Making 'Scents' of Flowery Pots. Minoan Ceramic Vessels with Botanical Relief

Ceramics from the Bronze Age of Crete are perhaps one of the better studied bodies of archaeological material in the world. This may be due in no small part to the intriguing decoration which is fnd on much of the fine-ware vessels, especially those from the Minoan palaces. A large proportion of this material is decrated with elements from teh plant world, from simple rosettes, to the polychrome Kamares style pottery, renowed for its complext organic motifs, and typical of the Middle Minoan period (c. 2000-1600 B.C., Dickinson 1994: 19), tot he increasingly stylised floral motifs of the late Minoan period.