Circles in the Iron Age

Circle patterns are found throughout many of the styles of the Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic, including Bichrome, Wheelmade White Painted, Black on Red and Bichrome on Red. While circle patterns appear across these differing types, each type attracts different compositions and styles.

Circle motifs were used in conjuction with other motifs to create compositions on Iron age terracotta. Note that all of the motifs introduced in the Cypro-Geometric, at the beginning of the Iron Age, persist through to the end of the Archaic period. As the Iron Age progresses, more and more motifs are introduced, including the Free Field style which is also used in conjunction with geometric motifs such as the circles.

Circles are one of the most fundamental motifs, as they are the most extensively used throughout the Cypriot Iron age. They are also used in a variety of unique and interesting ways to compose a piece of geometric art. In the following sections we try to break down the use of the circle motif into distinct building blocks from which ancient Cypriot potters created their compositions. Note however that potters were not in anyway limited to these, and these are rather just the most common building blocks.

How the Slip was Applied

It is immediately noticeable that many of these beautiful circles are absolutely perfect, from the smallest with a diameter of just a centimeter, to large 30cm wide circles. Ancient Cypriots used a compass like tool to apply these circles. The tool was dipped in the slip and then applied to the pottery.

Composition & Symmetry

To better understand the composition and artistic use of these circle motifs, we need to understand the components made up of these circles. Circles are rarely seen in the singular, unless specifically done so with artistic intent. We break down the different compositions into types of components seen across different pieces of pottery, extracting the elements across vessels that share a commonality.

The goal of this is not to reduce these works of arts into lego style building blocks of components, but rather to give us a language with which to approach geometric compositions. To appreciate the entire vessel one must look at the whole and not just the sum of its parts.

Equal Width Concentric Circles

Circle motifs are rarely seen in the singular, with most being made up of multiple concentric elements. It is common to see groupings of 3 to 6 circles. The most common of these circle motifs are the equal width concentric circles.

This motif is used in several common ways. It is either used to create a complete shape made up of a few smaller concentric circles or as large sub-components of a larger composition. Equal width concentric circles are also often used as framing circles discussed later.

Horizontal Circles

White Painted Tall Jug

One thing that hasn't been discussed is the orientation of these circle patterns - which was almost always vertical, with the center of each circle being on the surface of the vessel itself, or in cases where the circle was large the circle seemingly slicing the vessel into vertical pieces.

An alternative to this is the use of horizontal circles, which wrap around the vessel on which they are adorned. In this case the circle almost holds the vessel together, with the center point of each circle being within the center of the vessel itself.

These horizontal circles also followed similar rules of groupings and differing widths. Their use in composition was rather different though, serving to break up certain elements of the vessel, such as separating the neck of a vessel from its body, or by accentuating the height of a vessel. These are commonly seen on taller slender jugs.

Another interesting use of horizontal circles is to slice and partition other circles, this is commonly seen in Black on Red ware jugs and is discussed in the subsection on intersecting circles later on this page.

Interestingly, horizontal circles are almost exclusively made in black slip and usually in the style of equal width concentric circles. It is rare to see any other style of horizontal circles. As is commonly seen in equal width concentric circle styles, a subtly thicker slip is applied to the outer circles (both top and bottom) to frame the composition.

Wider Disk Breaking up the Monotony

One of the primary tools an artist has when working with circles is varying their thickness with artistic intent, either for framing, for creating a focal point or for breaking up a composition.

It is common to see groups of equal width circles broken up by the odd wider disk. This wider disk is often a different color of slip.

Alternating Slip Pigment

In the case of Bichrome, the use of alternating colors of slips is commonly seen to establish more intense compositions.

Wide Central Disks

One of the most elegant ways potters found to draw the eye to the center, is by using an almost completely filled central disk of large width, sometimes surrounding fine and small circles of an opposing color of slip.

Extreme Nesting

Groupings of 3 to 6 nested circles of increasing diameter and equal width are common, however we also sometimes see the exaggeration of this nesting with 10 or even 20 circles dominating the entire composition of the piece.

Spirals

Jug

Potters sometimes used a single continuous line to represent nested circles, by drawing a tightly wound spiral. This is more commonly seen in extremely nested compositions.

Intersecting Circles

Circle Groupings

Framing Circles

The use of circles to frame a composition or just to create pleasing negative space is quite common. The framing circles can be of different types, with the most common simply being the equal width concentric circles.

Framing circles do not have to be of the vertical kind, and horizontal circles are also used.

Circles as Anthropomorphic or Zoomorphic Shapes

Semi Circles with Central Dot

Some designs in Cypriot geometric styles are playful and endearing, one of these is the semi-circle containing a dot. This design is commonly seen as a circle peaking out from behind a straight line, with the dot appearing in the center of the semi-circle.

These are usually in black-slip and appear on shapes such as Kylix Bowls, and usually in Bichrome style.

The appearance of the semi-circles usually breaks up the uniformity of the composition and adds a playfulness. Even though it is geometric in nature, it usually breaks up a more symmetric geometric arrangement in an interesting manner.

Complex Compositions

The different compositions discussed above are components that Cypriot potters could draw upon to create a uniquely beautiful geometric composition. The end product rarely relied on only a single type, but rather the elegant combination of different approaches outlined above.

Hand Applied Circles

Bichrome Oinochoe

As discussed previously, these circles and disks were almost always applied with the use of a compass like tool, or by leveraging the potters wheel, allowing for precision that is impossible through the use of a human hand. There are exceptions to this, with some circles being clearly applied by hand due to their imprecise and almost crude nature.

One of the large Jugs has a clear differentiation with some circles being applied with the use of a wheel or compass, and others being applied seemingly by hand. This is more clearly visible at the top of this page with the large main photo being of this jug.

It is not clear why some circles are applied as such and others not, and this very confusing act interests me greatly; was it purely an act of rushing? Was the tool unavailable? Did the potter wish to complete the composition through the addition of additional circles? Was it an appreciated design and form? Some of these questions we are likely never to get an answer to, but it does make for interesting thoughts.