Composite vessel (kernos)

A peculiar shape in the prolific category of "Red-Polished Ware" - the most distinctive pottery style in Early Bronze Age Cyprus - this vessel consists of four con-joined hemispherical bowls, held together in the middle by a handle reinforced with a horizontal rod. Preserved on the surface is the characteristic decoration of incised rectilinear and zigzag bands. A host of similar vessels has been found in the Vounous necropolis in northern Cyprus. In some cases the handle is crowned by a plank figurine. It is not clear whether this is a kind of religious symbolism or simply an example of the inventiveness and playfulness of the Early Cypriot potter. In the view of some researchers, the shape renders the vessel known as "kernos", which is frequently linked with the placement of offerings in cult places or graves.