The rhyton shape was a ceremonial pouring vessel. The original of this one, dating to ca 1500BC, is in the museum in Heraklion in Crete. The octopus was a recurrent motif in the jewellery and art of the ancient Minoan civilisation.
bronze rhyton with octopus motif
dimensions
Height: 20cmmore about the octopus
This flexible and intelligent creature, relates to the psyche, to emotion and to intuition.
The Minoans depicted the octopus in their pottery, jewellery and frescoes, and were clearly intrigued by this silent, graceful, sinuous creature.
They depicted the octopus on their pottery and in their frescoes: the silent, graceful creature, unfurling its tentacles, moving slowly through an element that is itself constantly in motion. It makes camouflage to protect itself against predators and, if necessary, can detach a limb, which in turn will regenerate. Its ejection of black ink is designed to confuse, delude and deter.
about the bronze collection
The bronze pieces are cast in Greece using the traditional lost wax method. As nothing is mass-produced, there will inevitably be slight variations in texture, patina, and colour. No two pieces are ever the same. If mounted on a marble base, it will be a black or very dark grey base. There may be a variation of some millimetres in the dimensions of the base from time to time.
It's All Greek is proud to have been working with the Semitekolo family foundry since 1999. It has been a privilege to handle these gorgeous pieces and to sell them to customers all over the world.