A colossal vase near Limissol in Cyprus

The Austro-Italian painter Luigi Mayer was commissioned by his patron Sir Robert Ainslie, British ambassador to the Porte, to travel to the Ottoman dominions and illustrate the beauty of those lands. Ainslie wanted to publish a book with these views. In 1803, a volume appeared published by Robert Bowyer with the title ‘Views in the Ottoman Empire, chiefly in Caramania, a part of asia hitherto unexplored’. The volume contained two views of Cyprus: ‘Antique fragments at Limisso’ and ‘A colossal vase near Limisso in Cyprus’. Two more watercolours remained unpublished in the hands of Robert Ainslie. Mayer was in Amathus in 1792, directed to the site by the locals. There were three more identical vases next to each other but totally destroyed. The ancient vase, according to Mayer, was thirty feet in circumference and nine inches thick and although made of stone, the inside sandy particles rubbed off easily on the fingers and emitted a smell resembling petroleum. The figure of a bull appearing in the hollow of the vases' ears served for a mark to shoot out for wagers or as a trial of their skill. The work follows the traditional style of the late 18th century topographical views made with the intention of illustrating travel books. These were informative and picturesque. The figures of hunters are in Turkish costumes and carry arms although set in a clearly classical surrounding. The vase heralds from the ancient history of Cyprus, believed to have been used in ceremonial rituals for the Goddess Aphrodite worshipped in Amathus. The vase, being a massive pythos is now in the Louvre.