Archaic II

Miniature White Painted V Amphora

Miniature White Painted V amphora with a painted Cypro-Syllabic inscription; wheel-made; piriform-biconical body on a flat base; short neck with a plain rim; pair of tall loop handles; made of buff clay decorated with dull black paint: on one side is a horned face on the lower one side, possibly a deity or apotropaic figure such as Bes; on the other side a painted inscription in the Cypro-Syllabic script, four characters probably reading from left to right. Made of fine buff clay decorated with black paint: apart from the human head, there are vertical bands on the body and handles. Dimensions: Height: 9 centimetres Object Type: amphora Techniques: painted; wheel-made Inscription: Inscription type: inscription Inscription script: Cypriot Syllabic Inscription transliteration: pi- ?- ? - se Inscription note: According to Massimo Perna (e-mail of October 2015), the first character on the left is a 'pi' and the last a 'se' but the two characters in between are uncertain. The 'se' might represent the genitive ending of a word, such as a name, in which case this could be a possessive formula indicating ownership or dedication (e.g. I belong to X, a human or a deity).