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Introduction

The peoples who lived on the island of Crete during the Bronze Age are known today as the Minoans, after Minos, a legendary king of Crete. The history of is broken into Early, Middle, and Late Minoan periods, and although the exact dates for narrower subdivisions are debated, are largely agreed upon (1).听

Early Minoan Period (c. 3,000-2,000 B.C.E.)

Among the earliest听 is听Incised Ware, characterized by incised decoration of parallel lines creating patterns on the surface of the clay. Contemporary with Incised Ware is听Aghios Onouphrios Ware, a type simply painted with dark red or black听diagonal lines, which form听both series of parallel lines and criss-crosses on a light surface; these designs typically appear on jugs and bowls (2). , with its mottled surface achieved by novel means of firing, was probably meant to approximate more substantial and expensive听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听(3).

The CU Art Museum's collection contains one vessel from the Early Minoan period, an incised pyxis with its lid intact.

Middle Minoan Period (c. 2,000-1,550 B.C.E.)

听was transformed by the introduction of the fast 辫辞迟迟别谤'蝉听飞丑别别濒, an innovation that led to thinner and finer wares, which, in turn, led to finer decoration.听听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听known as eggshell ware because of its extreme delicacy and fineness (4). An incredible variety of designs adorned听the vases of the Middle Minoan period听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).听

Late Minoan Period (c. 1,550-1,100 B.C.E.)

The Late Minoan period brought the 听of the several . 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 . 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 , which exhibited sinuous octopuses,听realistic fishes, dancing dolphins, and speeding nautiluses, as well as jagged, spiky seaweed nad rocks.听

Following the Marine Style in the middle of the Late Minoan period was the so-called听Palace Style, in which the earlier decorative motifs of plants, flowers, and sea life are arranged symmetrically and in a greatly stylized manner听(7). This change from the exuberant Marine and Floral Styles to the more formalized and symmetrical Palace Style is often seen as evidence that , who originated on the mainland,听occupied Crete and imposed their stylistic sensibilities on the native Minoan art (8). At the end of the Late Minoan period came , after which the mainland would become the center of artistic production in Greece.

This essay was written to accompany a听collection of Greek artifacts at the CU Art Museum.听

Footnotes

1. The dates used in this article are drawn听from John G. 笔别诲濒别测,听Greek Art and Archaeology听(Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1993): 29.
2. Jeremy B. Rutter, Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean听(), accessed 01 February 2019; 笔别诲濒别测,听Greek Art and Archaeology:听30, fig. 1.8.
3. On Vasilike Ware, see Philip P. Betancourt,听Vasilike Ware: An Early Bronze Age Pottery Style in Crete听(G枚teborg: Paul 脜str枚ms Forlag, 1979); see also 笔别诲濒别测,听Greek Art and Archaeology:听32-3, fig. 1.6.
4. 搁耻迟迟别谤,听Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean.
5. 笔别诲濒别测,听Greek Art and Archaeology: 52-5.
6. 笔别诲濒别测,听Greek Art and Archaeology: 76.
7. For pottery of the Late Minoan period see William R. Biers,听The Archaeology of Greece听(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1980): 50-52.
8. 笔别诲濒别测,听Greek Art and Archaeology: 78.