Glossary Pottery and vessels
Black Slip ware
Also called: Black Slip
A Middle and Late Cypriot ware with a dark slip over a light clay, mostly incised juglets; the name was later reused for Iron Age classes too.
Bronze Age Black Slip is a handmade ware of the Middle Cypriot period, best known from small juglets with a matt black slip incised with lines, zigzags and network. Its surface can fire from red to black, so excavators often count it together with Red Slip. It continued into the Late Bronze Age, when a wheelmade version was used mainly for large jugs.
The Swedish Cyprus Expedition also gave the name Black Slip to Iron Age classes, such as Black Slip Painted and Black Slip Grooved, which have no direct link with the Bronze Age ware. The Bronze Age ware is described with its relatives on the Plain White ware page.
Full entry: Plain White Ware
Related terms
- Red Slip ware
A name given to several red-slipped Cypriot wares: a Middle and Late Bronze Age ware, an Iron Age class, and a Roman fine ware.
- 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.
- Incised decoration
Lines or patterns cut into a surface with a sharp point; on pottery this is usually done before firing, while the clay is still soft.