Vase decorated
with bulls and birds
Mycenaean, about
1300-1200 BC
From Tomb 83, Enkomi, Cyprus
In the 'Pictorial Style'
This vase is a fine
example of Mycenaean Pictorial Style pottery. It is decorated with a
well-observed scene from nature, showing a cattle egret removing a tick from the hide of a bull. On the other side of the vase is a bull with a
bird in the air above it.
The animals on the vase are painted in outline, and their bodies are
divided into panels filled with highly decorative patterns. These may
reflect the influence of contemporary textile design.
Large numbers of Pictorial Style vases decorated with scenes of humans
and animals were made on the Greek mainland and exported to Cyprus, where
this one was found.
Height: 27.2 cm
Miss E.T. Turner
Bequest excavations
