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The Minoan Dolphin crater depicts what the Minoans best loved to show in their art: scenes from nature like animals, flowers, and sea life. The Minoans were clearly overjoyed at the abundance of natural beauty which surrounded them on their island. Although the dolphins are stylized in color and marking, details such as the subtle color changes, the lines of the dorsal fin, the curved, flat nose, and the intelligence reflected in the eyes (the dolphins have defined pupils while other fish have just a black dot), show us that the Minoans were highly familiar with these animals. The dolphins are swimming among a variety of small sea life and seaweed. Notice how the dorsal fin of the lower dolphin and the flippers of the top dolphin converge in the center of the fresco to draw the eye, and how the small fish placed randomly show carefully planned asymmetry that indicates artistic sophistication.

Dolphins have often been depicted in Greek and other Eastern Mediterranean art, on vases, coins and jewelry, and obviously occupied a special place in the animal world to these ancient people, as they still do today to the modern Greeks.

This Minoan Dolphin Krater Greek Vase is made from terracotta, in a multicolor finish, and measures 12-1/2"H.

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Related Categories: Greek Vase , Animal , Ocean , Greco-Roman , Minoan , NEW ITEMS