Glossary Pottery and vessels
Tubular spout
A narrow tube of clay attached to the body or rim of a vessel for pouring, set apart from the vessel's main opening.
A tubular spout lets a vessel pour in a thin stream while the main mouth is used for filling. It is usually made separately and pushed through a hole in the wall while the clay is leather-hard.
Spouted bowls appear early in Cyprus. Neolithic Combed ware bowls can have a tubular spout at or below the rim, and some Red Polished Philia bowls have prominent ones. Red Polished animal askoi usually pour through a spout on the back or shoulder.
Related terms
- Askos
A closed pouring vessel with an off-centre spout and a handle over the top, often shaped like an animal or bird.
- Cutaway spout
A jug mouth whose neck is cut away at a slant at the front, rising to a point like a beak, so that liquid pours from the tip.
- Leather-hard
The stage in drying when clay is firm enough to hold its shape but still damp enough to be trimmed, joined, incised or burnished.