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CENTRAL ITALIAN LEAD.GLAZED WARE

Among the various groups of lead-glazed wares of the

Roman world there is one that has received attention as a

class only recently, although isolated pieces were

published occasionally over the years. It can be

recognized by a fine sea-grcen glaze almost invariably

covering the outside of the vessels and by a yellow glaze

often on the inside, while the paste is white, occasionally

with black grits and always with white ones' As we shall

see, its origin is to be found on the Tyrrhenian side ofcentral Italy and its floruit placed in the second and thirdcenturies A.D. Here I wish to speak in particular of the

characteristics that distinguish this class from other lead-

glazed products and to place it in a possible line ofevolution.

My comments are based on a large ensemble offragments of lead-glazed ware found in excavations

carried out in the 1970s at the Terme del Nuotatore at

Ostia (cf. Panella 1984, 205-208, for preliminary

information on the excavation; Martin 1992, for a

preliminary report on the lead-glazed ware). The

stratigraphic sequence, dated from the Flavian period tothe Severii, contained almost four hundred lead-glazed

fragments. Compared to some 4500 pieces of sigillata and

red-slip ware from the same layers, the lead-glazed ware

is more frequent than in other contexts, although the large

number found also reflects the abundance of finds of allsorts. Most of these stratified pieces were in late Antonine

layers. Besides the pieces from the stratigraphic sequence

nearly two hundred more, found in disturbed layers, can

be used for comparative purposes. The size of thisensemble allows a more ample discussion than the fewpieces normally found.

The origin of the class in Latium or Campania has been

established with some certainty by scientific analyses,

although no kiln site or wasters have been found as yet. Inthe most complete analyses, a petrographic and

mineralogical investigation conducted on several samples

from the Terme del Nuotatore context, a small grouppresented a clean marly clay with a few micaceousparticles, augite and small calcareous grits, while most ofthem had a more generic marly clay with a good deal ofsmall calcareous grits: the former gives a good fit with the

area from the middle Tiber valley to Rome, and the latteris not incompatible with Latium (Martin 1992, 324;Sfrecola L992,584,587). Another analysis carried out on

a group that contained a fragment from these layers at

Ostia suggested an origin somewhere in the neighborhood

of Rome with clay formed from degraded travertine(Arthur 1979, 392-397). The results of a thirdinvestigation that once again included pieces from thiscontext indicate generically Latium or Campania, withperhaps a preference for the latter (Desbat 1986, 110;

Picon-Desbat 1986, 125-127). As far as Campania is

concerned, it should be noted, however, that the

description of the paste of a piece found at Pompeii and

considered to be produced in the neighborhood of Naples

does not correspond well to the pieces from Ostia(Soricelli 1988,248).

This class was produced for a longer period than has

sometimes been suspected. The material from the AreaNE of the Terme del Nuotatore indicates that itsproduction began at least in the second half of the firstcentury, as the Flavian layers contained twelve fragments

of the class. There is also some evidence for a continuityof production in the third to fifth centuries between thisclass and the late antique lead-glazed vessels consideredto have been produced in the area of Rome (Meneghini-Staffa 1992, 33O-339; Paroli 1992b, 34-35).

The area of distribution of this lead-glazed ware issurprisingly vast (cf. Martin 1992, 329, for basicreferences). It occurs throughout the westernMediterranean: in particular in the Tyrrhenian area of theItalian peninsula (now also Luni: Lusuardi Siena -Sannazaro 1992, ll0) and on the southern French coast

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and in the Rh6ne valley but also in Spain and Africa. It isto be found occasionally also on eastern Mediterraneanones like Paphos (J.W. Hayes: personal communciation)'Finally it turns up occasionally on northern sites as farafield as England. Hungary might also belong to the

distribution area: Arthur 1979,394, appears on the basis

of a published drawing to think central ltaly the likelyorigin of a piece from Sz6kesfeh6rvi{r, while Hungarian

scholars are oriented toward northern Italy or Gaul for the

early pieces imported to Pannonia (B6nis 1990, 36;

Bark6czi 1992,7), which seems probable as none of the

vessels displayed in the exhibition at Sz6kesfeh6rvdr and

presented in Glasierte Keramik 1992 could be called

unequivocably central Italian. This ware is therefore,

together with decorated Late Italian Sigillata, one of the

latest ceramic creations of Roman Italy to have a certain

commercial success outside its strictly local market'

Research is still needed on the mechanisms of change inthe Italian and provincial markets of the period in order to

explain the phenomenon.Another interesting feature of this central Italian lead-

glazed ware is its position in the functional range ofvessels. It has been said'that there is no functional relation

between the late antique or early mediaeval lead-glazed

vessels that are utilitarian, often used for cooking, and the

earlier imperial wares that imitate'metal vessels and are

considered luxurious products (cf, for example, Mannoni

1992, zL)..It seems to me, however, that this class goes

some way to constituting a bridge between the two

contrasting groups.The general opinion considering the products of the

early workshops .in Asia Minor in particular but also

elsewhere, such as in northern Italy, to be precious objects

(cf., for example, Maccabruni 1987, 174; "ceramica fine

da mensa a spiccato carattere suntuario") is undoubtedlycorrect, at least as far as ceramic vessels can be precious.

They are inspired by metal vessels in their forms and

decorations (cf. among others: Jones 1945, 45-47);

CrnnrnsroN 1955, 24-25; Gabelmann 197 4, 265). They

are almost always obtained from molds (Maccabruni

1987, 168). Other influences discerned come only in part

from ceramic sources and are all connected with fine

wares: glass and objects in semiprecious stone, as well as

Megarian bowls and Eastern Terra Sigillata (HocHULI-

Gvsel- 1977, 13, 143-144). In short, this class stands

somewhat apart from other classes of pottery'While central Italian lead- glazed ware presents the

metallic gretn and yellow color scheme of the earlierproducts, the vessels of this class are decidedly less noble

products. This is borne out both by the decorations and

forms documented.As far as decoration is concerned, the Ostian group

conffasts greatly wilh the earlier pieces. First of all, only

about an eighth of the vessel from the Terme del

Nuotatore context bears any decoration at all. Furthermore

just a third of the decorated pieces presents the reliefmolding (fig. l), typical of vessels inspired by metalprototypes, found on the earlier wares. To the vessels withdecorations derived from models in metal can be addedseveral pieces with appliqu6s. Some vessels decoratedwith a sort of grooving (fig.2) could reflect metal or glass

models (cf. Arthur 1979, 392, for comparative material).However, most decorations are of types specific to potteryand especially common on thin-walled cups and beakers:

barbotine (fi7. 3) and pinecone motifs (7tgg. 4, 5,1) (cf.Ricci 1985, 320-343, for such decorations). Of thesepinecone niotifs, known also on Italian sigillata wherethey could be a borrowing from thin-walled pottery (Pucci

1985, 398: XLI[; Conspectus, form 50, 5, 1), dominate(ft7. l, Martin 1992, fig. 6; fig. 3: Martin 1992, fig.7).Thus the scarcity of decorated pieces in the central Italianlead-glazed ware and the sort of decoration found indicatea move away from the extreme dependence on metalprototypes of the earlier wares and a closer relationship toother classes of ceramics.

-The forms documented in the find at the Terme delNuotatore bear out the contrast with the older productsseen in the decorations. The most common forms are

plates; bowls, jars and lamps. Pitchers and cups are

somewhat less frequent. Among the rarer pieces there are

a couple of inkwells. Thus the vessels are not limited to afew forms and types, particularly ones for drinking,directly inspired by models in metal (cf. Gabelmann 1974,266, for this sort of vessel as a sign of the luxurious natureof the earlier lead-glazed ware). Rather they cover therange of vessels found in sigillata, thin-walled pottery and

coarse tableware. Many types are specific to the class (as

Desbat 1986, 107, comments) and recur on various sites,

although comparisons can be found in other classes. Thereis, for instance, a cup (fi7. 5,1) that has close equivalentsin thin-walled pottery, of which at least some exampleswere perhaps produced in Campania (fiq. 5,2 = Ricci1985, tav. XCV, 5, tipo 21391) (Ricci 1985, 296-297). Apitcher (fiq. 6,1) can be compared to a coarse-ware type

found at Ostia (/rg. 6,2 = Ostia I, 318). The pinched straphandles that occur on various vessels (fi55. 1,1; 4,1; 5,1)and must have an ultimate metallic derivation, althoughthey are found also on glass (Isings 1957,55, form 39):however, they occur as well on contemporary coarse-warepottery produced in the area of Rome (ftg. 6,3 = Ostia II,2102). The lamps can be attributed to contemporary typesproduced in Italy: lamps with volute nozzles and lampswith rounded nozzles. The presence of a fragment of a

statuette indicates connections with the producers offigurines. The central Italian lead-glazed ware differs,therefore, from the'earlier wares in having both a widerrange of forms and closer connections with otler, notnecessarily fine, ceramic classes.

Thus we see central Italian lead-glazed ware behavingvery much as other classes of pottery do. It develops its

64

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67

own, admittedly heterogeneous, repertoire of forms. Itaccepts the occasional inspiration from related ceramicwares both in morphology and decoration. In neither fielddoes it ape metal prototypes, which is underlined by thevery scarcity of decorated vessels. The vessels producedfit well among the fine and semi-fine ceramic wares of thetime: if it is conceivable that the earlier lead-glazed waresfrom Asia Minor could have attracted the inter.gst ofAtticus and Cicero (as Jones 1945 wishes to prove) no one

could imagine the same of the central Italian ware. Theimpression is that lead-glazing lost something of its earlierluxurious character as the technology became morefamiliar; it is worth noting that a similar process can beseen in glass at about the same time (Isings 1957, 163-164). In this sense central Italian lead-glazed wareprovides not only a chronological and technical link butalso to some extent a functional one between the earlyluxurious lead-glazed wares and the late utilitarian ones.

Arthur 1979

Buk6czi 1992

B6nis 1990

CHenr.BsroN rsssConspectus

Desbat 1986

Gabelmann 1974Glasierte Keramik

Hocsulr-GvsgL 1977

IsNcs rsszJones 1945

Lusuardi Siena - Sannazaro 1992

Maccabruni 1987

Mannoni 1992

Martin 1992

Meneghini-Staffa 1992

Panella 1984

Paroli 1992a

Paroli 1992b

Picon-Desbat 1986

Pucci 1985

Ricci 1985

Sfrecola 1992

Soricelli 1988

. BIBLIOGRAPITY

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E.B, BONIS, A mdzas kenimia Pannonidban. Elfuzmdnyek is gtdrtdsi kdzpontok. Die glasierte Keramik inPannonien. Entwicklung und Erzeugungszentren. Abft,CXVII, 24-38.

R. J: CHAnLESTON, Roflan Pottery.London.Conspectus formirun terrae sigilkilae ltalico modo confectae. Materialien zur rcimisch-germanischen

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H. GeSfI-N{nNN,Zur hellenistisch-riimischen Bleiglasurkeramit. JDAI, LXXXX, 260-307.Glasierte Keramik in Pannonien. Ausstellungskatalog. Sz6kesfeh6wir, 1992.

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G. PUCCI, Terra sigillata italica. Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica Classica e Orientale, Atlante delle formeceramiche II. Ceramica fine romana nel bacino mediterraneo (tardo ellenismo e primo Impero). Rom4359-406.

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