"Black" A tale of two pigments in Cyprus. The chemistry of decoration and the Late Cypriot III - Cypro-Geometric pottery production in ΤΕΡΨΙΣ Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology in Honour of Nota Korou (eds V. Vlachou & A. Gadolou) Brussels 2017, 121-144. (original) (raw)
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The present collective volume is offered in honour of Nota Kourou, in celebration of her distinguished academic contribution to the archaeology of the Early Iron Age Aegean and the Mediterranean. Over forty former doctoral students – many of them now leading academics in their own right, colleagues and friends have contributed papers on topics that relate to the diverse fields of interests Nota Kourou has pursued. These are organized in five parts, embracing pottery studies and topography, interconnections in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, archaeological approaches to cult and rituals and epigraphy. Each section focuses on more than one concern in the study of early societies, presenting and discussing fresh interpretations and new ideas based on old and new material alike. From Early Cycladic Naxos, through the Early Iron Age Mediterranean and Archaic Aegean to Roman Euboea, the key theme running through the different approaches of every contributor is the understanding of ancient societies, highlighting the dynamics in studying aspects of the archaeology of the wider Mediterranean region.
Black-on-Red (BoR) is one of the most extensively discussed pottery wares of ancient Cyprus. It is a distinctive class of pottery of the Cypro-Geometric (CG) and Cypro-Archaic (CA) periods, with black-painted geometric decoration on a usually shiny red or orange slipped surface. Due to its fine-quality fabric and decoration, BoR became one of the most popular ceramic products of Cyprus and was widely exported, especially during the 9th and 8th centuries BC. The Aegean holds a prominent position in the discussion of BoR, being an area where this pottery class was imported and, in certain cases, closely and copiously imitated. The typological uniformity of BoR vessels from Aegean contexts reflects specialised production and consumption patterns, during a period of increased contacts between Cyprus and Greece. Given the validity of BoR as a tool to examine questions that are pertinent to trade and cross-influence in the Early Iron Age (EIA) Mediterranean as a whole, the paper investigates the chronological range of BoR imports from the Aegean, with a focus on securely-dated contexts. The ultimate goal is to produce a reliable Aegean contribution to the discussion of BoR, with due consideration of questions related to its chronological range, extra-insular distribution and origins.