DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.807#0531
M. M. Ill: KNOSSIAN FAIENCE: THE BEADS
489
though not so elegantly formed, have been found both at Knossos and
in Mainland Greece.1 They all show a horizontal perforation through
the rolled projection above and, usually, two rivet holes, one above the
other, in the sunken disk below. The exact application of these objects
remains uncertain, but it seems clear that they served as brackets or
supports.2
The very careful examination and analyses of various specimens of Analysis
this dazed ware 3 by Professor A. H. Church and Mr. Noel Heaton show °£3nos"
o ^ si an
that they represent a true faience technique. The material is almost pure Faience,
sand and clay, and was moulded into shape. The true character of the
1 A plain example in the native faience was
found near the South Propylaeum at Knossos.
The nearest parallel to the Repository type,
though already somewhat degenerate, occurred
in the tholos tomb of the Messenian Pylos
dated by the pottery as L. M. I b ('Apx- 'E<£-
1914, p. 103, Fig. 5). Such objects are frequent
in Mycenaean Graves of late date (e. g. Myce-
nae, 'Ecf>. 'Apx. 1887, PL xiii, 18 ; Spata, Bull,
de Corr. Hell. 1878, PL xiv, 5). These latter
show reduplicated folds in decreasing order,
and are very degraded copies of the fine foliate
form given by the mould. A stone mould for
a similar object was found at Mycenae (Schlie-
mann, Mycenae, p. 107, Fig. 162) and part of
another, op. cit., p. 109, Fig. 163.
2 The architectonic aspect of the object as
seen in Fig. 350 is enhanced by the disks
below, so characteristic of Minoan facades.
The central feature with its rolled projection
has been compared by Mr. Edward Bell
[Hellenic Architecture, its Genesis and Growth,
p. 29) with the Corinthian modillion.
3 Professor Church observes :' Besides silica,
the glaze contained lime, a little magnesia, some
soda, and a larger amount of potash. The
friable and rather porous "body" or paste of
this glazed material contains (in the state in
which it was analysed): (a) moisture and other
matters, 1-22 per cent. ; (b) matters soluble in
strong hydrochloric acid, 2-22 per cent.; (c)
quartzite sand with traces of mica, felspar, and
clay, 96-56 per cent. (= 100). (b) consists
chiefly of lime and the oxides of iron, alumina,
and copper, (c) consists of 97-01 per cent, of
silica, 1-33 per cent, of alumina, and 0-17 per
cent, of lime, with traces of lime, magnesia,
copper, and alkalies. The paste when dry has
received a coating of glaze, and has been fixed
at a moderate heat, just sufficient to fuse the
latter without softening the body.' Professor
Church considers that the glaze owes its
colouring mainly to copper and that it is
probably nearly related to ' Egyptian Blue '.
The dark browns and black, however, are
referred by him to a ferruginous origin. These
results have been confirmed by the preliminary
researches of Mr. Noel Heaton. To account for
the plasticity of the composition he suggested
that ' the sand was mixed with a resinous
material in order to give it sufficient plasticity
to keep it in shape when pressed into moulds.
It was then removed from the mould, dried,
and painted with a mixture of metallic oxide
and alkali—the metal varying according to the
colour desired—and fired at a moderate tem-
perature for a considerable time '. Mr. Heaton
thinks that the view that the manufacture took
place in the Palace precincts is confirmed by
a fragment of a re-used stone found by Mr. Doll
in the upper part of a Late Minoan wall of the
Domestic Quarter. This fragment is covered
with glaze and corresponds with stones found in
connexion with ancient furnaces, as in the case
of the Roman pottery kilns recently investigated
near Chester. The stone may, however, have
been used in a Palace pottery kiln.
489
though not so elegantly formed, have been found both at Knossos and
in Mainland Greece.1 They all show a horizontal perforation through
the rolled projection above and, usually, two rivet holes, one above the
other, in the sunken disk below. The exact application of these objects
remains uncertain, but it seems clear that they served as brackets or
supports.2
The very careful examination and analyses of various specimens of Analysis
this dazed ware 3 by Professor A. H. Church and Mr. Noel Heaton show °£3nos"
o ^ si an
that they represent a true faience technique. The material is almost pure Faience,
sand and clay, and was moulded into shape. The true character of the
1 A plain example in the native faience was
found near the South Propylaeum at Knossos.
The nearest parallel to the Repository type,
though already somewhat degenerate, occurred
in the tholos tomb of the Messenian Pylos
dated by the pottery as L. M. I b ('Apx- 'E<£-
1914, p. 103, Fig. 5). Such objects are frequent
in Mycenaean Graves of late date (e. g. Myce-
nae, 'Ecf>. 'Apx. 1887, PL xiii, 18 ; Spata, Bull,
de Corr. Hell. 1878, PL xiv, 5). These latter
show reduplicated folds in decreasing order,
and are very degraded copies of the fine foliate
form given by the mould. A stone mould for
a similar object was found at Mycenae (Schlie-
mann, Mycenae, p. 107, Fig. 162) and part of
another, op. cit., p. 109, Fig. 163.
2 The architectonic aspect of the object as
seen in Fig. 350 is enhanced by the disks
below, so characteristic of Minoan facades.
The central feature with its rolled projection
has been compared by Mr. Edward Bell
[Hellenic Architecture, its Genesis and Growth,
p. 29) with the Corinthian modillion.
3 Professor Church observes :' Besides silica,
the glaze contained lime, a little magnesia, some
soda, and a larger amount of potash. The
friable and rather porous "body" or paste of
this glazed material contains (in the state in
which it was analysed): (a) moisture and other
matters, 1-22 per cent. ; (b) matters soluble in
strong hydrochloric acid, 2-22 per cent.; (c)
quartzite sand with traces of mica, felspar, and
clay, 96-56 per cent. (= 100). (b) consists
chiefly of lime and the oxides of iron, alumina,
and copper, (c) consists of 97-01 per cent, of
silica, 1-33 per cent, of alumina, and 0-17 per
cent, of lime, with traces of lime, magnesia,
copper, and alkalies. The paste when dry has
received a coating of glaze, and has been fixed
at a moderate heat, just sufficient to fuse the
latter without softening the body.' Professor
Church considers that the glaze owes its
colouring mainly to copper and that it is
probably nearly related to ' Egyptian Blue '.
The dark browns and black, however, are
referred by him to a ferruginous origin. These
results have been confirmed by the preliminary
researches of Mr. Noel Heaton. To account for
the plasticity of the composition he suggested
that ' the sand was mixed with a resinous
material in order to give it sufficient plasticity
to keep it in shape when pressed into moulds.
It was then removed from the mould, dried,
and painted with a mixture of metallic oxide
and alkali—the metal varying according to the
colour desired—and fired at a moderate tem-
perature for a considerable time '. Mr. Heaton
thinks that the view that the manufacture took
place in the Palace precincts is confirmed by
a fragment of a re-used stone found by Mr. Doll
in the upper part of a Late Minoan wall of the
Domestic Quarter. This fragment is covered
with glaze and corresponds with stones found in
connexion with ancient furnaces, as in the case
of the Roman pottery kilns recently investigated
near Chester. The stone may, however, have
been used in a Palace pottery kiln.