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. This kind of pottery is characterised by its glossy red/orange surface slip, often featuring relief decoration, which was modelled, embossed, or applied. Red slipware 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.
The Book of Jonah revolves around its namesake, Jonah, and details his reluctance to the prophesy the destruction of Nineveh to its people, as commanded by God, by choosing to flee instead. Whilst attempting to escape his divine mission by ship, Jonah is cast off and swallowed by a ‘big fish’, or whale. After three days and three nights inside the stomach of the fish, Jonah repents and is allowed by God to continue on his mission.