This remarkable jug is a most important example of Archaic Cretan pottery. It is decorated with representational scenes and secondary motifs characteristic of the pottery workshop of Arkades, which was active since the early seventh century BC. On the tall cylindrical neck, framed by meanders and a checkered motif, are two lovers, perhaps Theseus and Ariadne, both of them important figures of Cretan mythology. Their outlines are rendered with incisions and dark paint, while the hair and the man's garment are painted black. The female figure is stiff by comparison to the striding male, who reaches out to his partner. On the jug's shoulder, two lions chase deer and wild goats, a common theme in Archaic Cretan metalwork and Middle Daedalic pottery.