Marble vase with high foot and lug handles

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


This collared jar with a low pedestal and four crescent-shaped, perforated lugs appear complete but has a number of mended losses. It was carved from a piece of white marble with some reddish-brown veining. It has a short cylindrical neck and a wide mouth with a vertical pointed rim. The rather spherical body with a flat narrow shoulder rests on a conical foot with a large concave hollow and ring-like edges. The four small, vertical, crescent-shaped lugs, carved crosswise at equidistance, are pierced, for suspension, some cutting into the body. The vessel is symmetrical and skillfully executed with very thin walls. The exterior surface was smoothened and nearly polished.


The size of this jar is within the range of its well-known type.(1) It has been described as a transitional form dating later, as its shape resembles the spherical pyxis with a foot that appears later in the Early Cycladic period. However, the jar’s fine execution with very thin walls, the ring-like edge of the conical foot, and its nearly polished surfaces are rare features that indicate the object requires further analysis. L2022.38.121 seems to have a similar shape and fine execution with very thin walls.


There is a sizeable fill and a few smaller ones on the neck, as well as a small drop of filling material on the side. One end of this large fill is chipped and a small crack runs down from the rim. There are small partial cracks and losses to some of the lug handles. Several losses, scratches and abrasions are scattered over the surface. Thin patches of accretion are found on the middle and upper areas of the neck, and on the lower third of the body. In the interior of the vase and under the foot, the accretion is quite thick.


Georgios Gavalas, Federico Caro, and Wendy Walker


(1) See Getz-Gentle, Pat. 1996. The Stone Vessels of the Cyclades in the Early Bronze Age. pp.25-26, University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press. L.2022.38.38, 79, 130, 81 and 143 seem to be of similar size.