ver, not at Knossos,
but at Phaestos. There the Theatral Area, at least, was in existence
early in this period, possibly in the later part of the preceding
one. But at Knossos the chief evidence for the high state of
civilization attained in this period is the pottery, which reaches a
very advanced development. This is the age of the splendid polychrome
vessels of the type called 'Kamares,' from the cave on Mount Ida
where they were first discovered by Mr. J. L. Myres. The vases
and cups of this fabric, from the delicacy of their forms, the
grace of their designs, and the richness of their colour, are among
the most notable survivals of Minoan ceramic art. The clay is fine
and carefully sifted, and the walls of the vessels are of extreme
thinness and delicacy, approaching to that of the finest egg-shell
china. The designs upon the vases are often moulded in low relief
as well as painted, and the thinness of their walls, the form of
their handles, and the knobs upon them, which are evidently meant to
suggest rivets, show that the potters of the time were endeavouring
to emulate the achievements of their brother artists, the metal
workers. The designs upon the vases themselves are conventional,
the idea being to produce a rich and harmonious effect of form
and colour rather than to secure any imitation of Nature. Indeed,
the patterns are very largely geometric; the zig-zag, the cross,
and concentric circles occur frequently; and when plant life is
imitated it is skilfully conventionalized, as in the case of the
water-lily cup, perhaps the most beautiful specimen of the ware
of the period, on which the white petals start from a centre at
the foot of the cup and enfold its body. The ground of this cup
is lustrous black, and the white of the petals is accentuated by
thin lines of red, while a geometric pattern moulded in low relief
runs round the rim of the cup above the waterlilies (Plate XXIX.
4). The colours of the vases are varied, consisting chiefly of
white, orange, crimson, red, and yellow, and each colour is used
in several shades. 'Black shades into purple, white into cream;
brown has sometimes a red, and sometimes an olive tint; yellows
are either pale or orange; and red is not only a crude vermilion,
but is weakened to pink, or strengthened with shades of orange
and cherry and terra-cotta.' In the decoration of the vases both
styles flourish side by side, dark design upon light ground, and
light upon dark. In som