Lead-Glazed Footed Bowl with Oak Leaves and Acorns

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Lead-Glazed Footed Bowl with Oak Leaves and Acorns

Place of Originreportedly from Lebanon

Date50 BCE-50 CE

DimensionsH: 4 7/32 in. (10.7 cm); Rim Diam: 6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm); Base Diam: 2 3/4 in. (7.0 cm)

MediumMolded earthenware with lead glazes

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1982.200

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis clay bowl was shaped using a mold and possibly finished on a potter's wheel. It stands on a raised foot and has a distinct, stepped rim. The outside is decorated with a raised pattern of oak branches, leaves, and acorns. The entire piece is coated in a shiny lead glaze, which is dark green on the exterior and a warm, honey-yellow on the interior. The bowl is intact, with a few minor chips and old, stable repairs.

Label TextThis Roman bowl is decorated with true glazes, much like modern pottery. Ancient Roman potters were pioneers, inventing these shiny lead glazes. This technique enhances a molded pattern of oak leaves and acorns, a motif popular during the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 BCE–14 CE). While Greek vases are decorated with slip, a watery clay mixture, this vessel's gleaming surface was a new innovation. Reportedly found in Lebanon, this ceramic bowl emulates the appearance of more elaborate and expensive silver cups, making a fashionable style accessible to a wider audience.Published ReferencesUnpublished.Comparative ReferencesCf. Hochuli‑Gysel, Anne. Kleinasiatische glasierte Reliefkeramik (50 v. Chr. bis 50 n. Chr.) und ihre oberitalischen Nachahmungen. Bern: Stämpfli, 1977.

Cf. Davis, Charles Percy, "Roman-Syrian Pottery," Bulletin of the CIty Art Museum of St. Louis, vol. IX, no. 3, July 1924, pp. 34-41, especially bowl on p. 37.

cf. Charleston, Robert, Roman Pottery, London, 1955, pp. 24-31 and figs. 29a and 31b.

cf. Charleston, Robert, World Ceramics, New York, 1968, pp. 36-40.