Mycenaean pottery
Mycenaean pottery is the pottery tradition associated with the Mycenaean period in Ancient Greece. It encompassed a variety of styles and forms including the stirrup jar. The term "Mycenaean" comes from the site Mycenae, and was first applied by Heinrich Schliemann.
Chronology
The Mycenaean era corresponds to the period known as Late Helladic, often abbreviated LH, in the standard relative chronology for mainland Greece. This period is divided into sub-periods using Roman numerals which are further divided into sub-sub-periods using capital letters. This divisions are useful because archaeologists typically use changes in pottery styles as an indication of broader changes in culture. Many writers compare prehistory to a stage on which different ceramic characters appear and play a role.In absolute dating, the Mycenaean period corresponds to c. 1600 - 1000 BC.
An alternative periodization divides the Mycenaean era into Early Mycenaean, Middle Mycenaean, Palatial Mycenaean, and Postpalatial Mycenaean.
Early Mycenaean
The Early Mycenaean era covers the Late Helladic I-IIA ceramic periods. Pottery from this era can be distinguished by the use of a more lustrous paint than its Middle Helladic predecessors. There is some question as to how much of the pottery of this age relies on Minoan pottery for both their shapes and the patterns. For at least the first half of the seventeenth century BC there is only a small portion of all pottery produced that is in the Minoan style.Where the first recognizably Mycenaean pottery emerged is still under debate. Some believe that this development took place in the northeast Peloponnese. There is also evidence that suggests that the style appeared in the southern Peloponnese as a result of Minoan potters taking up residence at coastal sites along the Greek mainland.
LH I (c. 1675/1650 – 1600/1550 BC)
The pottery during this period varies greatly in style from area to area. Due to the influence of Minoan Crete, the further south the site, the more the pottery is influenced by Minoan styles.The easiest way to distinguish the pottery of this period from that of the late Middle Helladic is the use of a fine ware that is painted in a dark-on-light style with lustrous paints. This period also marks the appearance of a fine ware that is coated all over with paint varying from red and black in color. This ware is monochrome painted and is directly descended from grey and black Minyan ware. A form of the yellow Minyan style also appears in this period, merging into Mycenaean unpainted wares.
Additionally, Mycenaean art is different from that of the Minoans in that the different elements of a work are distinguished from each other much more clearly, whereas Minoan art is generally more fluid.
There is also some carry-over of matte-painted wares from the Middle Helladic period into LH I. The majority of large closed vessels that bear any painted decorations are matte. They are generally decorated in two styles of matte paints known as Aeginetan Dichrome and Mainland Polychrome.
Some of the preferred shapes during this period were the vapheio cup, semi globular cup, alabastron, and piriform jar.
| Shape | Example |
| Vapheio cup | |
| Semi globular cup | |
| Alabastron | |
| Piriform jar |
LH IIA (c. 1600/1550 – 1490/1470 BC)
During this period there is a drastic increase in the amount of fine pottery that is decorated with lustrous paints. An increase in uniformity in the Peloponnese can be also seen at this time. However, Central Greece is still defined by Helladic pottery, showing little Minoan influence at all, which supports the theory that Minoan influence on ceramics traveled gradually from south to north.By this period, matte-painted pottery is much less common and the Grey Minyan style has completely disappeared. In addition to the popular shapes of LH I goblets, jugs, and jars have increased in popularity.
Middle Mycenaean
During this phase, Minoan civilization slowly decreased in importance and eventually the Mycenaeans rose in importance, possibly even temporarily being in control of the Cretan palace of Knossos. The mainland pottery began to break away from Minoan styles and Greek potters started creating more abstract pottery as opposed to the previously naturalistic Minoan forms. This abstract style eventually spread to Crete as well.LH IIB (c. 1490/1470 – 1435/1405 BC)
During this period the most popular style was the Ephyraean style; most commonly represented on goblets and jugs. This style is thought to be a spin-off of the Alternating style of LM IB. This style has a restricted shape range, which suggests that potters may have used it mostly for making matching sets of jugs, goblets and dippers.It is during LH IIB that the dependence on Minoan ceramics is completely erased. In fact, looking at the pottery found on Crete during this phase suggests that artistic influence is now flowing in the opposite direction; the Minoans are now using Mycenaean pottery as a reference.
Ivy, lilies, and nautili are all popular patterns during this phase and by now there is little to no matte painting.
LH IIIA1 (c. 1435/1405 – 1390/1370 BC)
During LH IIIA1, there are many stylistic changes. Most notably, the Mycenaean goblet begins to lengthen its stem and have a more shallow bowl. This stylistic change marks the beginning of the transformation from goblet to kylix. The vapheio cup also changes into an early sort of mug and becomes much rarer. Also during this period, the stirrup jar becomes a popular style and naturalistic motifs become less popular.Palatial Period
Not long after the beginning of this phase there is evidence of major destruction at the palace at Knossos on Crete. The importance of Crete and Minoan power decreases and Mycenaean culture rises in dominance in the southern Aegean. It was during this period that the Levant, Egypt and Cyprus came into close and continuous contact with the Greek world. Masses of Mycenaean pottery found in excavated sites in the eastern Mediterranean show that not only were these ancient civilizations in contact with each other, but also had some form of established trade.The Koine style is the style of pottery popular in the first three quarters of this era. This form of pottery is thus named for its intense technical and stylistic uniformity, over a large area of the eastern and central Mediterranean. During LH IIIA it is virtually impossible to tell where in Mycenaean Greece a specific vase was made. Pottery found on the islands north of Sicily is almost identical to that found in Cyprus and the Levant.
It is only during the LH IIIB period that stylistic uniformity decreased; around the same time that the amount of trade between the Peloponnese and Cyprus dramatically decreased.
LH IIIA2 (c. 1390/1370 – 1320/1300 BC)
It is in this period that the kylix truly becomes the dominant shape of pottery found in settlement deposits. The stirrup jar, piriform jar, and alabastron are the shapes most frequently found in tombs from this era.Also during LH IIIA2 two new motifs appear: the whorl shell and LH III flower. These are both stylized rather than naturalistic, further separating Mycenaean pottery from Minoan influence.
Excavations at Tell el-Amarna in Egypt have found large deposits of Aegean pottery. These findings provide excellent insight to the shape range of Mycenaean pottery. By this time, monochrome painted wares were almost exclusively large kylikes and stemmed bowls while fine unpainted wares are found in a vast range of shapes.
LH IIIB (c. 1320/1300 – 1190 BC)
The presence of the deep bowl as well as the conical kylix in this age is what allows one to differentiate from LH IIIA. During LH IIIB paneled patterns also appear. Not long into this phase the deep bowl becomes the most popular decorated shape, although for unpainted wares the kylix is still the most produced.One can further distinguish the pottery from this period into two sub-phases:
- LH IIIB1: this phase is characterized by an equal presence of both painted deep bowls and kylikes. The kylikes at this time are mostly Zigouries.
- LH IIIB2: during this phase there is an absence of decorates kylikes and deep bowl styles further develop into the Rosette form.
Post-palatial period
During this period, the differences in ceramics from different regions become increasingly more noticeable, suggesting further degradation of trade at this time. Other than a brief 'renaissance' period that took place mid-twelfth century that brought some developments, the pottery begins to decline in quality.Submycenaean is now generally regarded as the final stage of Late Helladic IIIC, and is followed by Protogeometric pottery.
The shapes and decorations of the ceramics discovered during this final period show that the production of pottery was reduced to little more than a household industry, suggesting that this was a time of poverty in Greece.
It is possible to divide this phase into several different sub-phases.
Early phase
At this time, the 'medium band' form of deep bowl appears and most painted shapes in this phase have linear decoration. Occasionally new shapes and new decorations appear, helping to distinguish wares from this period from those of earlier phases.Around the same time as the destruction of the great palaces and citadels is recovered an odd class of handmade pottery lacking any ancestry in the Mycenaean world. Similar pottery is also found in other areas both to the East and to the West. Most of the scholars in recent times agree that such a development is probably to be interpreted as the result of long-range connections with the Central Mediterranean area, and some have connected this with the appearance in the Eastern Mediterranean of the so-called Sea Peoples