Hi folks! Today we took our first trip to Nicosia, the capitol city, where we visited the Cyprus Museum. There we saw hundreds of incredible artifacts, but one stood out to me in particular. A conical rhyton from the thirteenth century BC which caught my eye due to its outstanding blue color, the product of a blue grey enamel. This rhyton is made of faience, a thick and hardened glaze, and was excavated from Kition in 1962. Missing its lower half, the rhyton measures 27 cm in height. The figure also lacks its handle, but still clearly shows three horizontal layers each depicting their own images and artwork. On the uppermost register there are animals shown in motion including bulls and goats. The middle register shows the hunting of a bull, and the lower register has artistically crafted spirals and waving lines. The rhyton is an excellent example of the diverse history of the island, as the animals and spirals are stylistically similar to Mycenaean works, while the hunters are Levantine in style with likely Syrian influences. The rhyton would have been crafted with the intention of storing drinks either to be poured or drunk directly from the vessel. Due to the placement of the handle and what would appear to be its relatively size, along with the artistry of the rhyton, my guess is that this would have been used in more ceremonial contexts and would have been poured rather than drank directly from. I think this rhyton is amazing for both its beautiful artistry and also its representation of numerous influences from around the Mediterranean world. My visit to the museum definitely helped illustrate the ever-changing influences present on the island with numerous examples of diverse artistic styles from around the Mediterranean world present throughout Cyprus’ history.  

-Grace Simonsen