Online Encyclopedia
Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.
ROMAN POTTERY
Online EncyclopediaEncyclopedia Home :: RHY-RON
del.icio.us it!
|
See also:ROMAN POTTERY .—Roman vases are far inferior to See also:Greek; the shapes are less See also:artistic, and the decoration, though sometimes not without merits of its own, owes most of its success to the See also:imitation or See also:adaptation of motives learnt from earlier Grecian, See also:Egyptian or Syrian potters. They required only the skill of the See also:potter for their completion, and, being made by processes largely See also:mechanical, they are altogether on a See also:lower See also:scale of artistic See also:production.
It has been noted that during a certain See also:period—namely, the 3rd and and centuries B.c.—ceramic See also:art had reached the same See also:stage of See also:evolution all See also:round the Mediterranean, painted pottery had been ousted by See also:metal-See also:work, and such vases as continued to be made were practically imitations of metal both in See also:Greece and See also:Italy. These latter we must regard as representing See also:ordinary See also:household pottery, or as supplying to those who could not afford to adorn their houses and temples with costly See also:works in metal, a humble but fairly efficient substitute. There is a terra-See also:cotta bowl of the 2nd See also:century B.C. in the See also:British Museum which is an exact replica of a chased See also:silver bowl with reliefs in the same collection, and may serve as an See also:illustration of this See also:condition of things (See also:Plate II. fig. 56).
These imitations of metal were largely made in See also:southern Italy, a See also:district which enjoyed See also:close artistic relations with See also:Etruria, and we have already seen that the same principle had See also:long been in See also:vogue among the Etruscans. Hence it is not surprising that an important centre of pottery manufacture should have sprung up in Etruria, in the 2nd century B.C., which for many years set the See also:fashion to the whole Roman See also:world. But before discussing such products it may be as well to say something on the technical See also:character, shapes and uses of Roman pottery in See also:general.
Technical Processes.—Roman pottery regarded in its purely technical aspect is in some ways better known to us than the Greek, chiefly owing to extensive discoveries of kilns and potters' apparatus in western See also:Europe. It may be classified under two heads, of which only the second will concern us for the most See also:part as yielding by far the greater amount of material and See also:interest: (1) the See also:plain, dul' earthenware used for domestic purposes, and (2) the See also:fine, red shining wares, usually known to archaeologists as terra sigillata, See also:clay suited to receive stamps (sigilla) or impressions.
For both classes all kinds of clay were used, varying somewhat in different regions, and ranging in See also:colour when fired from See also:black to See also:grey, drab, yellow, See also: The See also:clays varied greatly in quality; most of the pottery made in southern See also:Gaul was fashioned from the ferruginous red clay of the See also:Allier district, but at St-Remy-en-Rollat and in that neighbourhood a See also: In the manufacture of vases the See also:Romans used the same processes as the Greeks. They were all made on the See also:wheel, except those of abnormal See also:size, such as the large casks (dolia), which were built up on a See also:frame. Specimens of potters' wheels have been found at See also:Arezzo and See also:Nancy, made of terra-cotta, with a pierced centre for the See also:pivot, and bearing small cylinders of See also:lead round the circumference to give a See also:purchase for the See also:hand and to aid the momentum of the wheel. For the ornamental vases with reliefs an additional See also:process was necessary, and the decoration was in nearly all cases produced from moulds. The process in this See also:case was a threefold one: first the stamps had to be made bearing the designs; these were then pressed upon the inside of a clay See also:mould which had been previously made on the wheel to the size and shape required; finally, the clay was impressed in the mould and the See also:vase was thus produced, decoration and all. Handles being of rare occurrence in Roman pottery, the vases were thus practically See also:complete, requiring only the addition of rim and See also:foot. The stamps were made in various materials, and had a handle at the back (Plate See also:IlI. hg. 64). The moulds were of lighter clay than the vases, and were lightly fired when completed, so as to absorb the moisture from the pressed-in clay. Large See also:numbers of these moulds are in existence (Plate III. fig. 61), and the British Museum possesses a fine See also:series from Arezzo. Those discovered in various parts of Gaul have afforded valuable See also:evidence as to the sites of the various pottery centres, as their presence obviously denoted a See also:place of manufacture, and the value of this evidence is increased when they See also:bear potters' names. Remains of kilns for baking Roman pottery' are very numerous in western Europe, especially in Gaul, where the best examples are at Lezoux near Clermont, at See also:Chatelet in Haute-See also:Marne, and near See also:Agen in See also:Lot-et-See also:Garonne. In Germany See also:good remains have come to See also:light at Heiligenberg in See also:Baden, at Heddernheim near See also:Frankfort, Rhcinzabern near Carlsruhe, and Westerndorf in See also:Bavaria. In See also:England the best kilns are those discovered by Artis in 1821–1827 at Castor in Northamptonshire (see fig. 4). Shapes.—As is the case with Greek vases, a long See also:list of names of 'For a full description and lists of such kilns see Walters, See also:Ancient Pottery, ii. 443-454. 724 shapes may be collected from Latin literature, and the same difficulties as to See also:identification arise in the See also:majority of cases. They may, however, be classified in the same manner; as vases for storing liquids, for mixing or pouring See also:wine, for use at the table, and so on. In addition See also:Varro and other writers have preserved a number of archaic and obscure names chiefly applied to the vases used in sacrifices. The See also:principal vases for storing liquid or solid See also:food were:—The dolium, a large cask or See also:barrel of earthenware; the See also:amphora, a See also:jar holding about six gallons; and the cadus, a jar about See also:half as large as the amphora. The dolium had no foot, and was usually buried in the See also:earth ; it was also used for purposes of See also:burial. The amphora corresponds to the Greek wine-jar of that name, and had, like its prototype, a pointed See also:base. Many examples were found at See also:Pompeii stamped with the names of consuls (cf. See also:Hor. Od. iii. 21. I), or with painted See also:inscriptions See also:relating to their contents. The cadus is mentioned by See also:Horace and See also:Martial. Of smaller vases for holding liquids, such as jugs, bottles and flasks, the principal were the urceus, answering to the Greek oivoX*,t, the See also:ampulla, a See also:kind of See also:flask with globular body, and the lagena, a narrow-necked flask or See also:bottle. Of drinking-cups the Romans had almost as large a variety as the Greeks, and the great majority of the ornamented vases preserved to the See also:present See also:day were devoted to this purpose. The generic name for a See also:cup was poculum, but the Romans borrowed many of the Greek names, such as cantharus and scyphus. The calix appears to have answered in popularity, though not in See also:form, to the Greek kylix, and is probably the name by which the ornamented See also:bowls were usually known. The names for a dish are lanx, See also:patina and catinum. Another common form is the olla (Greek x117-pa), which served many purposes, being used for a cooking-pot, for a jar in which See also:money was kept, or for a cinerary See also:urn. The form of vase identified with this name has a spherical or elliptical body with See also:short See also:neck and wide mouth. Of sacrificial vases the principal was the See also:Patera or See also:libation-bowl, corresponding to the Greek 01.007. Arretine See also:Ware.—The Latin writers, and in particular See also:Pliny, mention numerous places in Italy, See also:Asia See also:Minor and elsewhere, which were famous for the production of pottery in Roman times. Pliny mentions with See also:special See also:commendation the " Samian Ware," the reputation of which, he says, was maintained by See also:Arretium (Arezzo). Samian pottery is also alluded to by other writers, and hence the See also:term was adopted in See also:modern times as descriptive of the typical Roman red wares with reliefs, whether found in Italy, Germany, Gaul or Britain. But it was only accepted with diffidence as a convenient name, and as See also:early as 184o discoveries at Arezzo made it possible to distinguish the vases found there as a See also:local product, now known as " Arretine " ware. The name " Samian " has, however, adhered to the provincial wares and at the present day is often used even by archaeologists. But See also:recent researches have shown that nearly all the provincial wares can be traced to Gaulish or See also:German potteries, and, since it is implied by Pliny that " Samian " pottery is older than " Arretine," the name may now be fairly rejected altogether, as we have rejected the name " See also:Etruscan " for Greek pottery. The Romans probably used it as a generic term, just as we speak of " See also:china," and the real Saurian ware is to be seen in the later Greek pottery, with reliefs, of the 3rd century B.C. There were, as Pliny and other writers imply, many pottery centres in Italy, at Rhegium, See also:Cumae, Mutina and elsewhere, as well as at See also:Saguntum in Spain, but all were surpassed in excellence by Arretium. In more modern times its pottery came under See also:notice even in the See also:middle ages, and discoveries were made in the See also:time of See also:Leo X. (about r Soo) and again in the 18th century. The Arretine ware may be regarded as the Roman pottery See also:par excellence, and its popularity extended from about 150 B.C. down to the end of the 1st century of the See also:Empire, reaching its height in the 1st century B.C., after which it rapidly degenerated, and its place was taken by the wares of the provinces. Its general characteristics may be summed up as follows:—(r) The fine local red clay, carefully levigated and baked very hard to a See also:rich coral red or a colour like sealing-See also:wax; (2) the fine red glaze, which has already been discussed; (3) the great variety of forms employed, showing the marked influence of metal-work; (4) the almost invariable presence of stamps with potters' names. The majority of the specimens have been found at Arezzo itself, but there was a See also:branch of the See also:industry at See also:Puteoli, producing pottery almost equal in merit, and it was also exported to central and eastern Europe and Spain.(ROMAN The earliest examples are of black glossy ware, but the red appears to have been introduced by See also:roe B.c., when the first potters' stamps appear. These are usually quadrangular in form, though other shapes are found, and are impressed in the midst of the See also:design on the ornamented vases, or on plain wares on the bottom of the interior. The number of potters' names is very large, though some appear to have been more prolific than others, and to have employed a large number of slaves, whose names appear with their masters' on the stamps. The best known is See also:Marcus Perennius, whose wares take highest See also:rank for their artistic merit, the designs being copied from good Greek See also:models. He employed seventeen slaves, of whom the best known is See also:Tigranes, the stamps usually appearing as M.PEREN and TI GRAN. The slave-name of Bargates is found on one of his finest vases, in the See also:Boston Museum, the subject being the fall of See also:Phaethon. We may suppose that the stamps for the figures were designed by the masters, but that the vases were actually moulded by the slaves. Other important artists are Calidius Strigo, who had twenty slaves; P. See also:Cornelius, who had no less than See also:forty; Aulus Titius, who signs himself A•TITI•FIGVL• ARRET; the Annii and the Tetii; and L. Rasinius Pisanus, a degenerate potter of the See also:Flavian period, who imitated Gaulish wares. The forms of the vases are all, without exception, borrowed from metal shapes and are of marked simplicity (see fig. 37, Nos. 1, 8, q, 1r). They are mostly of small size and devoid of handles, but a notable exception is a See also:bell-shaped krater or mixing-bowl, of which there is a very fine example in the British Museum, found at See also:Capua and decorated with the four seasons (Plate III. fig. 62). For the decoration and subjects the potters undoubtedly See also:drew their See also:inspiration from the " new-See also:Attic " reliefs of the Hellenistic period, of which the krater just cited is an example. So, too, are such subjects as the dancing See also:maenads or priestesses with wicker See also:head-dresses, or the Dionysiac scenes which are found, for instance, on the vases of Perennius. Others again are distinguished by a See also:free use of conventional See also:ornament, figures when they occur being merely decorative. There is throughout a remarkable variety both in the ornamentation and in the methods of See also:composition. Provincial Wares.—The Arretine ware, as has been noted, steadily degenerated during the 1st century of the Empire, and the manufacture of ornamental pottery appears to have entirely died out in Italy by the time of See also:Trajan. Its place was taken by the pottery of the provinces, especially by that of Gaul, where the transference of artistic traditions led to the rise of new See also:industrial centres in the See also:country bordering on the See also:Rhone and the See also:Rhine. As to the general characteristics of the provincial wares, that is, of the ornamented wares or terra sigillata, the clay is fine and close-grained, harder than the Arretine, and when broken shows a light red fracture; the surface is smooth and lustrous, of a brighter yet darker red colour (i.e. less like coral) than that of Arretine ware, but the See also:tone varies with the degree of heat used. The most important feature is the fine glaze with which it is coated, similar in composition to that of the Arretine; it is exceedingly thin and transparent, and laid equally over the whole surface, only slightly brightening the color of the clay. The ornament is invariably coarser than that of Arretine ware, by which, however, it is indirectly inspired. The vases are usually of small dimensions, consisting of various types of bowls, cups and dishes, of which two or three forms are preferred almost to the exclusion of the See also:rest, and they frequently bear the See also:stamp of the potter impressed on the inside or outside. Although this ware is found all over the Roman world, by far the greater portion comes from Gaul, Germany or Britain, and evidence points to two—and only two—districts as the principal centres of manufacture: the valleys of the See also:Loire and the Rhine and their immediate neighbourhood. In the 1st century A.D. Gaulish pottery was largely exported into Italy, and isolated finds of it occur in Spain and other parts. The recent researches of Dr Dragendorff and M. Dechelette have shown that a See also:chronological sequence of the pottery may be clearly traced, both in the shapes employed and in the method of decoration; and, further, that it is possible—at least as regards Gaul—to See also:associate certain potters' names and certain types of figures, though found in many places, with two centres in particular, Graufesenque near See also:Rodez (See also:department of See also:Aveyron) in the district occupied by the Ruteni, and Lezoux near Clermont (department of See also:Puy-de-See also:Dome) in the country of the See also:Arverni. The periods during which these potteries flourished are consecutive, or rather overlapping, but not contemporaneous, the former being practically coincident with the 1st century A.D., the latter with the znd moulded patterns in slight See also:relief. and 3rd down to about A.D. 260, when the manufacture of terra sigillata practically came to an end in Gaul. There were also certain smaller potteries, some of which See also:mark a transition between the Italian and provincial wares, in the See also:north of Italy and on the Rhine and upper Loire, e.g. St Remy-en-Rollat, and others of later date, as at Banassac and Montans in the latter district, but none of these produced pottery of specialis usually spoken of as No. 29. This is characterized by its moulded rim engraved with finely incised hatchings, and by the See also:division of the body by a moulding into two See also:separate friezes for the designs (fig. 36). Its ornament is at first purely decorative, consisting of scrolls and wreaths, then small animals and birds are introduced, and finally figure subjects arranged in rectangular panels or circular medallions. About the middle of the century a second variety of bowl (known as No. 3o; see fig. 37) was introduced; this is cylindrical in form, and, being found both at Graufesenque and Lezoux, may be regarded as transitional in character. In the latter half of this century a new form arises (No. 37; fig. 37), a more or less hemispherical bowl which holds the See also: The panels and medallions at first prevail, but are then succeeded by arcading or inverted semicircles enclosing figures, and finally after the end of the 1st century (and on form 37 only) we find the whole surface covered with a single composition of figures unconfined by See also:borders or frames of any kind, but in a continuous See also:frieze; this is known as the " free " style (Plate IV. fig. 69). As regards the figure subjects, it may be generally laid down that the conceptions are good, but the See also:execution poor. Many are obvious imitations of well-known types or works of art, and the See also:absence of Gaulish subjects is remarkable. They include representations of gods and heroes, warriors and See also:gladiators, hunters os "^ ~~""i~il ulluur"I iu~i~umoa"` 65 36 54 31 18 1 29 11 merit or importance. The early Rhenish wares are, strictly speaking, of a semi-See also:Celtic or See also:Teutonic character, while the later German terra sigillata, for which the principal centres were Rheinzabern near Carlsruhe and Westerndorf in Bavaria, are of similar character but inferior to the znd-century pottery of Lezoux. A mould from Rheinzabern is illustrated, Plate IV. fig. 66. The ornamented vases produced in these potteries are, as we have said, almost confined to two or three varieties, which follow one another chronologically. A shape favoured at first is the krater, which has been mentioned as one of the characteristic Arretine forms; but this enjoyed but a short term of popularity. Early in the 1st century we find a typical form of bowl in use, which, following the numeration of Dr Dragendorff's See also:treatise,1- 1, Arretine; 18-65, Gaulish and German. and animals, the two latter classes being pre-eminently popular. The potters' names at Graufesenque are nearly all of a common Roman type, such as See also:Bassus, See also:Primus, Vitalis; those at Lezoux are Gaulish in form, such as Advocisus, Butrio, Illixo or Laxtrucisa. This seems to imply that Roman influence was still strong in the earlier centre which drew its inspiration more directly from Arretium. But even the purely Roman names are sometimes converted into Gaulish forms, as Masclus for Masculus, or Tornos for Turnus. The stamps are quadrangular in form, depressed in the surface of the vase with the letters in relief,; on the plain wares they are usually in the centre of the interior, lift on the ornamented vases are impressed on the exterior among the figures. The usual See also:formula is OF (for officina) or M (for manu) with the name in the genitive, or F, FE or FEC for fecit with the nominative. Besides the ordinary terra sigillata with figures produced in moulds we find other methods of decoration employed. In the See also:south of See also:France, about See also:Arles and See also:Orange, vases were made with medallions separately moulded and attached round the body; these have a great variety of subjects, both mythological and gladiatorial or theatrical, or even portraits of emperors. There is a remarkable specimen in the British Museum with a See also:scene from the tragedy of the Cycnus, on which Heracles and See also:Ares are represented, with seated deities in the background (Plate IV. fig. 67). The date of these reliefs is the 3rd century after See also:Christ. Of the same date is a somewhat similar ware made at Lezoux. Here each figure is attached separately to the vase, and the background is filled in with foliage produced by the method known as en barbotine (slip-See also:painting), of which we shall speak presently. The effect of these vases, which are mostly large jars or ollae (Plate IV. fig. 70), is often very decorative, and there is a fine specimen in the British Museum from See also:Felixstowe, on which the modelling is really admirable. Other good examples have been found in various parts of Britain. 'The " slip-decoration " process is practically unknown in Italy, but it is found early in the 1st century of our era in Germany, and appears to have originated in the Rhine district. It is not confined to the red ware, but in the early German examples is applied on a dull grey or black back- ground. On the See also:continent its use is almost limited to See also:simple decorative patterns of scrolls or foliage, but in Britain it was largely adopted, as in the well-known Castor ware made on the site of that name (Durobrivae) in Northamptonshire. Many of the vases found or made here have gladiatorial combats, See also:hunting-scenes, or chariots executed by this method (fig. 38). The decoration was applied in the form of a thick viscous slip, usually of the same colour as the clay, but reduced to this consistency with See also:water, and was laid on by means of a narrow See also:tube or run from the edge of a spatula. The Castor ware appears to date from the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. Painted wares are at all times rare, but were occasionally produced in Gaul, Germany and Britain. A notable class of such ware seems to have been produced in the Rhine district, represented by small jars covered with a glossy black coating, on which are painted in thick white slip inscriptions of a convivial character, such as BIBE, REPLE, DA VINUM, or VIVAS (Plate IV. fig. 68). A very effective ware, obviously imitating cut See also:glass, by means of sharply incised patterns, was made at Lezoux in both the red and black varieties. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML. Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide. |
|
|
[back] ROMAN LAW |
[next] ROMAN RELIGION |