An excellent Roman red ware bowl with a hunting scene moulded into the bottom. This bowl has thin convex walls and a wide flat base. The hunting scene shows a ring of animals, with two trees dividing the chase into pairs; on the right are a lion and a leopard and on the left is a deer and wolf. In the centre is a deer. All animals look to be running or leaping, adding a sense of movement to the composition. The bowl was used to hold fine food, possibly meat, connecting to the hunting scene depicted. The outside of the bowl is undecorated. This style of red-ware, with applied applique decoration, was common in North Africa, with workshops in Tunisia.
Date: Circa 5th - 4th century AD Condition: Excellent. Professionally repaired.
The bowl is made with terra sigillata technique (from Latin meaning ‘sealed earth) of north African provenance and constituted a precious kind of fine ware, reserved for the elites as a way to display prestige at banquets and dinner parties. The pottery is categorised by its orange/red colour and shiny surface. Red slip ware became popular around the first century AD and by the third century it was the most popular type of tableware used in the Late Roman household. Dishes or other pottery made in this style were influenced by religion and mythology, with earlier pieces favouring the Roman gods and legends, and later pieces depicting early Christian saints and other biblical scenes. Hunting scenes were usual Roman decorations, with the addition of ‘exotic’ animals such as lions, panthers or elephants being a common addition to the decorations.