Fish plate

Its rim was turned down, and often bears a decorative border, either spiraling waves, Greek key and meander motifs, or a wreath of laurel leaves.

In Athens the palette was restricted to red clay fabric and black gloss slip with rare uses of white overpainting.

Fish plates were made in almost all South Italian ceramic factories except for those in Lucania (on the Gulf of Taranto, the "arch of the boot" of Italy).

Sometimes, in the South Italian examples the palette is enlarged to include deep red, pink, and yellow overpainting as well.

Many of the creatures pre-evidence the trompe-l'œil art characteristic of later, Graeco-Roman painting and mosaics found at Pompeii and other Roman resorts in Magna Graecia (Greek-speaking Southern Italy).