The vases include a reddish-brown wash applied unevenly to mimic stone vessels.
[1] The mottling was produced by uneven firing of the slip-covered pot, with the hottest areas turning dark.
There is also a style painted in a creamy white over the reddish-brown wash applied all over the body.
The first examples of Vasiliki ware are to be found in East Crete during EM IIA period, but it is in the next period, EM IIB, that it becomes the dominant form among the fine wares throughout eastern and southern Crete.
[2] Dating varies between scholars, but the Early Minoan II period is generally thought to run between around 2600–2000 BC.