Black-on-red Cypriot pottery can be dated to the Iron Age, circa 1000 BC. It reached it’s peak popularity during the Cypro-Geometric period to the Cypro-Archaic period, from 1000 BC to 600 BC. It is comprised of mostly small, miniature vessels made of thin-walled red-brown clay, covered in a similar coloured slip. Additional geometric patterns were then applied in black pigment. There is some debate as to the origins of the black-on-red ware, with some siting a Phoenician influence. Regardless of the origin, the wares became immensely popular in Cyprus and were produced on the island by local craftsman. They were then exported off Cyprus and have been excavated across the Mediterranean and the Levant.
The most common decorative theme were linear bands or concentric circles. Towards the end of the Cyprio-Archaic period, circular decoration faded from use and potters began to favour the Bichrome red ware style, which included the addition of white pigment.
