Water Jar with a Cuttlefish in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Water Jar with a Cuttlefish
Unknown
Mycenaean, Greece, 1300 - 1200 B.C.
Terracotta
5 1/2 x 6 3/16 in.
96.AE.69

A stylized cuttlefish decorates this miniature Mycenaean hydria, a three-handled jar used for carrying water. Somewhat like an octopus, the cuttlefish is a sea creature with eight short tentacles, as well as two long ones used for catching prey. On this vase, the artist extended the two long tentacles, wrapping them all the way around the vase. The eyes of the creature are depicted as concentric circles near the sides of the body.

Scholars use the term Mycenaean to describe the culture that flourished in Greece in the period from 1500 to 1200 B.C. Originating on the mainland of Greece, Mycenaean culture spread by means of trade and colonization over much of the Mediterranean over the course of centuries. Many of the shapes and motifs found in Mycenaean pottery were adapted from the Minoan culture of the island of Crete, which the Mycenaeans first traded with, then ruled. Lively natural motifs adopted from Minoan pottery, like the cuttlefish, gradually became stiff and stylized in Mycenaean pottery.

Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=35631