A Pottery Post

 

I'll be waxing lyrical about the joys of Charlotte Rhead pottery this weekend, so in order to set the scene for 20th century Art Deco pottery, I'm going to take you back in time to the Minoans (yet again!) to enthuse about a peculiarly Minoan form of pottery: Kamares Ware.

It's peculiar to the Minoans, and it's very distinctive.  In some examples, the fabric is terribly thin,  in a particular form known as 'eggshell ware'. 

It's always lavishly decorated.  The earlier forms bear forms that are either geometric, or floral in nature.  The later form, by contrast, often has a maritime theme.  This particular decoration features creatures like fish, and octopus (octopuses?  Octopi??) 

I read a reference which argued that this form of decoration becomes dominant at a later point in the Minoan civilisation, perhaps reflecting a greater concern with the sea and its potentially destructive capabalities.  But having leafed through my Cretan museum catalogues, I can't find the reference in question!

I found a couple of sherds of Kamares Ware amongst the oodles of pot sherds that lay strewn over the ground at the sites of Gournia and Phaistos.  Eventually, it was getting to the stage that I refused to waste my energy by stooping to pick up and examine a sherd unless it was Kamares Ware!

Did I pocket these sherds and take them home?  Absolutely not.  I left them where I found them.  I think there's been enough pillaging of the Minoan and Classical past in the last few centuries without my adding to the problem in the 21st century.

Anyway, without further ado, here's some Kamares ware:-

 

And believe it or not, the large multi-handled vessel forms to the rear are technically pithoi, though they're not nearly as big as the gigantic whoppers that litter the palaces of Knosses, Phaistos and Malia.  The vessel at the left-hand side bears Maritime motifs, while the one to the right is more abstract.

Some more smaller serving dishes are featured below:-
 

My apologies for the blurred photo.  My camera didn't like Heraklion Museum.

Lastly, here are two pithoi from one of the regional museums.  There was no label, unfortunately.  At least not one that I could find.  But I've a feeling that these are pithoi, fashioned in Kamares Ware.  They don't seem likely to have been particularly good for storage, though, as they seem unlikely to be very robust.
 

 

It could be argued that the fact that day-to-day items like storage jars and serving dishes were made with so much attention to detail and decorated in a unique fashion demonstrates just how creative, artistic and wealthy these people were.  But I'm not convinced that Kamares Ware represents routine tableware that you'd put out on the table to eat your tea from each night, unless you were spectacularly rich (the 'Mr/Mrs/Ms Big' of Knossos, for example).

But it's lovely looking stuff, and uniquely Minoan.  Keep an eye open for it, next time you're wandering around a major city museum.

A Pottery Post

 

I'll be waxing lyrical about the joys of Charlotte Rhead pottery this weekend, so in order to set the scene for 20th century Art Deco pottery, I'm going to take you back in time to the Minoans (yet again!) to enthuse about a peculiarly Minoan form of pottery: Kamares Ware.

It's peculiar to the Minoans, and it's very distinctive.  In some examples, the fabric is terribly thin,  in a particular form known as 'eggshell ware'. 

It's always lavishly decorated.  The earlier forms bear forms that are either geometric, or floral in nature.  The later form, by contrast, often has a maritime theme.  This particular decoration features creatures like fish, and octopus (octopuses?  Octopi??) 

I read a reference which argued that this form of decoration becomes dominant at a later point in the Minoan civilisation, perhaps reflecting a greater concern with the sea and its potentially destructive capabalities.  But having leafed through my Cretan museum catalogues, I can't find the reference in question!

I found a couple of sherds of Kamares Ware amongst the oodles of pot sherds that lay strewn over the ground at the sites of Gournia and Phaistos.  Eventually, it was getting to the stage that I refused to waste my energy by stooping to pick up and examine a sherd unless it was Kamares Ware!

Did I pocket these sherds and take them home?  Absolutely not.  I left them where I found them.  I think there's been enough pillaging of the Minoan and Classical past in the last few centuries without my adding to the problem in the 21st century.

Anyway, without further ado, here's some Kamares ware:-

 

And believe it or not, the large multi-handled vessel forms to the rear are technically pithoi, though they're not nearly as big as the gigantic whoppers that litter the palaces of Knosses, Phaistos and Malia.  The vessel at the left-hand side bears Maritime motifs, while the one to the right is more abstract.

Some more smaller serving dishes are featured below:-
 

My apologies for the blurred photo.  My camera didn't like Heraklion Museum.

Lastly, here are two pithoi from one of the regional museums.  There was no label, unfortunately.  At least not one that I could find.  But I've a feeling that these are pithoi, fashioned in Kamares Ware.  They don't seem likely to have been particularly good for storage, though, as they seem unlikely to be very robust.
 

 

It could be argued that the fact that day-to-day items like storage jars and serving dishes were made with so much attention to detail and decorated in a unique fashion demonstrates just how creative, artistic and wealthy these people were.  But I'm not convinced that Kamares Ware represents routine tableware that you'd put out on the table to eat your tea from each night, unless you were spectacularly rich (the 'Mr/Mrs/Ms Big' of Knossos, for example).

But it's lovely looking stuff, and uniquely Minoan.  Keep an eye open for it, next time you're wandering around a major city museum.