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| Description | | Exhibits |

The Mycenaean Collection

View of the vessel made of rock crystal
Duck-shaped vessel

This duck-shaped vessel, a remarkable example of Minoan art, is one of the most impressive finds from Mycenae's Grave Circle B. Though found in several pieces, it was made of a single block of rock crystal, a material still quarried in Crete today. The oblong body ends in a spout and forms a handle in the shape of a duck's head turned backwards at the opposite end. The artist used a cylindrical drill to reproduce the bird's anatomy with exquisite detail and vividness. The vessel probably had a cosmetic use, since it was found inside what must have been a woman's burial, considering the grave's abundance of jewelry and the absence of any armour. The delicate craftsmanship favours a Cretan origin for the object, as it resembles other Minoan objects of the same material.

Exhibit Features
Date: Late Bronze Age, 16th c. B.C.
Place of discovery: Mykines
Dimensions: length: 0,132 m, height: 0,042 - 0,047 m, diameter: 0,071 - 0,11 m
Inventory number: 8638
Exhibition hole: Exhibition hall 4
 
 
 
  Suggestive Bibliography
 
Μυλωνάς Γ.Ε., Ο ταφικός κύκλος Β των Μυκηνών, Αθήνα, 1972-73, σσ. 203-205, πίν. 167, 183-185
 
Δημακοπούλου Κ. (επιμ.), Ο θησαυρός των αηδονιών. Σφραγίδες και κοσμήματα της Ύστερης Εποχής του Χαλκού στο Αιγαίο, Αθήνα, 1996, σ. 86, αρ. 5
 
Το Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο, Αθήνα, 1999, σ. 19