This replica Minoan octopus jar is part of our Classics Centre collection.
This particular style is called a "stirrup" jar, because the handles are shaped like the footholds on a horse’s saddle (which is what a stirrup is). Its fluid octopus design was common in the late Bronze Age (around 1500BC) on the Greek island of Crete. Ocean-style patterns, like the octopus, were popular on lots of vases because they were simple, random and curvy.
At this time Greece had lots of land and the empire was wealthy. The pottery then reflects a joy in nature in the natural patterns that give a sense of life and movement. It was simplistic but the impact from this painting pattern comes from the shapes of the pattern and the vase’s shape and form. This oceanic style was also known to fill every little space on the vase possible.
The original of this piece, found in the palace at Knossos on the island of Crete, is in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum in Heraklion on Crete and dates to about 1500 BC. There is a similar one in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Text by Elsie Steane, Year 12