DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4759#0014
INTRODUCTION. Xlll
take the form of a serpent. This fabric is very commonly found in the later
tombs with Mycenaean vases, and hardly earlier. It has been found in Egypt
and at Lachish.1
Among the rarer varieties of unpainted wares may be mentioned white
base-ring ivare (C 175-176), imitations of straw-plait or wicker-work {Cyprus
Mns. Cat. p. 38, Class I. 6), and plain wheel-made wares with red slip, of peculiar
form (C 177-191). Allied to these is the so-called Cypriote Bitcchero ware
(C 192-208), of plain black clay without slip, ornamented with ribs or flutings.
It is only found in the later tombs, and can be traced through the subsequent
transitional period (cf. C 1007-IO14).2
Among the painted pottery the earliest class seems to be a small and rare
one, apparently developed from the base-ring ware with painted matt-white
patterns. These vases, of which C 209 is an example, are covered with a black
glaze, on which are painted in dull red groups of short parallel lines, which (as
Prof. Myres points out) seem to have been executed at a single stroke with a
cluster of brushes. This class appears to be pre-Mycenaean.3
By far the most widely-spread fabric, however, is that styled by Prof. Myres
the white-slip zvare (C 210-257 ; Plate II.),4 which appears in the tombs of the
later Bronze Age, and is more than any other associated with Mycenaean vases.
In cemeteries such as Enkomi, Curium, and Maroni it has been found in large
quantities in almost every tomb, and its range is not limited to Cyprus. The
characteristics of this ware are the black gritty clay, probably from the
crystalline rocks of the central mountain-range, which is worked very thin, and
the thick white creamy slip with which the clay is covered both inside and out;
it is exceedingly brittle, and perfect specimens are comparatively uncommon.
The ornament is laid on in a black pigment, often turning to red from over-
firing ; the most common form is that of a hemispherical bowl, with flat
triangular handle notched at the apex. Almost the only other forms are a long-
necked flask or bottle of the lekythos type, a large krater-like bowl, and a
large jug with cylindrical body (like an olpi) and a flat thumb-piece above the
handle.
Prof. Myres points out that the scheme of decoration seems intended to
imitate the binding and seams of a leather bowl ; it usually consists of a band
of various patterns (lattice-work, zigzags, lozenges, or lines of dots) round the
rim, from which similar bands descend vertically but do not meet at the bottom.
Similarly the handle seems intended to represent two pieces of flexible wood
bound together. In the case of the jugs the patterns follow a similar principle,
giving the effect of a decoration in panels to the upper part.
Beyond the confines of Cyprus isolated specimens of this ware have been
1 Hall, Oldest Civilisation, pp. 72, 98 ; specimens in Egyptian Department.
2 See Cyprus A/us. Cat., p. 38. The resemblance to Italian bucchero ware is by no means strongly
marked.
2 See Cyprus Jl/us. Cat., p. 39 (Class II., 3).
1 Ibid, (Class II., 4). See also/ouru. Atithrop. Inst, xxxiii. p. 396.
take the form of a serpent. This fabric is very commonly found in the later
tombs with Mycenaean vases, and hardly earlier. It has been found in Egypt
and at Lachish.1
Among the rarer varieties of unpainted wares may be mentioned white
base-ring ivare (C 175-176), imitations of straw-plait or wicker-work {Cyprus
Mns. Cat. p. 38, Class I. 6), and plain wheel-made wares with red slip, of peculiar
form (C 177-191). Allied to these is the so-called Cypriote Bitcchero ware
(C 192-208), of plain black clay without slip, ornamented with ribs or flutings.
It is only found in the later tombs, and can be traced through the subsequent
transitional period (cf. C 1007-IO14).2
Among the painted pottery the earliest class seems to be a small and rare
one, apparently developed from the base-ring ware with painted matt-white
patterns. These vases, of which C 209 is an example, are covered with a black
glaze, on which are painted in dull red groups of short parallel lines, which (as
Prof. Myres points out) seem to have been executed at a single stroke with a
cluster of brushes. This class appears to be pre-Mycenaean.3
By far the most widely-spread fabric, however, is that styled by Prof. Myres
the white-slip zvare (C 210-257 ; Plate II.),4 which appears in the tombs of the
later Bronze Age, and is more than any other associated with Mycenaean vases.
In cemeteries such as Enkomi, Curium, and Maroni it has been found in large
quantities in almost every tomb, and its range is not limited to Cyprus. The
characteristics of this ware are the black gritty clay, probably from the
crystalline rocks of the central mountain-range, which is worked very thin, and
the thick white creamy slip with which the clay is covered both inside and out;
it is exceedingly brittle, and perfect specimens are comparatively uncommon.
The ornament is laid on in a black pigment, often turning to red from over-
firing ; the most common form is that of a hemispherical bowl, with flat
triangular handle notched at the apex. Almost the only other forms are a long-
necked flask or bottle of the lekythos type, a large krater-like bowl, and a
large jug with cylindrical body (like an olpi) and a flat thumb-piece above the
handle.
Prof. Myres points out that the scheme of decoration seems intended to
imitate the binding and seams of a leather bowl ; it usually consists of a band
of various patterns (lattice-work, zigzags, lozenges, or lines of dots) round the
rim, from which similar bands descend vertically but do not meet at the bottom.
Similarly the handle seems intended to represent two pieces of flexible wood
bound together. In the case of the jugs the patterns follow a similar principle,
giving the effect of a decoration in panels to the upper part.
Beyond the confines of Cyprus isolated specimens of this ware have been
1 Hall, Oldest Civilisation, pp. 72, 98 ; specimens in Egyptian Department.
2 See Cyprus A/us. Cat., p. 38. The resemblance to Italian bucchero ware is by no means strongly
marked.
2 See Cyprus Jl/us. Cat., p. 39 (Class II., 3).
1 Ibid, (Class II., 4). See also/ouru. Atithrop. Inst, xxxiii. p. 396.