motives derived from
the Egyptian Sixth Dynasty 'button-seals' suggests that Early Minoan
III. is to be equated with the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt.
This, however, is but a slight help as to the positive date of
the Minoan period, owing to the huge gap between the different
systems of Egyptian chronology. All that can be said is that on
Petrie's system of dating the Minoan period which is contemporary
with the end of the Sixth Dynasty would date about 4000 B.C., and
on the Berlin system about 2475 B.C. Though the two cultures are
contemporaneous, it is, of course, by no means to be inferred that
the art of Early Minoan III. has left us any relics which are worthy
of being placed on a level with the wonderful work of the Egyptian
Old Kingdom artists. The primitive pictographs on the bead-seals
of this period mark the beginnings of this form of Minoan script,
which persisted until Late Minoan I., when it was at last superseded
by the linear form of writing which had made its appearance in
Middle Minoan III.

_Middle Minoan I_.--With this period we have distinct advance in
more directions than one. The Minoan artist is beginning to feel
his way towards that polychrome style of decoration which reached
such a remarkable development in the Kamares vases of the succeeding
stage. In the decoration of his ware, which does not exhibit any
marked advance in form upon that of Early Minoan III., he has begun
to supplement the familiar white on the dark slip by adding yellow,
orange, red, and crimson. The Petsofa figurines, already alluded
to, which belong to this period, have a colour scheme of black
and white, red and orange. Along with this development of the use
of colour goes a corresponding advance in design. The motives of
the former period are continued, but are much more developed, and
more freely handled. Instead of being stiffly disposed in bands
round the vessel, they are now frequently grouped with the idea
of covering the ground of the vases in a graceful manner without
any attempt at formal definition of the limits of each article of
the design, the artist's idea being simply to fill, in a manner
satisfying to the eye, the space upon which he had to work. The
zonal system still persists side by side with the freer style,
and is often very skilfully handled as a means of decoration. One
of the characteristic features of Middle Minoan ceramic art--the
use of relief to enhance the effect of the polychrome decorati