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HJB Home > Antiquities Home > The Fixed Price List > Ceramics > Inv. # aq16714

Minoan Larnax ca. 14th-12th Century BC. Minoan sarcophagus of box-like form. Ocher-colored clay with reddish brown painted decoration. SMIII, 14th-12th century BCE. So-called larnax with four feet and six projecting attachments for carrying. On each of the sides, either a stylized octopus or squid with four tentacles arranged in loops- this is the iconic image of the Minoan culture. On each end, decorative pairs of semicircles. Within, on the bottom, three cross-struts. Numerous faults in the walls from the firing process. An important piece, of museum quality. Interestingly the Swiss doctor who owned this for many years stored wood for her fireplace in it. On the main floor of The Metroplitain Museum of Art in New York is a larnax but of the far more common type with a non-descript floral design. A Minoan larnax is important enough to display which illustrates how relevant it is and why it is important. Restored, small fill-ins. Ex Swiss private collection of Ulla Gieslinde Lindner, Bad Birnbach, Bavaria, acquired before 1975; Ex Harlan J. Berk BBS 174, 10 May 2011, lot 266. Literature: compare Im Labyrinth des Minos, Exhibition in Karlsruhe (2000), p. 315, no. 296. H. 26" L. 24 1/2" W. 18" (66 cm x 62 cm x 45.7 cm).