bowl
- Museum number
- 1888,0927.7
- Description
-
Pottery bowl in Red Polished I-II (mottled) ware; hand-made; shallow hemispherical body with slightly incurving rim; one pierced lug on rim; polished red slip.
- Production date
- 2150BC-1950BC
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 12.50 centimetres
-
Height: 6 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- This is an probably an example of what is now generally termed Red Polished I-II mottled ware, specifically a somewhat late version of RP I-II mottled, with diagnostic features of the EC II-early ECIII. Information kindly provided by Dr Giorgos Georgiou, Department of Antiquities, Cyprus (e-mail to Thomas Kiely, British Museum, 01/07/2014). Stewart (1962, 226-7) recognised this ware as a variant of the 'standard' north coast RP wares found in the centre and south of the island where it is the predominant RP type. Many examples, including small bowls, have been found at the settlement of Marki-Alonia (Frankel 2006, 105ff and esp. pp. 108-9 for small bowls) and also at the cemetery of Psematismenos- Trelloukkas on the south coast (Georgiou et al. 2011, 194ff with a discussion of the broader distribution of this type on pp. 202-3). The presence of this type in small quanities at the Vounous and Karmi sites is an important indicator of inter-island communications during the Early Cypriot period (Webb et al. 2009, 215-19). See Webb and Frankel 2013 for a broader discussion of this issue and regional variations in material culture, especially ceramics, at this time.
Bibliography:
Frankel D. 2006, Marki Alonia. An Early and Middle Bronze Age settlement in Cyprus. Excavations 1995-2000. SIMA CXXIII:2, Sävedalen.
Georgiou G. et al. 2011, Psematismenos-Trelloukkas. An Early Bronze Age cemetery in Cyprus (Nicosia: Department of Antiquities). .
Stewart J. 1962, 'The Early Cypriot Bronze Age', in The Swedish Cyprus Expedition Volume 1A (Lund: Swedish Cyprus Expedition), 205-401.
Webb J. and Frankel D. 2013, 'Cultural regionalism and divergent social trajectories in Early Bronze Age Cyprus', AJA 117/1, 59-81.
Webb J. et al. 2009, The Bronze Age cemeteries at Karmi Palealona and Lapatsa in Cyprus. Excavations by J.R.B. Stewart. SIMA CXXXVI (Sävedalen: P. Åström).
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1888
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1888,0927.7
