Bull-shaped Askos

This piece is an example of the extremely rich ceramic output of the Cypriot culture that flourished in the Middle Bronze Age. The hand-formed plastic vase is unconventional in its bull shape, but testifies to a cult which was widespread throughout in the Mediterranean region. As is generally the case with Cypriot vases of plastic shape, its decorative motifs do not differ from those shaped according to their practical function: geometric patterns, painted onto the clay in dark brown, divide the surface of the vase into squares completely independently of the animal's anatomy while the eyes, mouth and nose are indicated.

János György Szilágyi