Collection Item

From:UC Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities

Name/TitleAmphora

About this objectFound in a pit-tomb near Nicosia in Cyprus, this Bronze Age amphora has been reconstructed from fragments and some small parts are missing. It is made of pale brown clay and the outer surface has been covered with a pink-red slip. The slip also covers the inner face of the neck and mouth but there is no wash inside the main body. The body is spherical with a rounded base and a wide neck. The lip is simple and out-turned. On either side of the neck are vertical pierced lug handles.

Round bottomed vessels were common in this region during the Bronze Age. Used for storing foodstuffs, it is thought that they were kept upright by making shallow depressions in the ground, and smaller vessels could be hung away when not in use. One reason potters made rounded shapes was because they were less likely to crack in a kiln than objects with sharp corners.

Date Made21st Century BC

PeriodEarly Cypriote

Place MadeCyprus

Place NotesExcavated from Ayia Paraskevi, tomb 11

Medium and MaterialsCeramic: Pottery

Style and IconographyCypriote

Style and IconographyRed polished III

TechniqueMolding (forming)

TechniqueModeling (forming)

MeasurementsHeight 208mm; Diameter ca. 160mm

Subject and Association KeywordsMourning customs

Subject and Association KeywordsFood history

Named CollectionThe James Logie Memorial Collection, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Credit LineDonated by the Melbourne University Cyprus Expedition, 1957.

Object TypeStorage Vessels

Object number53.57

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved