Ancient Mediterranean

Digital Project

Two single-levelled galleys

Cat. No.

A85, A86

Date

LH IIIB2 end (pictorial style)/ LH IIIC early (context)

Findspot

Tiryns, Stadt Nordwest (outside the citadel)

Dimensions

Medium

Fragments from two open kraters of local manufacture

Accession Number

References

Güntner 2006: 179-80, figs. 5-6; Wachsmann 2013: 75-76, figs. 2.45, 2.49

A85: Fragmentary single-levelled ship with three rowers facing left, of which only the central one is fully preserved. The paint of the hull was not applied uniformly and does not relate to any structural features. The upward curve of the gunwale on the right of the larger sherd indicates the beginning of the bow, which is decorated with white lines which could be decorative. The second sherd preserves the bottom of the stempost at the waterline. It is vertical and lacks a bow projection. The single vertical line in front of the best-preserved rower must be the mast. Four thick oars are painted over the ship in white, with the blade of the last oar seen on the second fragment. The rowers are depicted with their torsos upright, at the beginning of their stroke. They have rectangular bodies decorated with white dots. The horizontal bordered area represents the sea, as indicated by waves rendered in white. The style is related to the painter of the Tiryns sphinx in the treatment of the facial profile, while the use of white paint for some of the details resembles the work of the painter of the Shield-Bearers.

A86: three oarsmen and part of a fourth facing left. Although there are no remains of the ship itself, its reconstruction is confirmed by the composition which is identical to the previous sherd.

Güntner, W. 2006. “Same Motif, Another Context,” in E. Rystedt and B. Wells (ed.) Pictorial Pursuits: Eigurative Painting on Mycenaean and Geometric Pottery. Paper from Two International Round-Table Conferences on Mycenaean and Geometric Pottery at the Swedish Institute at Athens in 1999 and 2000. Stockholm: Svenska Instituted I Athen, pp. 177–182.

Wachsmann, S. 2013. The Gurob Ship–Cart Model and Its Mediterranean Context. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.

  • A85 drawing

    copyright icon © drawing by T. Manolova Click for fullscreen
  • copyright icon © Click for fullscreen
  • A86 drawing

    copyright icon © drawing by T. Manolova Click for fullscreen
  • copyright icon © Click for fullscreen