“Dove vase”

The marble “Dove vase” is one of the loveliest creations of Cycladic art and it dates between 2700 and 2300 BC. It is a large vessel, like tray or dish with low sides. It has a row of 16 birds carved up out of the same piece of marble as the vessel. The birds are interpreted as doves, a decorative motif particularly popular in the Cyclades of the 3rd millennium BC.

The “Dove vase” is the largest and best-preserved example of a rare category of marble vessels at present known only from Keros and specifically the site of Kavos-Dhaskalio, where fragments of such vases have been found.