The Mycenaeans were talented potters whose ceramic styles and decorations reflect their skill and the values of their culture.
Mycenaean Ceramics
The Mycenaeans created numerous ceramic vessels of various types and decorated them in a variety of styles. These vessels were popular outside of Greece, and were often exported and traded around the Mediterranean and have been found in Egypt, Italy, Asia Minor, and Spain.
Two of the main production centers were the Mycenaean cities at Athens and Corinth. The products of the two centers were distinguishable by their color and decoration. Corinthian clay was a pale yellow and tended to feature painted scenes based on nature, while the Athenian potters decorated their vessels with a rich red and preferred geometric designs.
Vessels
The most popular types of vessels included kraters —large, open-mouth jars to mix wine and water—pitchers, and stirrup jars, which are so named for the handles that came above the top of the vessel. Mycenaean vessels usually had a pale, off-white background and were painted in a single color, either red, brown, or black.
Popular motifs include abstract geometric designs, animals, marine life, or narrative scenes. The presence of nature scenes, especially of marine life and of bulls, seems to suggest a Minoan influence on the style and motifs painted on the Mycenaean pots.
Vessels served the purposes of storage, processing, and transfer. There are a few different classes of pottery, generally separated into two main sections: utilitarian and elite.
- Utilitarian pottery is sometimes decorated, made for functional domestic use, and constitutes the bulk of the pottery made.
- Elite pottery is finely made and elaborately decorated with great regard for detail. This form of pottery is generally made for holding precious liquids and for decoration.
Stirrup Jars
Stirrup jars, mainly used for storing liquids such as oil and wine, could have been economically valuable in Mycenaean households. The arrangement of common features suggests that a stopper is used to secure the contents and the contents are what make the jar a valuable household item.
The disc holes and third handle may have been used to secure a tag to the vessel, suggesting it had commercial importance and resale value. The locations where stirrup jars have been found reflect the fact that the popularity of this vessel type spread quickly throughout the Aegean, and the use of the stirrup jar to identify a specific commodity became important.
Warrior Vase
The Warrior Vase (c. 12oo BCE) is a bell krater that depicts a woman bidding farewell to a group of warriors. The scene is simple and lacks a background.
The men all carry round shields and spears and wear helmets. Attached to their spears are knapsacks, which suggest that they must travel long distances to battle. On one side, the soldiers wear helmets ornamented with horns. The soldiers on the other side wear hedgehog-style helmets. A single woman stands to the left with her arm raised and a group of identically dressed and heavily armed men is marching off to the right.
There is no way to tell which woman is waving goodbye, as all the figures are generic and none specifically interacts with her, nor do they interact with each other. The figures are stocky and lack the sinuous lines of the painted Minoan figures.
Furthermore, while the men all face right with wide stances and appear to move in that direction, their flat feet and twisted perspective bodies inhibit any potential for movement. Instead the figures remain static and upright. The imagery depicts a simple narrative that in the warrior culture of the Mycenaeans must have often been reenacted.
Many scholars observe that the style of the figures and the handles of this thirteenth century BCE vase are very similar to eighth century BCE pottery. Similar spearmen are also depicted in eighth century BCE pottery which introduces a curious 500 year gap in styles.
Figurines
Small terra cotta figurines and statuettes are found throughout Mycenaean grave sites and cities. The purpose of these figures is unknown, although they may carry a votive or cult association. Some figurines found in children’s tombs may be toys.
The most common style depicts female figures and are from the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE. The figures are small and are divided into two categories:
- Those that look like the Greek letter phi (phi-types), with a rounded upper body shape.
- Those that look like the Greek letter psi (psi-types), which have outstretched arms.
Both figures have heads that are narrow and pinched into a triangle. Details such as the eyes, mouth, and nose are painted on. The bases of the figures are cylindrical and their legs seem to be painted as a visual afterthought. These figures are painted simply with stripes and zigzags, often on the upper body, and details such as eyes are also added in with paint, while breasts are portrayed with clay protrusions.
There are few examples of large-scale, freestanding sculptures from the Mycenaeans. A painted plaster head of a female—perhaps depicting a priestess, goddess, or sphinx —is one of the few examples of large-scale sculpture.
The head is painted white, suggesting that it depicts a female. A red band wraps around her head with bits of hair underneath. The eyes and eyebrows are outlined in blue, the lips are red, and red circles surrounded by small red dots are on her checks and chin.
Rhytons
Rhytons are elaborate, decorative drinking cups that often take the shape of animals. They are usually made of precious materials, such as gold or silver, but they may also be made of terra cotta.
Several Mycenaean rhytons have been excavated, and include one in the shape of a boar’s head and another in the shape of a bull’s head. The bull-headed rhyton may have been influenced by or intended for trade with the Minoans. Both of these rhytons are conically shaped, painted in a single color with abstract shapes, and have defining features, such as ears and eyes.
