General Information

Phrygian Black-Polished ware vessels are marked by a lustrous exterior created by a highly polished slip. In the earliest stages, in the later 8th/early 7th c. BCE (early Middle Phrygian) Black-Polished ware vessels come in a variety of forms and display painstakingly hand-crafted diamond faceting, reeding, fluting, and incisions (DeVries 2005, pp. 40–43, fig. 4-4; Sams 2012, pp. 60–65, figs. 5-11, 5-12). The most elaborate form is the diamond-faceted, black-polished, side-spouted sieve jug.

At Gordion, by the first half of the 6th c. BCE (late Middle Phyrgian) this and other forms have disappeared, and there is less attention to exterior detail (Dusinberre, Lynch, and Voigt 2019, p. 161). The most common forms attested at this time are small jars and jugs. At least some of the jugs have trefoil mouths; many have vertical strap handles and flat disk bases created by trimming away excess clay from the bottom of the vessel. Open forms include small bowls and small stemmed dishes, a form possibly inspired by Lydian fine ware examples, some of which appear at Gordion at this same time, along with other locally made Lydianizing ware vessels.

The one-handled and globular jugs may have been beer-drinking vessels, if their resemblance to the earlier side-spouted sieve jug is indicative. Although some of the black-polished jugs have broad horizontal facets, the surface decoration on the vessels largely takes the form of grooving or incision (usually horizontal, but sometimes diagonal incisions giving an impression of triangles or diamonds). These incisions thus mirror the elaborate carved or molded decorations of the earlier vessels, using incised triangles or diamonds to suggest diamond-faceted ware. Compared to the labor-intensive decorations of their early Middle Phrygian predecessors, the decorations on these pots of late Middle Phrygian times seem quick and almost cursory.

A relatively large percentage of the black-polished vessels were inscribed with letters and symbols. Common areas for these marks are at the bases of handles or just next to a handle on the body of a jug, or on the underside of the base of bowls. The inscriptions are generally short alphabetic graffiti (including a possible number, digamma-omicron), but there are also other patterns such as stars. Pattern burnishing is also found on the underside of bases. The graffiti were apparently inscribed after firing.*

This description comes from Dusinberre, Lynch, and Voigt 2019, pp. 161-168.

Vessels are made of gray fabric, with black polish or black-sintered surfaces. They are thin-walled, made from a very finely levigated clay, often with tiny silver mica inclusions. The exterior was always slipped, and sometimes in addition also burnished to an exceptionally high gloss. The sintering, which was created by introducing carbon to the firing process, created a lustrous sheen even on those vessels that were not additionally burnished.*

This description comes from Dusinberre, Lynch, and Voigt 2019, p. 161.

Gordion (Turkey/Central)