The Mycenaean culture lasted from 3000 to 1000 BCE, and part of this culture was known for making pottery and other luxurious items out of bronze, and local material. This bowl is known as a krater, and kraters were used for mixing liquids such as wine with water for religious purposes or gatherings. The physical characteristics are quite interesting in the fact that kraters are very broad in the middle, and I believe that the opening is almost the same in diameter, however, the bottom of the krater is very narrow.
When I observed the characters on the krater, I remembered in lecture discussing the unique pieces of art that portray figures of both human and of animal form. This piece of art resembles another piece of art that we have seen in lecture and in our book. Even though in this krater, the faces are of animalistic form and the bodies are of human form, the piece of art that I believe it to resemble is the Gaurdian Figures at Gate A of the Citadel of Sargon II. Even though they are opposite of each other, in terms of the places where the animalistic and humanistic characteristics are placed, they still resemble a narrative of strength and power that may not be obvious at first. Strength, power, and taking over, or “extending influence” are repeating themes discussed in our book. The functionality of a tool like this one, I believe ties in with the new civilization that was about to begin, which from what I read, is more independent from the previous periods we have discussed.
There was another krater from our book that introduces us to the use and style, called the Warrior Krater on page 99 of our textbook, which was to serve wine.
This krater certainly has unique characteristics painted on the body. It seems to have rooster faces from what I can tell, but yet human features however not in proportion to what we see when we think of humans today. The arms resemble stick figures and there are no curves whatsoever on the body. This characteristic is also seen on the arms of the individual who is standing behind the chariot on the right. The horse has a very elongated body with thin legs. As I was looking at the people on the krater, I noticed that only some characteristics of the people are highlighted in a darker color, however the horse is shaded as one color. Perhaps this shows that the horse is more significant to this piece of art.
The Minoan culture came into play by 3000 BCE on an island named Crete, which is apart of the Aegean islands. Crete can be described as a productive lifestyle in which the people living there were self-sufficient in terms of growing their own crops and goods. This culture was particularly named after a king named King Minos who was created as half man and half animal. King Minos was known for eating individuals who lived in his kingdom.
Even though this piece of art is not mentioned in our book, while reading about the Minoan culture, it mentioned on page 87 under the Bull Leaping at Knossos as apart of the new palace period, that the painters of this time liked painting human in their everyday lifestyle. Here in this painting, a fisherman obviously has caught an abundant supply of fish, more than likely bring it back to his family and/or friends to have a feast of some sort, or to stock up on food for a specific time frame. Perhaps even that this catch of fish resembles prosperity.
I feel like because the body of this fisherman is depicted as not strong, but almost in a way of elegance, it gives me the idea that this piece of art is in a culture that is rich in rituals, as well as rich in traditions handed down from one generation to the next generation. That is, that tradition is more important or equal to depicting strength or masculine look. This in mind, this reason gave me the idea behind the way the complexes were built. Just as shown in the Reconstruction of the Palace Complex on page 85. The book suggests that the courtyards in the complexes were meant to be the center of focus, because all other settings in the complexes are built around this area. Usually a setting such as this one may also be a symbolic representation of the way rituals, and traditions were mean to be centered around.
In comparison to other pieces of art, the physical way the fisherman is depicted holding the fish almost resembles the Egyptian style like the composite view. For example, the lower half of the body is in profile view, and the feet are facing to one side, however the top portion of the body is in frontal view. A great example on page 52 that we have discussed in lecture as well as some of us in our blogs is The Palette of Narmar, where Narmar is attacking a lower scaled figure below him. Narmer’s lower body is almost a duplication in the way the legs are depicted.
I LOVE the fact that you compared an artwork that was not really discussed in the book. It shows great intrigue on your part to do more research into other art pieces of that era. I loved how you explained that humans would paint other people doing something. By showing a person catching a fish, it really tells a story and we as viewers want to know what is going to happen later in the narrative. I like how you also compared their body figures with that of the Egyptian style and art.
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