The Ancient World Gallery houses an extensive collection of high-quality replicas of Aegean Bronze Age Pottery. In Spring 2009, Zack Orefice, ’09, a classical civilization  and art history double major, prepared thematic essays on the styles and significance of Minoan and Mycenaean pottery in order to enhance our display of these reproductions, many of them made by Vassilis Politakis.

Essays

• Kamares Ware
• Marine Style
• Palace Style
• Pictorial Style
• Cultural Interactions among Aegean Bronze Age Civilizations
• What is a copy?

Chronology and Abbreviations

The following discussions of Minoan and Mycenaean pottery styles use standard abbreviations for chronological and stylistic periods, e.g. “LMII.” The first letter refers to general period within the Bronze Age (E=Early, M=Middle, L=Late) while the second indicates geographic area (M=Minoan/Crete, H=Helladic/Mainland, C=Cycladic/Islands). The Roman numeral refers to subperiods (I, II, III) within the broader chronological divisions, and any additional letters and numbers denote further subperiodization.

While the relative chronological relationship of these styles is generally agreed upon, there is less consensus about how this periodization corresponds to actual, historical dates. One possible scheme, correlated with Trojan and Egyptian chronologies, is included for reference.