Major production, and earliest, of the red-gloss wares, or terra sigillata, based in the northern Levant, in particular northwestern Syria. Mostly plain, open vessels (cups, bowls, plates) but also some closed forms (jugs), and vessels with molded relief. Characterized by sharply delineated features and elegant profiles. Fine, pale fabric, hard, clean, and dense, with a deep red slip. Manufactured from the Middle Hellenistic to the Middle Roman periods (ca. 150 BCE to as late as ca. 200 CE, though circulation in Near East continued into the 3rd century). Popularity of import to Greek world seems to have peaked ca. 50 BCE-50 CE.