Practical use and social function: a neglected aspect of Mycenaean pottery

Abstract

This article is concerned with the aspect of pottery function in both the domestic/personal and the public/commercial sphere, and particularly with the function of the most common pottery forms current in the Mycenean period, with special reference to material from a group of four LH III B1 houses outside the walls of Mycenae (West House, House of Shields, House of the Oil Merchant, House of Sphinxes). The primary division being between open and closed shapes, the different forms are individually examined both through practical experimentation and through a comprehensive assessment of their structural elements (size, lip form, handles, base, fabric, etc.), as well as from the point of view of current potters' practices. Many of the forms have also been encountered in earlier or later periods, the conclusions being thus applicable to a much wider context. The final section examines the distinction between primary (originally intended) and secondary functions, as well as that between containers of dry or liquid substances, with a detailed discussion of the criteria involved. Finally, the entire corpus of vessels is divided into six categories, corresponding to their usage, with special reference to primary function.