History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman. Volume 2 (of 2) by Walters et al.
1. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
982 words | Chapter 170
The pottery with which we have now to deal is that which was known to
an older generation as “Samian ware,”[3421] but may now be more
appropriately termed _Provincial terra sigillata_. In regard to its
general characteristics, it is distinguished by a fine close-grained
red clay, harder than the Arretine, and presenting when broken an edge
of light red. 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 tone of the red varies with the degree of heat used. The most
important feature is the fine red glaze with which it is coated,
similar in composition to—though not identical with—that of the
Arretine (see the analysis given on p. 436); it is exceedingly thin and
transparent, and laid equally over the whole surface, only slightly
augmenting the colour of the clay, which resembles that of coral or
sealing-wax. The glaze varies in lustre and quality as well as in
colour, but as the analyses show, it is produced on the same principle
at all periods and in all fabrics, Italian and provincial. The
ornamentation is invariably of a coarser nature than that of Arretine
ware, and though it draws its inspiration therefrom, is divided from it
by a considerable interval of artistic degeneration; nor is the missing
link always easy to trace. This ware is found all over Central Europe,
from the Balkan to the Spanish Peninsula, in the forests of Germany,
and on the distant shores of Britain, but in greatest abundance and
effectiveness in the valleys of the Loire and Rhine, a fact which in
itself directs us to look to these districts for the centres of its
manufacture. Wherever found, it is in its main characteristics
identical, and readily to be distinguished from the local wares with
their simple, or entire absence of, ornamentation. 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 rest, and they usually bear the stamp of the
potter impressed on the inside or outside. The angular and sharp
profiles of the various shapes indicate that in nearly all cases they
are derived from metal prototypes.
Although this ware is found all over the Roman world, yet by far the
greater proportion of the material at hand comes from the Roman sites
of Gaul, Germany, and Britain, and evidence points to two—and only
two—districts as the principal centres of its manufacture: the valleys
of the Loire and the Rhine and their immediate neighbourhood. Even in
Italy the material is exceedingly scanty, and much of the pottery found
in Rome or Campania can be proved by the potters’ stamps to have been
imported from Gaul. In Greece the finds of _terra sigillata_, though
covering a wide area, are few and far between, and we are hardly in a
position to state whether these are local fabrics or importations.
Dragendorff notes[3422] that in the museum at Bonn there are fragments
from Athens, Eleusis, Rhamnus, Oropos, Epidauros, Eretria, Argos,
Delos, and Troy, and others in private possession at the same place
from Alexandria. In the museum at Dimitzana in Arcadia there is a vase
with Latin stamps, and another without stamp is preserved at Chanak
Kalessi on the Dardanelles. Furtwaengler records a few fragments from
Olympia,[3423] one with OCT · SALVE, and fragments have also been found
at Pergamon. There are a few cups from Cyprus in the Museum at St.
Germain-en-Laye, and others at Nicosia.[3424] But it must not be
forgotten that, as has already been noted (p. 476), there is evidence
of manufacture of red relief wares in Greek lands under the Empire, and
much of the above-mentioned material may not be able to lay any claim
to a Western origin.
For the potteries of Central and Western Europe there is indeed no
literary evidence, for, as we have seen (p. 479), Saguntum is the only
provincial place of any reputation in antiquity, although modern
excavations have not upheld its claim. All the evidence is necessarily
derived from excavations, and from finds of moulds and potteries; but
by the careful and scientific researches of Von Hefner, Dragendorff,
Déchelette, and other investigators on Gaulish and German sites results
have been obtained of incalculable value for establishing the
provincial centres which during the first century of the Empire
inherited the traditions of Arretium. In the succeeding enquiry,
therefore, we shall devote our attention almost entirely to the _terra
sigillata_, of which Gaul, Germany, and Britain have yielded such
abundant quantities, and after a general consideration of its history
and characteristics, shall discuss in detail the peculiarities of
separate fabrics.[3425]
* * * * *
In his invaluable treatise on _terra sigillata_[3426]—the first
comprehensive attempt at a general scientific discussion of the subject
which has been contributed—Dragendorff collected a series of over fifty
varieties of forms (almost exclusively cups, bowls, and dishes), which
embrace all the examples of Arretine and provincial wares with
relief-ornamentation. Of these he considers the first fourteen peculiar
to the Arretine ware, but there are other vases found both in Italy and
the provinces which in form and colour are not distinguishable from the
Arretine, and seem to be undoubted examples of early importations. Such
vases are found at Andernach, Neuss, and Xanten on the Lower
Rhine,[3427] bearing the stamps of Ateius, Bassus, Primus, and Xanthus,
who are also frequently found in Southern Italy.[3428] With regard to
the first-named, however, there is evidence to show that he may have
worked in Southern Gaul, and the Italian origin of this pottery is not
absolutely certain.[3429] At all events, the finds in Germany to which
a date in the first century can be given seem to show the adoption of a
new form of dish differing from that characteristic of Arezzo[34
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