Stirrup Jar with Octopus in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007

Terracotta stirrup jar with octopus
Helladic (Mycenaean), Late Helladic IIIC, ca. 1200-1100 BC

Accession # 53.11.6

The shape takes its name from the configuration of the spout and two attached handles. Such jars were commonly used to transport liquids. Mycenaean artists adopted the marine motifs from Minoan antecedents.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.