In this context, the exclusive Palace Style Jars from the Monopalatial period at Knossos essentially, have been interpreted as having a very specific function in a very specific context: portable items in display, referencing and playing with the astonishing wall paintings which adorned the last palace at Knossos. However, the particular category of large brightly decorated containers may have had little to do with the other plain or simply decorated pithoi and storage containers, most often considered within the framework of the Minoan palatial or household economies. The study of large storage vessels in Bronze Age Crete has shed important light on different issues, from palatial economy, subsistence strategies to burial practices.
A recent study has shown that the particular shape of the Mycenaean amphoroid krater – which “was not produced for use within a local Mycenaean context” (Crouwel & Morris 2015: 172) – has its origin in early Late Bronze Age Crete, where it in turn closely refers to contemporary but also earlier Minoan large jars. The latter is most probably used to mix water and wine, while presenting at the same time a substantial canvas for generous painted decoration, often taking the form of a narrative composition. The ritual of drinking wine as part of a communal ceremony probably reflecting the horizontal integration of the communities who participated in the large feasts sponsored by the Mycenaean palaces is a well-known practice, embodied in our archaeological record by the ubiquitous kylikes and kraters.
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