African Red Slipware Fragment with Prophet

£ 250.00

A finely rendered fragment of an Ancient Roman red slipware from North Africa. The fragment features an almost complete relief of a standing figure in a beard and toga, quite possibly representing a Christian prophet. The fragment is slightly concave, showing that the image would have been on the inside of a bowl. The piece also features a simple border of shallow grooves running parallel to the bowl’s edge, as well as a partially visible Chi-Rho monogram to the left border.

Date: Circa 1st-3rd century AD
Condition: Fragmentary.

SOLD

Product Code: RES-91
Category: Tags: ,

Fragments of this type are usually referred as African Red Slipware fragments, and they were specific of the African province of the Roman Empire. Most pottery workshops are known from modern Tunisia and Algeria, and they were active from the 1st century until the 7th century AD. African Red Slipware is identified as the final development of terra sigillata, from the Latin, meaning ‘sealed earth’. Terra sigillata was a form of Roman red slipware pottery, which was developed around the mid-1st century BC, both for domestic use and export. These pieces were modelled on the lathe directly in the matrix, on which decorative motifs were hollowed out and then impressed on the smooth body of the vessel, appearing therefore in relief. Sometimes the decorative motifs in relief would have been applied to the vessel by using very liquid clay. One of the most important centres of production was the Italian city of Arretium (modern day Arezzo). However, terra sigillata wares were produced also in Gaul and later in North Africa and Asia Minor. Terra sigillata vessels were often decorated in accordance with traditional Greco-Roman tastes, presenting images of classical mythology, hunting scenes and divine figures. Early Christian and Jewish iconographies, as seen on this fine example, were also a popular motif.

To discover more about Terra Sigillata, please visit our relevant blog post: Terra Sigillata, Clay Baring Little Images.

Dimensions H 9.5 cm
Pottery

Terracotta

Region

North Africa

Christian Ideology

Old Testament, Prophet