Twin-necked vessel

Cypriot twin-necked jug of the "Red Polished South Coast ware". The two long necks are connected to each other with horizontal bars. On the bars two opposed animal protomes (goats?) are attached. The vessel is decorated all over with incised linear motifs. The "Red Polished South Coast ware" is a sub-division of the wider category of Cypriot "Red Polished" vessels, known almost exclusively from the southern part of the island (mainly from tombs). It dates to the Early Cypriot I period (2500-2300 BC) and includes large-size jugs, amphoroid and basket-shaped vessels, conical bowls and large flasks, covered in a lustrous slip and decorated with incised geometric motifs and sometimes with plastic attachments (animal and bird protomes). They were probably the creations of specialist pottery workshops in southern Cyprus, in the area around Limassol, Sotira and Erimi. The functional significance of twin-necked jugs is unclear but as the provenance of most examples is graves, they may have been intended exclusively for ritual use.