Ancient Terracotta Carinated Flagon with Handle, Roman North Africa (3190BME) $625

$625.00

H: 8.5”  Dia: 9.75” | FREE SHIPPING!

Made in the Roman North Africa, this ancient ceramic flagon was made for the lower classes and called coarse wear. Used to hydrate all kinds of people and on home altars to make offerings to domestic family deities, it is a common ancient pottery shape having a handle and an angled edge around  the entire vessel.

Description

This is an excellent example of an earthenware carinated flagon made in a Roman-Empire ceramic production center in the Roman-North-Africa territory called Africa-Proconsularis. The word flagon is derived from the Greek word for flask and is a larger, taller variant of a Greek flask used for oils (lagynos). Wheel made for the lower classes, undecorated flagons were considered coarse wares, and this one is covered with a grey slip to enhance their appearance and lessen leakage. These ancient functional items were used to hydrate all kinds of people including laborers, field workers, ship rowers and army personnel. Its shape often occurs in ancient pottery cultures where the top and lower sections of a piece are angled in opposite directions to form a distinct edge extending around the vessel. Flagons were also used at Roman home altars for offerings to domestic family deities. In excellent condition for its age and long burial, this  has no visible cracks, breaks, repairs or restoration with expected scrapes, slip losses and clinging mineral deposits.

Sources

Kevin Green, Interpreting the Past, Roman Pottery, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1992.

Potsherd Atlas of Roman Pottery, North African Red Slip Ware, www/potsherd.net

 

Additional information

Weight 9 lbs
Dimensions 12 × 12 × 12 in
Place of Origin

Ancient Mediterranean

Period

Ancient, Roman Empire

Date

1st-3rd Century C.E.

Materials and Technique

Earthenware

Dimensions (inches)

Ht: 8.5” Dia: 9.75”

Dimensions (metric)

Ht: 21.59cm Dia: 24.76cm

Weight

2 lbs 7 oz

Condition

Excellent, See Descripton

Reference Number

3190BME

Shipping Box Size