A Minoan Painted Terra Cotta Larnax

A Minoan Painted Terra Cotta Larnax

Circa 1400-1200 B.C.Height 26 x width 24 1/2 x depth 18 inches.

Continental Decorative Arts

Repaired from numerous large fragments, with minor fill. Old chip in the surface near the octopus head on one side. Hairline crack forming at the rim on one of the shorter sides. Faint areas of possible overpainting where some of the repairs are filled; very minor. Surface wear and discolorations as is typical.

Note: The octopus or squid depicted on each side is an iconic image of Minoan culture. A similar larnax, or sarcophagus, appears in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but with a more common floral design. Provenance:Collection of Ulla Gieslinde Lindner, Bad Birnbach, Bavaria, acquired prior to 1975Harlan J. Berk, Chicago, May 10, 2011, Lot 266Literature:Im Labyrinth des Minos, Exhibition in Karlsruhe (2000), p. 315, no. 296