Glossary Pottery and vessels
Dots and dot rows
Also called: dotted, dot rosette, dot rows
Small round dabs of paint or impressed marks set in rows, clusters or rosettes, used to fill and frame other motifs.
Dots are made with the tip of a brush or a pointed tool and are arranged in single rows, in clusters, or around a centre as a dot rosette. They often edge a band or fill the space beside a larger design, as on the bowls of Late Cypriot White Slip II, and white dots on a red or dark ground are a common finish on Bichrome Red jars.
In the Bronze Age, rows of impressed or incised dots also decorate Red Polished pots and small objects such as spindle whorls and figures. See all dotted objects in the catalogue.
Full entry: Motifs of Cypriot Pottery
Related terms
- Ladder pattern
Paired parallel lines joined by short cross-strokes like the rungs of a ladder, the hallmark decoration of White Slip II bowls.
- Bands and lines
Plain horizontal stripes painted or incised round a pot, the simplest decoration, counted as a motif when they are the main or only ornament.
- White-filled
Incised or impressed decoration packed with a white paste, so that the pattern shows up pale against a dark or red surface.