Dating to ca 1650–1600 BCE, this slender, elegant prochous was excavated by the Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos during his 1967–1970 excavations at the buried city of Akrotiri on Santorini. It was found safely preserved inside a volcanic ash layer within the domestic quarters. Today, the original artifact is permanently exhibited at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira, Santorini.

This slender, elongated design with a beautifully organic beak-spout, has a warm, rich cream/buff background clay finish. The central belly is painted with highly fluid, dark red-brown barley or wheat blades that sway across the surface. What makes it iconic are the two distinct dark dots painted as eyes directly beneath the spout, flanking the central wheat stalk. It looks like the alert head of a long-necked bird! Theran artists loved such details, with utilitarian vessels being given a distinct, living "face."

In the prehistoric Aegean, agricultural themes like ears of grain, swallows, and lilies were celebrated as symbols of spring, abundance, and the cyclical rebirth of nature.

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.