Minoan Swallows Strainer from Thera

Dating to ca 1600 BCE, the original of this piece is on display in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira, Santorini. It was excavated in 1971 by Spyridon Marinatos, during his extensive excavations at Akrotiri.

Set against a warm, clean cream-buff background clay slip finish, the entire rounded body depicts a dynamic canvas of swooping spring swallows painted in rich, dark red-brown mineral glaze. The birds are captured in mid-flight, their wings gracefully curved to trace the horizontal, spherical geometry of the pot. We are reminded of the themes found in Theran frescoes such as the famous Spring Fresco.

Archaeologists have called this shape an ethmopyxis - from 'ethmos' meaning strainer, colander or filter, and a pyxis, which was a box or jar. Originals contained a built-in perforated partition used to separate solids from liquids, or indeed as part of the process of filtering the saffron from the local crocuses.

Flourishing on Bronze Age Crete ca 3000–1100 BCE, the Minoans were a vibrant, colourful and innovative civilization that celebrated the beauty of life, nature's rhythms, and the sea which surrounded them.

Their extraordinary artistic output reflects their love of the natural world. Their sprawling palaces, most famously Knossos, Malia, and Phaistos, were adorned with breathtaking frescoes characterized by fluid lines and vivid colors. Instead of grim battle scenes, these murals depicted graceful leaping bulls, blue monkeys, and delicate saffron crocuses. Their creativity extended to their exquisite pottery, which featured dynamic motifs of octopus and coral wrapping around clay vessels, reflecting a sophisticated society deeply in tune with its environment.

This intimate connection with nature was inextricably linked to their mastery of the sea. Developing a formidable thalassocracy, the Minoans dominated the Aegean as unparalleled seafarers. Their advanced sailing vessels, elegantly depicted in frescoes at Akrotiri on Santorini/Thera, carried olive oil and fine ceramics across lucrative trade networks across the Mediterranean world, returning with exotic ivory and gold.

This pottery collection is produced in Greece in the workshop of the Lioulias family, with whom It's All Greek is privileged and proud to have been working since 2004. They also produce our lovely Minoan pottery and fresco pieces, and a small collection of bronzes.