Glossary Pottery and vessels
Ware
A class of pottery defined by a shared fabric, surface treatment and way of making, such as Red Polished or White Painted ware.
Archaeologists sort pottery first by ware, then by shape. A ware groups pots made the same way, with the same kind of clay, finish and decoration, whatever their form: a Red Polished jug and a Red Polished bowl belong to one ware. Ware names are modern labels, usually descriptive, and most Cypriot ones were fixed by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition and later refined with Roman numerals for their stages.
A ware records a potting tradition. It does not by itself identify a people, and similar wares were sometimes made in several workshops. The Types of Ware page lists the main Cypriot wares, and Pottery Shapes covers the forms made in them.
Full entry: Types of Ware
Related terms
- Fabric
The fired clay body of a pot as seen in a fresh break: its colour, hardness, texture and the grains and particles it contains.
- Sherd
A broken piece of pottery; most of the pottery found on excavations and surveys is recovered as sherds.
- Fine ware
Pottery made with care from well-prepared clay, with thin walls and finished or decorated surfaces, mainly for serving, drinking and display.
- Coarse ware
Everyday pottery made from gritty, heavily tempered clay, mostly cooking pots and storage vessels with little or no decoration.
- Facies
A distinctive set of material culture found together in one region or period, a more neutral label than 'culture' or 'people'.