Beyond First Impressions – The Cylinder-Seal Impressed Pithoi of Late Bronze Age Cyprus: Analysis of the Iconography, Function and Regional Distribution
Pithoi bearing pictorial impressions in relief constitute a rare, yet highly intriguing, class of storage vessels in Late Bronze Age Cyprus. Such depictions were produced by the rolling of a large —possibly wooden— cylinder-seal on the surface the vessel while it was still wet. Despite the fact that cylinder-seals were almost exclusively employed at a local level, the themes illustrated are recurring at the various Late Cypriot sites. The most popular depictions involve elaborate chariot-hunting scenes, animal fighting and combats between a man and a beast.
The research project aspires to provide a thorough analysis of the iconography portrayed on cylinder-seal impressed pithoi and trace comparable examples in other media, while exploring the powerful messages conveyed by the images. Furthermore, the contribution will investigate the functions served by this practice, considering that the cylinder-seals employed to produce impressed friezes on pithoi did not serve any essential sphragistic purposes. Rather, the rolling of a cylinder-seal on storage vessels constituted an act of marking, and, as such, this practice has been considered as an idiosyncratic bureaucratic mechanism of the island. Finally, the project will examine the regional distribution of the pithoi bearing cylinder-seal impressions, aiming to elaborate on the regional administrative practices employed by the different polities on the island. Ultimately, the research conducted within the framework of this project aspires to contribute to discussions pertaining to the political landscape of Late Bronze Age Cyprus.
Within the framework of this project, we also anticipate expanding the comparative study beyond Cyprus, to include comparable paradigms from other areas of the eastern Mediterranean. Specifically, the research program will compare and contrast the Cypriot examples with Early and Middle Bronze Age specimens from the Levant, Anatolia and the Aegean, as well as with examples of pithoi bearing relief impressions found in the Aegean islands and the Greek mainland dating to the Archaic period. By means of a thorough examination of iconography, function and geographical distribution, the contribution aspires to make significant advancements to the study of storage vessels bearing relief friezes, ultimately addressing issues of central management and distribution of the agricultural produce within a wide chronological and geographical extent.