers following a terrible fight with another blackbird on the 12th May, there's been no sign of my resident tame blackbird.

Today, I went out to feed the birds this morning and a scrawny, scruffy male blackbird zoomed to the ground as I filled the feeder.  He was there again when I came home from work, mooching in his old familiar way.

And, as I was watering the plants, no sooner had I been summoned in for dinner when I heard a scratch of claws and there he was, sitting on the fence, waiting expectantly for his dose of fruity nibbles.  Naturally, I had to delay my own tea while I saw to the needs of my resident feathered f(r)iend.

He's been fed five times today, by myself on three occasions, twice by my husband.  Running after such a demanding bird is a pain, but I'm delighted to see him again.

The garden just hasn't been the same without him!

Back With A Vengeance...

He's back!

After he disappeared in a flurry of feathers following a terrible fight with another blackbird on the 12th May, there's been no sign of my resident tame blackbird.

Today, I went out to feed the birds this morning and a scrawny, scruffy male blackbird zoomed to the ground as I filled the feeder.  He was there again when I came home from work, mooching in his old familiar way.

And, as I was watering the plants, no sooner had I been summoned in for dinner when I heard a scratch of claws and there he was, sitting on the fence, waiting expectantly for his dose of fruity nibbles.  Naturally, I had to delay my own tea while I saw to the needs of my resident feathered f(r)iend.

He's been fed five times today, by myself on three occasions, twice by my husband.  Running after such a demanding bird is a pain, but I'm delighted to see him again.

The garden just hasn't been the same without him!

A Dazzling Array of Libation Vessels

Hot on the heels of my post dedicated to the kernos, I'm going to introduce you to the rhyton, or libation vessel. 

Eagle-eyed fans of Minoan art and culture should remember a certain kind of vessel featured in various artworks, such as the sarcophogus with the bull sacrifice I showed you in a previous post).  It can be identified by its pointed base, and it seems to be associated with ritual activities, something borne out by the exotic nature of these artefacts. 

I showed you the magnificent bull's head rhyton in an earlier post.  Here's another rhyton, shaped this time like the head of a lioness:-

She's carved from alabaster, and she would once have been embellished, like the bull, with additional fittings around the eyes and nose.

Here's another wonderful group, with one of the most famous scenes featured in the middle. showing a scene of farmers returning with sheaves of grain and harvesting implements slung over their shoulders.

 

I've isolated some details from the vessels featured above.  The first is from the vessel on the right.  It shows some seated ibex above a doorway, which is embellished with spiral markings.  [NB: Please remember these spiral markings!  They will be mentioned again in a later post!]

 

And a detail of the harvesters on the middle vessel:-

 

I'm sorry the images are so grainy and out of focus.  My poor littlle camera found the dim interior of Heraklion Museum rather difficult to cope with.
 

These objects tend to be carved from rocks like steatite, serpentine and alabaster, as opposed to being made from ceramic.  This is presumably so they can be used to move and perhaps store liquids, since glazed pottery doesn't seem to have been in use at this time.  

Since these liquids were used in ceremonies and rituals, we can only begin to speculate what they might have been.  Oils, perfumes, and animal blood all seem likely candidates.  Perhaps they were used to pour offerings of these substances onto altars like the kernos featured in yesterday's post...


 

A Dazzling Array of Libation Vessels

Hot on the heels of my post dedicated to the kernos, I'm going to introduce you to the rhyton, or libation vessel. 

Eagle-eyed fans of Minoan art and culture should remember a certain kind of vessel featured in various artworks, such as the sarcophogus with the bull sacrifice I showed you in a previous post).  It can be identified by its pointed base, and it seems to be associated with ritual activities, something borne out by the exotic nature of these artefacts. 

I showed you the magnificent bull's head rhyton in an earlier post.  Here's another rhyton, shaped this time like the head of a lioness:-

She's carved from alabaster, and she would once have been embellished, like the bull, with additional fittings around the eyes and nose.

Here's another wonderful group, with one of the most famous scenes featured in the middle. showing a scene of farmers returning with sheaves of grain and harvesting implements slung over their shoulders.

 

I've isolated some details from the vessels featured above.  The first is from the vessel on the right.  It shows some seated ibex above a doorway, which is embellished with spiral markings.  [NB: Please remember these spiral markings!  They will be mentioned again in a later post!]

 

And a detail of the harvesters on the middle vessel:-

 

I'm sorry the images are so grainy and out of focus.  My poor littlle camera found the dim interior of Heraklion Museum rather difficult to cope with.
 

These objects tend to be carved from rocks like steatite, serpentine and alabaster, as opposed to being made from ceramic.  This is presumably so they can be used to move and perhaps store liquids, since glazed pottery doesn't seem to have been in use at this time.  

Since these liquids were used in ceremonies and rituals, we can only begin to speculate what they might have been.  Oils, perfumes, and animal blood all seem likely candidates.  Perhaps they were used to pour offerings of these substances onto altars like the kernos featured in yesterday's post...