Distribution of Roman pottery in Europe—Transition from Arretine to provincial wares—Terra sigillata—Shapes and centres of fabric—Subjects—Potters’ stamps—Vases with barbotine decoration—The fabrics of Gaul—St. Rémy—Graufesenque—“Marbled” vases—Vases with inscriptions (Banassac)—Lezoux—Vases with medallions (Southern Gaul)—Fabrics of Germany—Terra sigillata in Britain—Castor ware—Upchurch and New Forest wares—Plain pottery—Mortaria—Conclusion.

1. General Characteristics

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^[3430]; this new form is also common at Pompeii (probably as an importation), and is found on the Limes at Saalburg with the stamp BOLLVS FIC. It is usually quite plain, and seems to have lasted down to the end of the third century. Another variety (No. 18) was found at Andernach with a coin of Antonia Augusta, and at Este in Italy with a stamp SERRAE, which belongs to the time of Augustus. From it a later form (No. 31) was developed.

As a general rule these early provincial forms were unornamented, but the two types of bowl or cup which Dragendorff numbers 29 and 30, and which are reproduced in Figs. 221, 222, become the normal form for the provincial relief-wares of the first century. These are not found in the Arretine ware, but occur all through that century, not only in Gaul, but also, for instance, in the castra on the frontier of Germany.^[3431] The only Arretine form which seems to have prevailed to any extent in the provinces is the krater (Dragendorff’s No. 11 = Fig. 219).^[3432] Other kinds of deep cups with expanding sides (Dragendorff’s Nos. 22-27) are found occasionally in Italy and on various sites in Germany, and can be traced from their first appearance in the first century for about a hundred years.^[3433] Nos. 24 and 25 are found at Xanten (Castra Vetera) with coins of Julius Caesar and Nero, others in the cemetery of Bibracte near Autun, which is known not to be later than the time of Augustus.^[3434] The general conclusion seems to be that these wares represent a sort of transitional stage between those of Arretium and the indubitably provincial terra sigillata. Towards the end of the first century they are supplanted, notably at Lezoux and in Germany, by the hemispherical bowl (Dragendorff’s No. 37 = Fig. 223), which subsequently becomes the only form employed for the moulded wares.

In pursuing his investigation of the provincial fabrics of the first century,^[3435] Dragendorff begins by discussing various groups of vases found in Germany which seem to represent a period of transition between the Italian Roman (and the local native) pottery and the provincial terra sigillata proper, which is not usually found before the middle of the century. First we have a kind of light-red ware, formerly known as “false Samian,” which lacks the strong lustrous sheen of the genuine terra sigillata; the tone Hettner considered to be the result of mere polishing, without any glaze or slip.^[3436] The forms are heavier and coarser, and are not confined, as in the genuine fabric, to deep cups or shallow bowls, but include a sort of beaker or tumbler-shaped cup,^[3437] and a slim jar with characteristic incised ornament. They are found in the oldest Roman tombs at Andernach, about A.D. 60.^[3438] Contemporary with this (from Augustus to Vespasian) was a kind of black ware with incised linear ornament, resembling that described under a subsequent heading (p. 515); it bears the same potters’ stamps as the light-red ware, and is interesting for its close relation to the older La Tène pottery, showing its origin to be Celtic or Gaulish, not Roman. The centre of fabric for these wares, which are limited in their distribution to the Rhenish provinces, Normandy and Southern Gaul, seems to have been Trier, which place is as nearly as possible the centre of all the sites on which they have been found; it is further evident that both the red and the black were made in the same pottery. Dragendorff styles these fabrics “Belgic,” on the ground that they are mostly found in the province of Gallia Belgica. It is conceivable that, as that province became organised in the first century, potters from Southern Gaul settled at Trier. A pottery of that epoch has been found there, with remains of black, grey, and light-red ware, and a piece found at Andernach with the stamp DVRO
CVAVO shows evidence of having been made at the former place.^[3439] The potters’ stamps include both Roman and non-Roman names. These wares are very rarely found in Britain.^[3440]

We now come to the terra sigillata fabrics proper, which extend from about A.D. 30 or even earlier to 250, and exhibit a great difference from the earlier fabrics.^[3441] There is no longer any question of Italian manufacture or of unsuccessful provincial imitations of Italian ware, but of a provincial fabric of excellent technique and real artistic individuality. The material for our purpose is supplied by the Gaulish cemeteries and pottery-sites of the Rhone and Allier valleys, the Cevennes, Normandy, and Belgium, by those of the Rhine valley and Southern Germany, and those of Britain. In Northern Gaul this pottery is found with coins ranging from Caligula to Commodus, and in the forts on the German Limes, such as those on the Taunus range and along the Main, the coins extend from Vespasian to Gallienus (A.D. 260), in whose time occupation ceased on the right bank of the Rhine.

In considering the probable centres of fabric we find a remarkable correspondence in the potters’ stamps in the most widely-separated localities, indicating a limited number of centres which had a great reputation. Thus, for instance, in comparing lists of stamps found in London with those from Douai in France Roach-Smith noted that no less than three-fourths of the names occurred in both places.^[3442] The same investigator, now many years ago, was acute enough to deduce the conclusion from this and other similar evidence that in Britain there was no local manufacture of terra sigillata^[3443]; and he has been justified by more recent researches, based on a much more extensive command of material. The two chief authorities on this subject at the present day, Dr. Dragendorff and M. Déchelette, are agreed in their main conclusions that the centre of this fabric must be sought in Gaul, and since the appearance of the latter’s treatise on the Gaulish potteries, there seems little doubt that it was in the first century at Graufesenque near Rodez in the Cevennes (Condatomagus), in the succeeding period at Lezoux in Auvergne, where extensive remains of potteries have come to light. Dr. Dragendorff based his arguments on the following facts:

(1) The potters’ names are largely Gaulish.

(2) Names are found in other parts which are known to be from a Gaulish centre such as Lezoux.

(3) Gallic epigraphical peculiarities, such as dotted circle for O, cursive D for D, and OV for U, are found in the inscriptions.

(4) Even names of an undoubted Latin type, such as Julios and Priscos, end in the Gallic termination -os.

(5) Cursive forms such as 1514Attic alpha reversed for A, 1512cursive E for E, 1512cursive F for F, and cursive L for L, are frequently found, as also in Gaulish inscriptions of the second century.

That he was working on the right lines has been now shown by M. Déchelette, who has employed as the basis of his researches the more conclusive evidence of discoveries, especially of finds of moulds and remains of potteries. But of this more will be said subsequently.

On the other hand there were two large potteries in Germany, at Rheinzabern, near Speier, and at Westerndorf, in Southern Bavaria, where ornamented vases were undoubtedly made. They were apparently not largely exported, but many of the stamps also occur on the plain wares from these potteries, implying that the ornamental vases must also have been made by the local men.^[3444] The pottery of Westerndorf begins about the middle of the second century. Dragendorff notes that of all the Gaulish potters’ stamps only forty-one have been found in Italy, and many of these only in Cisalpine Gaul, while others are very rare.

In regard to the forms, the chief fact to be noted is that new shapes and methods of decoration now appear with the growth of the provincial potteries, unknown in Italy, and the earlier bowls and dishes are not found (for instance) at Rheinzabern.^[3445] One form of dish (No. 32) is new, but another (No. 31) is clearly developed from the Italian type (No. 18). An essentially Gaulish form of deep bowl or cup is No. 33; another with handles (No. 34) is only found at Banassac. The mortaria with spout and pebbles inserted for grinding (see below, p. 551) now first make their appearance, especially in the Limes forts and in Britain. Many of the forms clearly indicate an imitation of metal. Déchelette notes that of the forms given by Dragendorff (Nos. 15-55) about twenty in all are found in Gaul, including the three used for moulded wares (see below, and p. 501).^[3446] To these he adds sixteen new forms, which he numbers 56 to 71, and for the vases with barbotine or appliqué decoration six more (72-77) must be included in the list.^[3447]

The next feature to be considered in these vases is the decoration, which is not confined, as in the Italian wares, to reliefs obtained from moulds, but is also produced by ornaments applied to the surface of the vase, either in the form of separate figures or medallions modelled by hand or made from moulds and then attached, or by the method known as en barbotine (see below, pp. 512, 529). Sometimes the decoration takes the form of impressed or incised patterns (p. 515), but these are more characteristic of the commoner wares. For the present we may limit the discussion to vases in which the decoration is produced at the same time in the mould.^[3448]

Vases of this type exhibit a remarkable monotony of form, being, as already noted, practically confined to two varieties of the bowl or deep cup, one with curved, the other with straight, sides (Forms 29 and 30 = Figs. 221, 222), at least up to the middle of the first century. In the latter half of that century these are supplemented by a third variety (Form 37 = Fig. 223), and at the same time a gradual diminution in the sharpness of the outlines, as in the reliefs themselves, becomes apparent. No direct connection with the Arretine ware can be traced, either in the forms or in the decoration. The potters’ stamps are found at first in the interior, as on the plain wares, but subsequently on the exterior, in the middle of the design.

At first there is a general absence of figure subjects, and the designs are purely ornamental, or else animals, such as birds or hares, are introduced as mere decorative elements. An important distinction from the Italian wares should be noted, viz. that in the latter the wreaths or scrolls which play such an important part in the decoration are composed of single detached leaves or flowers, whereas in the provincial wares the whole wreath is modelled in one continuous system, either formed of undulating motives, as at Graufesenque, or of a straight wreath or band of ornaments, as at Lezoux.^[3449] On the other hand the figure compositions are never continuous until the ”free” style comes in at Lezoux with the second century, but are broken up by ornaments into metope-like groups. The typical arrangement is that of a wreath between rows of beads or raised dots, with a triple band of hatched lines or “machine-turned” ornament above, and rays or pear-shaped ornaments below, pointing downwards. Sometimes the wreath is duplicated; or the frieze is broken up into metope-like groups of animals bordered by ornament, as in the first-century bowls found in France and Italy, which Déchelette attributes to the potteries of Condatomagus (Graufesenque in the Cevennes).^[3450] With the introduction of the hemispherical bowls (form 37) comes a new system, in which the upper edge is left plain, followed by a band of egg-and-tongue ornament; then comes the main frieze, and below this a simple wreath. This form and method first appear at Lezoux about A.D. 70, and at Rheinzabern with the beginning of the next century. The final stage is reached when the decoration consists of figures either arranged in medallions and arcades, or freely in friezes, a system which obtains exclusively at Westerndorf, and on the bulk of the terra sigillata found in Britain. Along with these changes in arrangement goes a steady artistic degeneration.

As regards the subjects, it may be generally observed that the conceptions are good, but the execution is poor. In many cases they are obviously imitations of well-known works, and it is curious that no Gaulish subjects occur. The types include representations of gods and heroes, warriors and gladiators, hunters and animals. In general they are of Hellenistic origin, and include all such subjects as are characteristic of the art of the period.^[3451] At first, however, purely decorative motives hold the field, in imitation of the Arretine ware, and it is not until after the disappearance of the latter that figure decoration is found. We have imitations of sculpture, as in the types of Venus bathing or the Diana à la biche, and of the Hellenistic reliefs with genre and idyllic subjects, as in the scenes with fowlers or fishermen.^[3452] The “new-Attic” reliefs furnish models for types, as in other branches of Roman art (see pp. 368, 489), and Eros, Herakles, and Dionysiac subjects are universally popular.

Among the mythological types Dragendorff has collected the following^[3453]: Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, Hephaistos, Hermes, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Athena; Dionysos, Herakles, Victory, Fortune, and Cupids; Amazons, Giants, sea-monsters, Gryphons and Sphinxes, Pygmies and cranes; Bellerophon, Aktaeon, the rape of the Leukippidae, and Romulus and Remus suckled by the wolf. The gladiatorial subjects closely follow the types of Roman art, and the favourite theme, a combat of two in which one is worsted, resembles a common type on the lamps (p. 416).^[3454] Thus, though the style of art is essentially provincial, the subjects draw their inspiration exclusively from classical sources.^[3455]

A series of examples from Britain may be noted as covering in their subjects the ground indicated; they are mostly from Roach-Smith’s extensive collection, now in the British Museum.^[3456] They include a vase with figures in separate compartments: Diana, Minerva, Hercules, Bacchus, a man with a cup, and Satyrs and Nymphs; another with Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides killing the serpent, Diana, warriors, and panels of ornament; a third with Bacchus and a tiger, Luna, and Genii with torches. Others have Apollo with Diana or pursuing Daphne; Diana and Actaeon; copies of statues of Venus (of the Cnidian or Medici type); the labours of Hercules, Bacchanalian orgies and processions, and such deities as Victory, Fortune, Cupids, and Anubis, as well as Satyrs and Fauns, Gryphons, Sphinxes, and Tritons. On the vase of Divixtus illustrated in Plate LXVIII. fig. 2, the subjects are Venus at her toilet, Diana with a stag, and a Silenus carrying a basket of fruit. The subjects from daily life include hunting scenes of various kinds; dogs pursuing stags, boars, or hares; combats of bestiarii with various animals; musicians, and gladiators. Ornamentation of a purely decorative character includes animals and trees, and representations of fruit, flowers, and foliage, either in scrolls or interspersed with other objects. Roach-Smith also gives a curious example from Hartlip in Kent^[3457] with two separate friezes of figures and the potter’s stamp SABINI·M^[3458]; on the upper band are Leda and the swan and a seated goddess with cornucopia; on the lower, Diana with a deer, under a canopy, and Victory crowning a warrior, the various groups being several times repeated. The style is very rude, and though the subjects are classical, the figures and designs are very barbaric, almost mediaeval in appearance.^[3459]

The terra sigillata fabrics appear to have lasted on down to the end of the fourth century in the provinces, but are by that time not only rare, but exceedingly degenerate. Some found at Andernach can be attributed to the reign of Magnus Maximus (A.D. 388), and in others, apart from the style, the costume of the figures resembles that of the fourth century^[3460]; the potters’ stamps by this time have entirely ceased.

The names of potters which, as we have seen, so frequently occur on the provincial wares are nearly all Gaulish in form or origin, and this, it has been noted, is one of the strongest arguments for the Gaulish origin of the pottery. The stamps are usually quadrangular in form, but sometimes circular or oval, or in the form of a human foot; they are depressed in the surface of the vase, but the letters are in relief. There is considerable variation in the form of the letters, which are often cursive (see p. 504), often ligatured, and frequently single letters or whole words are impressed backwards. The names are either in the nominative, with or without F, FEC, FECIT, or in the genitive with OF, OFFIC, etc., M, or MANV; the Gaulish word AVOT for FECIT is also found.^[3461] It is rare to find a potter with more than one name, and probably few of the Gaulish potters were Roman citizens^[3462]; on the other hand, there are few undoubted examples of slaves’ names. Some groups of names seem to indicate partnerships, such as VRSVS FELIX, PRIMI PATER(ni), SECVND(i) RVFIN(i); in other cases the name of the father is also given, as TORNOS VOCARI F(ilius), VACASATVS BRARIATI F,^[3463] but it is not impossible that the formula may mean, “Tornos the slave of Vocarius,” or, “Vacasatus the slave of Brariatus made (fecit).” In Aquitania stamps occur with FAM(uli) or NEPOTIS added after the name. Some groups of names are peculiar to certain localities, Amabilis, Belsus, Domitianus, Placidus, etc., being found only in Germany; other potters give a hint of their origin, adding to their names ARVE or AR for Arvernus, the district of the Arverni, corresponding to the modern Auvergne. Vases are found at Lezoux with the stamp RVTENVS FECIT^[3464]; here the name may be a deliberate intention of the Rutenian potter, to show that the vase was not made locally. The name Disetus, which is found on the Rhine, occurs in Gallia Belgica in the form Diseto, the variety being due either to differences in date or in the place of fabric. Among peculiarities in the stamps may be mentioned an instance, given among those from Britain, where the potter from ignorance or caprice has impressed the stamp of an oculist, intended for a quack ointment, on the bottom of a cup (found in London, and now in the British Museum).^[3465] It reads: Q · IVL · SENIS · CR | OCOD · AD · ASPR (crocodes, an ointment made from saffron). In 1902 some interesting graffiti were found on pottery at Graufesenque (cf. those given on p. 239), being apparently notes made by the potters, such as VINAR(ia), ACET(abula), TAR(ichos), and so on, as well as the names of the potters and the quantity of the contents in each case.^[3466] But it is not possible to ascertain the forms corresponding to the names given in graffito.

Some peculiarities of the potters’ stamps may be noted among those from Westerndorf and Rheinzabern, in which certain combinations occur on the same vase.^[3467] Thus at Westerndorf we find:

at Rheinzabern:

The names Comitialis and Cerialis are found on stamps interspersed among the designs, and therefore made with the vase in the mould, but those with CSS occur on the rim, and were therefore added subsequently. It will be noted from the above examples that the names like Comitialis—Primitivos is another instance—are common to more than one fabric, but those in the second series are peculiar to one; the latter, therefore, refer to the actual potter (figulus), the former to the designer of the decoration (sigillarius), whose moulds were employed in more than one place. It is an interesting parallel to the ἔγραψεν and ἐποἰησεν of the Greek vases. This conclusion receives additional confirmation from the discovery of certain types of decoration both at Rheinzabern and Westerndorf, showing that there was a system of exchange between the two potteries.^[3469] The name CSS is only found at Westerndorf, and it has been supposed that it denotes C. Septimius Secundianus, a name which occurs in the neighbourhood. The name of Comitialis is found on a vase from London in the British Museum, presumably imported from Germany.^[3470]

Representations of potters are not unknown in Gaulish art; and there are also allusions to them in inscriptions. Some are depicted wearing the tunic only, and thereby proclaiming their servile condition; others wear the cloak also, as for instance one Casatus Caratius, fictiliarius, who is represented on a stele at Metz holding a fluted vase like those made in black ware.^[3471] On another, L. Aurelius Sabinus is represented, with an amphora, olla, and lagena in the background, and an inscription which runs, L. Aurelius Sabinus doliarius fecit sibi et suis.^[3472] Several inscriptions found in Germany speak of negotiatores artis cretariae, and may be assumed to refer to what we should call “commercial travellers“ or “agents” for the sale of the finer wares. In an inscription found at Wiesbaden Secundus Agricola is mentioned in this capacity, and in another from Dornburg, Secundinus Silvanus, a native of Britain.^[3474] M. Messius Fortunatus, whose name actually occurs on pottery, is described in inscriptions as being also pavimentarius (road-maker) and paenalarius (cloak-maker).^[3475]

Apart from the potters’ stamps, some interesting inscriptions have been found on the vases from Rottenburg in Germany. There are examples with the names of the consuls for A.D. 237, Didius Caelius Balbinus and M. Clodius Pupienus Maximus (the first year of their reign).^[3476] Others have the names of the legions stationed in the colonia of Sumlocene or Solicinium, which this site represents, with the dates A.D. 169 (LOCEN ·A · V · C · MLVI), 248 (C · STI · A · V· C · CDI), and 303, and the names of the twenty-first and twenty-second legions.^[3477] Incised inscriptions on Roman pottery are common throughout the provinces, as the pages of the Corpus indicate, but are more usually found on the plain wares than on the terra sigillata. Among the more interesting examples is a vase in the Louvre, of the first century after Christ, on the neck of which is incised GENIO TVRNACENSIVM, “To the Genius of Turnacum” (Tournay)^[3478]; another found at Ickleton in Cambridgeshire^[3479] had (ex ho)C AMICI BIBVNT, “Friends are they who drink from this”; a third from Leicester, VERECVNDA LVDIA LVCIVS GLADIATOR, supposed to refer to a love-token or present from a gladiator to his mistress.^[3480] A vase of black ware from Taplow, Bucks, in the British Museum has a Greek inscription.

We next come to the discussion of the vases decorated in the method known as en barbotine.^[3481] This is exceedingly rare in Italy, and it is probable that the vases there found are importations; the process seems to have been invented in Gaul or Germany, and the only parallel thereto in earlier ceramic art is in the method employed for the gilded vases of the fifth and fourth centuries (see Vol. I. p. 210). At its first appearance it occurs on vases of common grey or black unglazed ware, found at Andernach with coins of Claudius and Nero,^[3482] but by the end of the first century it is also employed on glazed wares, red or black, and even on the enamelled glazed vases of Gallic or German origin. The ornamentation is at first exceedingly simple, consisting of plain leaves, chains of rings, or raised knobs, as on the examples found in Italy; but it developed rapidly, and the patterns become very varied. Its chief merit is that it is essentially a free, not a mechanical method, and some of the specimens from the Rhine and Britain have really effective compositions of animals and interwoven scrolls. Even human figures find a place; but towards the end of its popularity the ornamentation encroaches upon and finally ousts the figure subjects, and degeneration is manifested in artificiality and crowding of detail. In the earlier examples there is a marked preference for a slip presenting a contrast of colour to the clay, and we find white used on red and black ware, brown on buff ware (early German vases in the form of human heads), and so on.^[3483]

In Gaul, barbotine is limited to subsidiary decorative patterns, and is never used for figures as in Germany and Britain (see below and p. 544); it is very common in the North of France. At Lezoux it was employed in the earlier period of that pottery (A.D. 50-100) for simple leaf-patterns, in the later (A.D. 100-260) to complete the decoration of vases with appliqué reliefs (p. 529).^[3484]

The black glazed wares decorated en barbotine are characteristic of the second century, and extend down to the fourth.^[3485] The clay is actually red, with thin walls, but is covered with a black or dark-brown varnish, often with a metallic lustre, which when too much baked turns to red, and thus presents the appearance of terra sigillata. The barbotine is either of the same colour as the clay, the varnish being subsequently added over it, or composed of white or yellow slip and applied after the varnish. The decoration usually takes the form of leaves or scrolls, or of simple raised knobs; but figures of dogs, hares, and deer are found, and occasionally men.

On the red or terra sigillata wares the barbotine process is not found earlier than the middle of the first century; there is none, for instance, at Andernach. It is practically unknown in Italy, and a few fragments from that country in the Louvre and Dresden Museums are probably importations. Moreover, it is confined to forms which only appear with the development of the provincial potteries. The earliest specimens are found with coins of the Flavian epoch at Trier and Xanten; it occurs also in Germany and Britain, and there are examples at Speier from Rheinzabern, but it does not seem to have been made at Westerndorf. The ornamentation is very limited in its scope, and from a strictly artistic point of view it was not really suited for any but simple patterns of leaves (especially those of the ivy or of lanceolate form) or for running animals. Figures of hunters, gladiators, or bestiarii are occasionally found. From the very nature of the process no fine details were possible, and all must be executed in long, thin, and soft lines. Sometimes, however, scrolls in barbotine were combined with figures of men and animals made from moulds, as on the Lezoux ware described below (p. 529). Potters’ stamps are rare, but Dragendorff gives examples from Cologne, Bonn, and Speier.^[3486] It has been pointed out by the same authority that the influence of glass technique is strongly marked, not only in the method, which suggests the imitation of threads and lumps of spun glass, but also in the forms, which frequently occur in the provincial glass ware of the period, then rising into prominence.^[3487] Examples of British barbotine ware are given on Plate LXIX.

The other method of decoration to which we have alluded, that of indented ornamentation, is undoubtedly an imitation of glass technique, and the forms (flasks and small cups or bowls without feet or handles, of ovoid or spherical form) are equally characteristic of that material.^[3488] The decoration consists of linear patterns and sharply-cut ornaments in the shape of an olive or barley-corn, often combined with naturalistic foliage. This ware may be dated by coins between A.D. 100 and 250; there are no examples with potters’ stamps, but it seems to have been made at Lezoux, Trier, and Westerndorf, and exported to Britain and elsewhere.