Terracotta pottery is fired at similar temperatures as earthenware but is unglazed firing to brownish red/red color. Ancient Romans produced many terracotta types in Italy and Roman African Provinces (Proconsularis) from 146BCE – 698 CE fired at 800 to 1200 degrees. Most Roman terracotta pieces were utilitarian simple unadorned everyday pieces, some with etched or stamped designs. In India terracotta pottery has been significant in cultural, religious and artistic traditions for centuries. Terracotta images are considered spiritual, mystical and auspicious as Hindus believe terracotta incorporates the five natural elements of air, fire, earth, water and metal and has been use for votive statues and religious items.
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Small solid clay earthenware terracotta figures have been found in many Majapahit period sites and were finished with carved or incised decorations. The powerful Majapahit Empire spanning the 13th-16th centuries was Hinduism based, centered on the island of Java and extended from present-day Indonesia to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Southern-Thailand, and the Philippines. Trowulan was the…
Oenochoe, the Greek word for wine vessel or jug, is a category of ancient Greek pottery with different variants. Copied and modified by ancient cultures, this earthenware pouring vessel was made in a pottery center in the Roman North Africa territory called Africa Proconsulares and exported throughout the empire. Made using a potter’s wheel and…
This elegant ancient-pottery Judean vessel is an elegant single-handle amphoriskos (literally a “small amphora,”). It dates from the Holy Land during the first Jewish Biblical-Period in Judea circa the 8th to 6th century BCE, the later time of the presence of the first Jewish Temple in the ancient Levant. An ancient Greek inspired vessel, amphora…
Artisans in the Roman Empire created varying local styles of terracotta figurines of gods and goddesses for placement on home shrines. This figure holding a jar represents Haroprates the ancient Greek god of silence and secrets. He may be an image of a royal and temple cult since he wears a double crown that symbolized…
This ancient-pottery juglet was created in the Holy Land and Levant during the Biblical Period likely under Herod the Great, king of ancient Judea or later in the Herodian Period (37BCE- 73CE). It is a terracotta earthenware juglet pouring vessel and utilitarian piece that held perfume or other costly oils, ointments or cosmetics. The globular…
This large terracotta kiln made piece is a Roman Empire serving platter in a technique called ARS (African Red Slip). Created in the Roman North Africa territory named Africa Proconsularis, it is a remarkable piece decorated with circular rings with perfect ridges as it was made using a pottery wheel. Its rim is articulated, a…
This ancient pottery lekanis is from Apulia in Magna Graecia, the Roman name for the South Italy coastal area colonized by the Greeks in the 6th century B.C.E. Greek settlers arrived with their Hellenic culture intact and had much influence on Italian civilization. A lekanis was a highly decorated low shallow bowl with close-fitting top…
This terracotta figurine from Alexandria in the Roman Egypt depicting a female holding a young child was probably placed in a home shrine to provide favors and protection. Although it is difficult to identify specific deities, this figure is probably a kourotrophos (meaning woman nurturing a child) –a female mortal or deity figurine with an…
This earthenware cup is called a beaker, a term used by archeologists to describe small cups without a handle and held in the hands similar to Japanese ceramic teacups that also warm one’s hands. Items like this were made in Africa Proconsularis, the Roman North Africa pottery center and distributed throughout the Roman Empire). Using…
Small solid clay earthenware terracotta figures have been found in many Majapahit period sites primarily finished with carved and/or incised decorations. The powerful Majapahit Empire spanning the 13th-16th centuries was Hindu based, centered on the island of Java and extended from present-day Indonesia to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Southern-Thailand, and the Philippines. Trowulan was the empire’s…
Although most famous for Christian burials, people of all religions were interred in the catacombs due to a shortage of land and demand for burial space after a switch from cremations to underground burials in the 2nd century A.D. Roman made closed earthenware terracotta lamps became the dominant oil lamp style in the Roman world…
The cow in Hinduism represents divine goodness and generosity, is venerated, protected and sanctified in India and is associated with Hindu deities such as Shiva whose mount (vahana) is the bull Nandi and with some goddesses because of their beneficent maternal traits. Earthenware terracotta pottery has played a significant role in the cultural, religious and…
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