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Marble vase with high foot and lug handles

Cycladic

ca. 3200–2700 BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171

Technical Analysis: Ultraviolet-induced visible luminescence examination, optical microscopy

This white marble collared jar with a pedestal and four crescent-shaped, perforated lugs is complete after significant restoration. It has an upward tapering, cylindrical neck with a wide mouth and an uneven rim. The hemispherical body with a flat shoulder stands on a high, conical foot with narrow standing edges. The underside of the foot is hollowed out. The four long, vertical, crescent-shaped lugs carved crosswise at equidistance, protrude from the body. They were perforated to enable suspension of the vessel. Some of these perforations cut into the walls of the body. The interior has been carved out entirely– a very rare feature for this period – and a few noticeable tool marks were smoothened. The outer surfaces are also smooth. The size of this jar is within the range of its well-known type.(1) L.2022.38.132, .36 and .72 are of similar size.

The jar has suffered considerable erosion around the top of the lip, where two areas have been restored. One elongated area where the neck meets the shoulder has also been mended. All three areas have a “muddy” appearance that differs from the rest of the stone surface. The area where the neck meets the shoulder is opaque to transmitted light suggesting that a fill material, unidentifiable without further analysis, may have been used. There are traces of root marks on the exterior and interior surfaces. On one side of the shoulder, there is a dark, elliptically-shaped area that is flatter but rougher than the surrounding stone. It is not clear if this inconsistency is an intrinsic fault or inclusion in the stone, or if it is due to subsequent damage such as exposure to fire.

Georgios Gavalas and J-F de Lapérouse

(1) See Getz-Gentle, Pat. 1996. The Stone Vessels of the Cyclades in the Early Bronze Age. pp, 5-39, University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996. Its closest parallel is B33 (Museum of Cycladic Art- NP Goulandris collection Athens no 972), pp. 249-50, pl. 18c.