ART 198 - HISTORY OF WORLD CERAMICS

This is what is called a 'Bird Bowl' for the characteristic water bird painted in the upper frieze amidst geometric patterns in dark slip on a lighter colored slip. It is similar in form to the cotyle of Greek pottery. It is from the island of Rhodes in the Cyclades, and shows influences from both Greek and Middle Eastern ceramics. Made using the fast wheel it shows the accomplished wheel throwing skills of its maker. The islands of the Cyclades were semiautonomous, and were thriving trading centers, with the goods of the region being carried by seagoing vessels.

Cycladic 'Bird Bowl', Found on Rhodes, an island in the Mediterranean 700-600 BCE