This paper presents an overview of an assemblage of Middle Minoan (MM) IB pottery from a closed deposit known as the "Lakkos" at the Minoan palace of Petras in eastern Crete. The various ware groups are discussed with * The Lakkos pottery study, "Cultural Regionalism and Palatial Power in Middle Bronze Age Crete," was conducted by permission of the Petras excavation director, M. Tsipopoulou, and the 24th Ephorate of Prehistoric Antiquities. I wish to thank M. Tsipopoulou for inviting me to study the Lakkos assemblage and for facilitating the fi eldwork; V. Apostolakou and the late N. Papadakis (24th Ephorate) for their support of the study seasons; T. Brogan, director of the INSTAP SCEC, for permitting the use of the INSTAP SCEC facilities; D. Faulmann (INSTAP SCEC) and R. Docsan for inking the drawings and offering advice on methods of illustration; M. Eaby, K. Bishop, K. Wile (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and J. Marranca (Marranca Engineering, PLLC), whose assistance and collaboration were invaluable; and P. Betancourt for inviting my participation in Temple University's Kamares Ware Symposium (Betancourt 2002). Thanks are also owed to E. Anderson, C. Knappett, N. Momigliano, and Y. Papadatos for much useful input, and the anonymous reviewers for the AJA. The project was funded by the