Black on Red Amphoriskos

This type of decoration is known as Black on Red Ware, and the vessel is an amphoriskos (a small amphora - see those in the Transport display also). Black on Red decoration, once thought to have come from Phoenicia, now seems to have been more widely produced on Cyprus. The small sets of circles, called concentric circles, are very common in this ware, and were made with a compass that had multiple brush heads; we often see the indentation from the compass point. This vessel has a shiny surface, as it was burnished (rubbed to a high polish with a hard object) after it was fired.