Cypriot Late Hellenistic Gray Slip Ware seems to be a predecessor to Cypriot Sigillata (ESD). It has the same fabric and forms, but the slip is a shiny dark gray rather than the brownish red of Cypriot Sigillata. In addition these Gray Slip vessels are earlier in date than Cypriot Sigillata: they appear in archaeological contexts of the early-mid first century BCE. This ware may represent an initial experimental phase that ultimately resulted in the production of Cypriot Sigillata.
Vessel fabric is hard, slightly gritty, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) with occasional tiny white inclusions. The breaks are sharp; vessels are hard fired. The slip is thin, hard, and lustrous, ranging in color from very dark gray (10YR 3/1) to slightly lighter in hue (10YR 5/1), probably due to vagaries in the firing.
