Stirrup jar

A stirrup jar is a type of pot associated with the culture of Mycenaean Greece. They have small squat bodies, a pouring spout, and a second nonfunctioning spout over which the handles connect like a stirrup. During the Late Bronze Age, they were used in the export of oils, and are found in large numbers at sites around the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. The term "stirrup-jar" is a translation of German "Bügelkanne", the name assigned to them by Heinrich Schliemann who found the first instances during his excavations at Troy. Despite its association with Mycenaean Greece, the stirrup jar has been argued to be a Minoan invention. H.W. Haskell, a theorist of the later 20th century, proposed that it originated in the Middle Bronze Age as a one-time invention intended to reduce wasteful pouring of expensive fluids. While earlier pouring vessels needed to be turned nearly upside down, pouring from a stirrup jar requires merely holding it by its stirrups and tilting it. Haskell's view was based on MM III jars found at Kommos (Crete) and Kea (island). From there it passed to the Cyclades, and only later to mainland Greece. Mycenaean stirrup jars were highly standardized, but Minoan and Cycladic examples vary greatly. Stirrup jars were decorated in a variety of designs. The stirrup jar offers two basic zones for decoration, the body and the shoulder. These are defined by concentric bands of color around the bottom and the top of the vase. The bands are present on nearly every stirrup jar, whether the canvases are painted or not. Sometimes the bands cover the entire body, and are the only decoration. These designs were achieved by applying slip while the pot was leather-hard or also after partial firing. After the final firing, the design became an integral part of the indurated surface. Stirrup jars have been found at archaeological sites throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region, including those in mainland Greece, the Cyclades, Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes, Asia Minor, and Ancient Egypt.