Pottery of the Late Bronze Age is of better quality than earlier; the fabric is of higher quality, having been fired at higher temperatures. The clay is usually a clear yellow and the decoration, which is generally applied in a dark-on-light style, at its best is a fine glossy black with touches of white and red. It develops in two phases

The First Phase (1550-1500 BCE – LMIA) includes the FLORAL STYLE. There is a tendency in the decoration to divide the vase into zones. The common shapes are tea-cups, jugs with horizontal or cutaway spouts, rhytons of various shapes, and large pear-shaped storage jars.

Minoan Floral Style Vases
from Aghia Triadha
c. 1500 BCE
(Archaeological Museum, Herakleion, Crete)

The Floral Style, as its names indicates, uses floral motifs (flowers, grasses, reeds) in its decoration. These same motifs are often seen in the backgrounds of Minoan frescoes.

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The Second Phase (1500-1450 BCE – LMIB) continues the previous styles but adds the MARINE STYLE

Marine Style Octopus Vase
from Palaikastro
c. 1500 BCE
Height 11 inches
(Archaeological Museum, Herakleion, Crete)

The Marine Style of pottery is so-named because it is decorated with a wide range of sea creatures - octopuses, argonauts, dolphins, fist, starfish - seen against a background of sea weeds, sponges, and coral. The designs, which cover the whole vase, are spontaneous and inventive.