Glossary Pottery and vessels
Black Polished ware
Also called: Black Polished
An Early and Middle Bronze Age Cypriot ware like Red Polished in shape and finish but fired black all over, made in much smaller numbers.
Black Polished is the dark companion of Red Polished. The pots are handmade, slipped and burnished in the same way, and in shape and fabric they belong to the same potting tradition. It occurs in Early and Middle Cypriot tombs and settlements in far smaller numbers than Red Polished.
The black comes from firing in a reducing atmosphere, for example with the pot covered by another vessel or by fuel, which starves the surface of oxygen. It was also used for spindle whorls, which are made in Red Polished above all and in Black Polished to a lesser degree. See pottery kilns and firing.
Related terms
- Reduction firing
Firing pottery where oxygen is scarce, which turns iron-bearing clay grey or black; with plenty of air (oxidising) the same clay fires red or buff.
- Burnishing
Rubbing the surface of an unfired pot with a smooth pebble, bone or tool to compact the clay and give it a sheen after firing.
- Slip
A thin coat of fine clay mixed with water, brushed or dipped over a pot before firing to give it a smoother surface and a different colour.