Bird Flower Vase of Phini & Dove w/Olive Branch 10 Cents Cyprus Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry (Traditional Pottery) (Noah's Ark) (1983)

Bird Flower Vase of Phini & Dove w/Olive Branch 10 Cents Cyprus Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry and Craft Making (Traditional) (Pottery) (Noah's Ark) (1983)

Obverse: Cyprus coat of arms (A dove holding an olive twig and the independence year 1960), laurel twigs around and the country name in Greek, Turkish and English
Lettering: CYPRUS·ΚΥΠPΟΣ·KIBRIS·1983
1960

Translation: Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus 1983
1960

Reverse: Modern clay vase of Phini village, beautifully decorated with flowers and singing birds and the value in numerals above
Lettering: 10

CONDITION: Very Fine

Features
Issuer Cyprus
Period Republic (1960-date)
Type Standard circulation coin
Year 1983
Value 10 Cents (Sent) (0.1 CYP)
Currency Pound (decimalized, 1983-2007)
Composition Nickel brass
Weight 5.5 g
Diameter 24.5 mm
Thickness 1.7 mm
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment ↑↑
Demonetized 01-31-2008
Number N# 1949
References KM# 56.1, Schön# 56

Source: http://www.phinivillage.com/cgibin/hweb?-A=34&-V=traditionaljobs

The coin of 10 cents of the Cyprus Pound
Phini is unquestionably one of the most important centres of pottery art in Cyprus. Up to the beginning of the 19th century, almost every house in the village was also a small pottery workshop. Women were crafting small household and other pots needed for their day to day activities such us small jars (kouzes), candlesticks, vases etc. whilst men were taking over the hardest part of the work which included the design and structuring of the jars. Both pots and jars were made of red potter’s clay called the “phinikoun” which was found in the area.

The decision of the Republic of Cyprus in 1983 to choose a modern clay vase of Phini depicting flowers and birds to be illustrated on the reverse of the 10 cents coin proofs the uniqueness of the pottery art of the village.

Phini's handmade pots are still made in the same way they were made thousands of years ago without any great changes. Forming the pots takes place on the traditional "gyristari" (lathe). A 5th century BC model is exhibited in the British Museum. The sitting craftswoman places the lathe low and in front of her with the clay piled on the side. A pine cork is fastened on the surface of the lathe with three little pieces of clay, making the craftswoman's work easier as it is also used to transport the pot -right after it is made -while it is still soft.

A piece of clay in the shape of a ball and of about 2 to 3 kilos, depending on the size of the pot to be made, is placed in the centre of the cork's surface. The lathe is rotated and the craftswoman uses her fist to softly pound on the ball thus creating the base of the pot. Then, pushing internally with the left hand and externally with the right one, she fashions the walls of the pot giving them the appropriate shape. Whenever needed, the potter's wheel is rotated and guided by foot. This is repeated many times until the figure of the pot is completed. At times the craftswoman wets the pot with a little, wet piece of cloth so as to aid the clay move upwardly with more ease.

After shaping the pot, the craftswoman will polish its walls with a wet cloth and with the aid of a straw she will create the various designs upon the pot.

Then she will set it side somewhere in the shade, away from the air currents, until the next day.

The day after, she will remove the clay from the base of the pot with a wooden knife so at to make it evenly thick.

Then she will polish it with a wet cloth and slightly glaze it with the outer side of the straw.

Depending on the type of the pot, she will add to it handles and plastic decoration such as daisies, pinecones, small birds, little people, etc.

Drying in a shady place follows. When completely dried up, the pots are ready for the kiln.

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Wikipedia:
The symbolism of the dove in Christianity is first found in the Old Testament Book of Genesis in the story of Noah's Ark, “And the dove came in to him at eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive-leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.” Genesis 8:11 And, also, in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, both passages describe after the baptism of Jesus, respectively, as follows, “And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him.” Matthew 3:16 and, “And the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22 The Holy Spirit descending on Jesus and appearing in the bodily form of a dove is mentioned in the other two Gospels as well (see Mark 1:10 and John 1:32).

The use of a dove and olive branch as a symbol of peace originated with the early Christians, who portrayed the act of baptism accompanied by a dove holding an olive branch in its beak and also used the image on their sepulchres.[15][16]

Christians derived the symbol of the dove and olive branch from Greek thought, including its use of the symbol of the olive branch,[17] and the story of Noah and the Flood. Although Jews never used the dove as a symbol of peace, it acquired that meaning among early Christians, confirmed by St Augustine of Hippo in his book On Christian Doctrine and became well established.[18]

In Christian Iconography, a dove also symbolizes the Holy Spirit, in reference to Matthew 3:16 and Luke 3:22 where the Holy Spirit is compared to a dove at the Baptism of Jesus.[Mt 3:16][19]

The early Christians in Rome incorporated into their funerary art the image of a dove carrying an olive branch, often accompanied by the word "Peace". It seems that they derived this image from the simile in the Gospels, combining it with the symbol of the olive branch, which had been used to represent peace by the Greeks and Romans. The dove and olive branch also appeared in Christian images of Noah's ark. The fourth century Vulgate translated the Hebrew alay zayit (leaf of olive) in Genesis 8:11 as Latin ramum olivae (branch of olive). By the fifth century, Augustine of Hippo wrote in On Christian Doctrine that "perpetual peace is indicated by the olive branch (oleae ramusculo) which the dove brought with it when it returned to the ark".

Baptism of Christ, by Francesca, 1449
In the earliest Christian art, the dove represented the peace of the soul rather than civil peace, but from the third century it began to appear in depictions of conflict in the Old Testament, such as Noah and the Ark, and in the Apocrypha, such as Daniel and the lions, the three young men in the furnace, and Susannah and the Elders.[20][21]

Before the Peace of Constantine (313 AD), in which Rome ceased its persecution of Christians following Constantine's conversion, Noah was normally shown in an attitude of prayer, a dove with an olive branch flying toward him or alighting on his outstretched hand. According to Graydon Snyder, "The Noah story afforded the early Christian community an opportunity to express piety and peace in a vessel that withstood the threatening environment" of Roman persecution.[20] According to Ludwig Budde and Pierre Prigent, the dove referred to the descending of the Holy Spirit rather than the peace associated with Noah. After the Peace of Constantine, when persecution ceased, Noah appeared less frequently in Christian art.[20]

Medieval illuminated manuscripts, such as the Holkham Bible, showed the dove returning to Noah with a branch.[22] Wycliffe's Bible, which translated the Vulgate into English in the 14th century, uses "a braunche of olyue tre with greene leeuys" ("a branch of olive tree with green leaves") in Gen. 8:11.[23] In the Middle Ages, some Jewish illuminated manuscripts also showed Noah's dove with an olive branch, for example, the Golden Haggadah (about 1420).[24][25]