Glazing pottery in the late Hellenistic and early Roman Greece : Multi-technique analysis of “Megarian” bowls, eastern sigillata, and related wares
(2025) 17th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics — Location: Bilbao (10.September.2025)
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- Abstract
- This poster analyses black- and red-glazing techniques that were employed for affordable ceramic imitations of the expensive silverware in three pottery industries of the Aegean region in the late Hellenistic and early Roman period – that is, Athens (Attica), Corinth (Peloponnese), and Mytilene (Asia Minor). The study applies to a set of 48 samples of moulded glazed wares that are dated to the last two centuries BC : i.e. Hellenistic hemispherical bowls, late Hellenistic/early Roman eastern sigillata, early Roman relief bowls and portrait bowls. Based on a combined petrographic analysis of the pottery fabrics and SEM-EDS analysis of the fabrics and glazes, we explore technological choices for the aesthetic refinement of these drinking vessels that were most often used in socially-and politically-meaningful gathering events, at a time of emergence of new aesthetic standards under the increased (political, economic, cultural) influence of Rome in the Greek world. The results indicate that at Corinth and Mytilene, the arrival of Roman settlers in the mid-1st century BC corresponds in time with a shift in clay exploitation strategies (with the use of coarser, Fe-rich ceramic fabrics) and in glazing compounds (with Mg-, Si-rich clays) leading to thicker, shinier, and more adherent glazes. The firing conditions and temperature of the pots were also adapted to suit best these glazing compounds. By contrast, Athenian pottery industry stands out by the homogeneity through time in pottery types (hemispherical moldmade bowls of Hellenistic tradition), fabric composition, and the consistently low-silica and high-alkali content of their glaze. These results therefore suggest that in the wake of the Roman conquest of the Aegean region, the widely renowned Athenian pottery industry may have operated on different bases from provincial workshops aiming at covering local markets, with a stronger attachment to technological traditions of the Hellenistic age.
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Liard, F., & Ben Amara, A. (2025). Glazing pottery in the late Hellenistic and early Roman Greece : Multi-technique analysis of “Megarian” bowls, eastern sigillata, and related wares. 17th European Meeting on Ancient Ceramics, Bilbao. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/272430