Evans, Arthur: The ‘Tomb of the Double Axes’ and associated group, and the pillar rooms and ritual vessels of the ‘Little Palace’ at Knossos’ (London, 1914)

52 THE TOMB OF THE DOUBLE AXES

its general outline, excepting its dome-shaped top, recalled the polychrome
goblets of Tomb 5, and was evidently, like those, of a ritual character (2 u, fig. 69).

This last-mentioned analogy makes it highly probable that in this case, too,
the walls of the vessel were covered with Egyptian blue and brilliant red colours
of an imperfectly fixed nature. These, however, had in this case been entirely
obliterated.

Fig. 70. Restoration of steatite, etc.'rhyton'. (c. J)

The essential difference between this vessel and the polychrome vases
described above (see fig. 37, a, b, and pi. IV) was that in this case the top part is
closed with a breast-shaped cover, in the top of which is a circular aperture.

This vessel has some analogy with the pedestalled vases found at Phylakopi
in Melos, in the Pillar Chamber west of that containing the flying-fish fresco,1
and which seems to have been used for purposes of cult. In the case of these

1 D. G. Hogarth, Phylakopi, p. 18.