Discovery

Small Pot, Large Story

A small pot can tell a large story, especially if it is examined correctly. Thanks to a dean’s graduate fellowship, master of art history student Heather Russell was able to examine several small pots, otherwise known as “nippled ewers,” from the Bronze Age Minoan-Cycladic culture.

As a part of her master’s thesis, Russell had proposed an in-depth study of a type of vase found in archaeological explorations of the Aegean Cyclades Islands.

But without traveling to Greece, where the only examples of these works are on display, she would have been unable to prove her thesis. The fellowship made the trip possible. Professor Jeffrey Hurwit encouraged her original research investigation.

“My research there provided me with the information I needed to put forth a new contribution to the field of Bronze Age Aegean studies,” she says. “The financial support offered by those grants enabled me to conduct research that would have otherwise been impossible.”

A relatively small but important grant helped Russell study a small pot in person, and in the process, she opened another door to the past.