Zeuxippus Ware as a possible prototype of Late Byzantine ceramics with underglaze monograms

A more thorough research of Byzantine Monogram Ware indicates the earliest appearance of monograms in the decoration of a small group of Zeuxippus related specimens. This monogrammatic fashion should be considered as a manifestation of the Byzantine written culture. Its appearance in the glazed ceramics of 13th – 15th c. might be driven by the rising perception during the Late Byzantine period of the monograms as ‘heraldic’ symbols. It is reasonable to suggest that Zeuxippus Ware was the prototype of several later and more numerous Monogram Ware groups.