DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12762#0131
104
THE VAULTED TOMBS OF MESARA
Remarks on
Stone Vases
the Sir Arthur Evans, however, in the passage quoted gives it as his view that
cemetery perfec£ion 0f the Cretan stone vessels in E.M. II is accounted for, if we
stone objects , £ ,u . . , ■, , • r,M T
admit that the art had begun m E.M. 1.
The theory that the art came from Egypt rests partly on the observation
that at this time stone vessels are not found elsewhere in Europe except in the
Iberian Peninsula, whereas they are found in Egypt, and at a much earlier
date than in Crete or the Cyclades. A second and more weighty argument
lies in the resemblance of some Cretan vases to Egyptian forms. The com-
parison is made by Mr. Seager,1 who catalogues six such similar forms, and by
Sir Arthur Evans.2 To-day, in view of all the other similarities and corre-
spondences between Egypt and Crete, which I shall set forth on a later page,
it would not be easy to deny that the artists who made the first Cretan stone
vases, and in making them developed with astonishing speed their taste for
elegance, found their inspiration in Egypt, and brought the knowledge of their
craft from that country, and possibly their first models and tools. Such models,
indeed, may be seen in the series of predynastic and protodynastic vessels of
diorite and other hard materials found on the site of Knossos, which are un-
doubtedly Egyptian originals.3
Nevertheless, once they had acquired the art, the Minoan stone-cutters
took their own road in the shapes of their vases and in their choice of materials,
and formed a repertoire of their own. And, as Sir Arthur Evans 4 observes,
the Cretan stone ware is sometimes influenced by the contemporary clay vases.
The horizontal lugs with vertical holes are an instance, for in Egypt it is the
lugs that are vertical.
3. Stone Objects other than Vases.
(a) Pommels
Pommels Four pommels (Plate LIV, third row from top), from daggers or tools of
some kind.
1897. This is cut out of a light brown volcanic stone and is almost spherical.
It has a mortise in the flattened end to take the tang of the handle, and is pierced
at right angles for the fastening pin. Height -035 m., diameter -04 m.
1898. This is of black steatite, oval, with one flat and one convex side.
It also has a mortise on the flat side and a cross pin-hole.
The other two, 2006 and 2007, are of black limestone and circular, but are
otherwise precisely similar. Diameters *05 m. and -055 m.
(b) Whetstones. (Plate LIV.)
Whetstones Only six whetstones were found. They are of fine grained sandstone.
1 Seager, Mochlos, pp. 103-104.
2 Evans, Palace, p. 66, figs. 29-36,
3 Evans, B.S.A., VIII, pp. 121 ff„ figs. 72, 73;
Palace, p. 85, fig. 55.
4 Evans, Palace, p. 92.
THE VAULTED TOMBS OF MESARA
Remarks on
Stone Vases
the Sir Arthur Evans, however, in the passage quoted gives it as his view that
cemetery perfec£ion 0f the Cretan stone vessels in E.M. II is accounted for, if we
stone objects , £ ,u . . , ■, , • r,M T
admit that the art had begun m E.M. 1.
The theory that the art came from Egypt rests partly on the observation
that at this time stone vessels are not found elsewhere in Europe except in the
Iberian Peninsula, whereas they are found in Egypt, and at a much earlier
date than in Crete or the Cyclades. A second and more weighty argument
lies in the resemblance of some Cretan vases to Egyptian forms. The com-
parison is made by Mr. Seager,1 who catalogues six such similar forms, and by
Sir Arthur Evans.2 To-day, in view of all the other similarities and corre-
spondences between Egypt and Crete, which I shall set forth on a later page,
it would not be easy to deny that the artists who made the first Cretan stone
vases, and in making them developed with astonishing speed their taste for
elegance, found their inspiration in Egypt, and brought the knowledge of their
craft from that country, and possibly their first models and tools. Such models,
indeed, may be seen in the series of predynastic and protodynastic vessels of
diorite and other hard materials found on the site of Knossos, which are un-
doubtedly Egyptian originals.3
Nevertheless, once they had acquired the art, the Minoan stone-cutters
took their own road in the shapes of their vases and in their choice of materials,
and formed a repertoire of their own. And, as Sir Arthur Evans 4 observes,
the Cretan stone ware is sometimes influenced by the contemporary clay vases.
The horizontal lugs with vertical holes are an instance, for in Egypt it is the
lugs that are vertical.
3. Stone Objects other than Vases.
(a) Pommels
Pommels Four pommels (Plate LIV, third row from top), from daggers or tools of
some kind.
1897. This is cut out of a light brown volcanic stone and is almost spherical.
It has a mortise in the flattened end to take the tang of the handle, and is pierced
at right angles for the fastening pin. Height -035 m., diameter -04 m.
1898. This is of black steatite, oval, with one flat and one convex side.
It also has a mortise on the flat side and a cross pin-hole.
The other two, 2006 and 2007, are of black limestone and circular, but are
otherwise precisely similar. Diameters *05 m. and -055 m.
(b) Whetstones. (Plate LIV.)
Whetstones Only six whetstones were found. They are of fine grained sandstone.
1 Seager, Mochlos, pp. 103-104.
2 Evans, Palace, p. 66, figs. 29-36,
3 Evans, B.S.A., VIII, pp. 121 ff„ figs. 72, 73;
Palace, p. 85, fig. 55.
4 Evans, Palace, p. 92.