Terracotta alabastron (jar)
Unknown Artist
ca. 1600–1050 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Dimensions
H. 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm.)
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Mycenaean · Late Bronze Age
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76
Accession Number
74.51.5855
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta alabastron a small jar standing just 1 3/4 inches (4.5 cm) tall, hails from the Mycenaean culture of the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600–1050 BCE). Crafted by an unknown artist, it exemplifies the everyday pottery of this influential civilization, which dominated mainland Greece with its grand palaces, like those at Mycenae and Pylos, and left behind treasures immortalized in Homer's epics. Mycenaeans were skilled seafarers and traders, blending influences from Minoan Crete with their own warrior ethos, and objects like this jar offer a glimpse into their sophisticated daily...