Cypriot Red Polished III Earthenware Jug
Early Cypriot III (1925/1900-1800 BC). Height 20.2cm. Diameter 6.9cm
A jug with a round base and an ovoid body. It has a high, narrow neck that tapers upward to a wide, funnel-shaped rim, and a round handle running from the rim to the shoulder. Made of hard buff clay with a lustrous orange-red slip. On the outside, incised decoration includes encircling lines on the lower body. The middle of the body is decorated with concentric circles combined with framed horizontal strokes and hatched triangles set within panels. Encircling lines appear on the shoulder, while the neck is decorated with vertical rows of transverse strokes.
The jug was excavated by the Swedish Cyprus Expedition in 1927 at Lapithos, on the floor of Chamber B, Tomb 319. It has been part of the collection of the Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm, Sweden (Inv. No.: L. 319B:006) since 1931.