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Roman Handling Box Objects
(by Sally-Ann Ashton)

Introduction

Handling Guidelines

UC 34343, Ceramic jug

UC 56554, Ceramic Bowl

UC 8455, Plaster mould

UC 47390, faience waster

UC 50856, Ceramic oil lamp

UC 2445, Steatite dish

UC 40589, Bone hairpin

UC 34344, Terracotta figurine

UC 34246, Glass bead

UC 22814 b, Glass inlay

UC 56555 Bronze figure of Bastet

 

Introduction

The Roman handling box contains 11 objects from Roman Egypt and is intended as a general introduction to the types of everyday objects, often found on archaeological excavations, and which illustrate the various manufacturing techniques used during this period.  Objects have been selected in order to allow the users to obtain a greater understanding of key themes such as religious developments during the Imperial Roman occupation of Egypt, and can be used with other parts of the collection on display, to illustrate changes and developments in material culture.  It is intended that both undergraduate and postgraduate students of Egyptology and classical archaeology can use this material; for the latter group the focus does not necessarily have to be Egypt, since many of the manufacturing techniques that are illustrated by the objects were used elsewhere in the Roman world.  We recommend that no more than 10 people should be involved in the handling session.  For those less familiar with the period brief descriptions of the objects, comparable material in the Petrie Museum, and possible points for discussion can be found below.

For further enquiries or to book a handling session please contact the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology:

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7679 2884

Fax: +44 (0)20 7679 2886

E-mail: petrie.museum@ucl.ac.uk

For a map of the museum’s location please go to: http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/visit.html

Handling Guidelines

  1. Gloves must be worn when handling objects.  Please ensure that you wear the correct size.
  2. Any jewellery that may damage objects, such as rings, watches or bracelets should be removed.  Also be especially careful with loose clothing.
  3. All objects should be handled with care and treated with respect.  A tray will be issued with the collection on which objects can be placed whilst passing individual pieces to the next person.  A single object should be placed on the tray, which should remain on the table as it is moved along to the next person; the object should also be held whilst the tray is moved along the table, thus preventing people dropping objects as they are passed on. 
  4. Objects must be held close to the tabletop, over the tray when being handled.
  5.  Do not use pens or pencils, which may stain the objects.
  6. Do not try to remove any dust or dirt that appears on the objects.
  7. Always use two hands and cradle the objects.
  8. Do not pick up vessels by their handles, always support objects at their heaviest point.
UC 34343, Ceramic jug

                                   

Wheelmade jug with a single handle and small spout; there are pronounced ridges on the outer wall, which is typical of Late Roman closed pottery forms.  The belly is uneven and the handle crudely modelled.  The neck and shoulder appear to have been made separately.  There are traces of bitumen on the outer walls of the vessel and around the inner lip; there are also traces of plaster or a white coat of slip, which may have acted as a base for a stronger colour.  The clay is Nile silt.  Late Roman.

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

For other Roman pottery, see case PC 35, and compare different types of ware: i.e. fine and coarse.

Points to note:

Firing and difference of colours

Function:  possibly a water or wine jug, of a commonly used domestic type.

Wheel marks on the inner and outer walls are clearly visible, thus showing method of manufacture.

UC 56554, Ceramic Bowl

 

Wheelmade ceramic bowl, possibly part of group 103 at Hawara (Compare W.M.F. Petrie, Roman Portraits and Memphis IV 1911, pl. XXV.25 and 16). 

This type of small bowl may also have been used as a lid.  The inverted rim is associated with the Hellenistic echinus bowl, which begins in the fourth century BC in fine-wares and continues to the first century AD. This example compares well to the profile drawings in Roman Portraits and Memphis volume IV.  The fabric, which is not noted in the original publication, is typical of that from Roman Dakhleh: Field Reports/Preliminary Pottery Report Form PS 26, Hope fabric 2.  The echinus bowl is dated by Petrie to the “Roman Period” and comparable material from Kellis in the Dakhleh Oasis has been dated to the early Roman Period (S.F. Pattern, ‘Report on the study of the ceramics: 1993-1994 seasons’, in C.A. Hope and A.J. Mills Dakhleh Oasis Project: Preliminary Reports on 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 Seasons (Oxford 1999).  The Petrie Museum bowl probably dates from the late first century BC to early first century AD.

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

The Petrie Museum houses several fragments and complete vessels from Dakhleh, from where pottery was exported to sites in and around the Faiyum.  On display in case PC 36 is a water vessel, UC 19456, which was found at Ehnasya and dates to the fourth century AD.  This form of water jar is still produced today in the Oasis, see also modern Islamic ceramics from Al-Qasr and Field Reports/Comparative Ceramics  (display case X).  For Ptolemaic examples of this form of bowl see pottery case 33 for, and case 34, especially UC 19384.

Points to note:

Firing and difference of colours pink to buff

Wheel marks on the inner and outer walls are clearly visible, thus showing method of manufacture.

Plaster adhered to the outer wall, may indicate possible usage

Uneven base indicates method of removal from wheel Methods of recording pottery: see Field Reports/Preliminary Pottery Report

For manufacturing techniques use with:

UC 34343, ceramic jug

UC 50856, ceramic oil lamp

UC 8455, mould for a lamp

UC 47390, faience waster

For Hawara use with:

UC 34344, terracotta figure

UC 8455, Plaster mould

                             

Plaster mould for a ceramic oil lamp from Ehnasya (W.M.F. Petrie, Ehnasya and Supplement (1905) pl. LVI.b).  Compare the ‘loop lamps’* on pl. LXI.  Some lamps in the Hellenistic/Ptolemaic period were wheelmade, most in the Roman period were made in two halves, which were pressed into a mould and then joined.  This mould would have formed the top section of an oil lamp.  Such moulds were also used for manufacturing faience vessels and figures, terracotta figurines, metal objects and were often reused with the result that some of the moulded objects have a clearer impression than others. Mid Ptolemaic (Mid Second century BC). 

*So-called because of the tongue-shaped design radiating at the oil hole in the centre of the lamp.

Points to note: The harder, outer section of the mould to protect the more detailed modelling at the core.  Access holes around the edges of the mould in order to facilitate the release of the clay.  

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

Plaster was also used extensively in the Ptolemaic Period for sculptors’ models or votive representations of the ruler (UC 28711 in Case I) and from Saqqara in case WEC 8.  A plaster trial piece or model for a late Ptolemaic ruler can be found in case IC 19 along with a mould for a metal double uraeus.  

Discussion:

W.M.F. Petrie, Ehnasya and Supplement (1905) 4-14 for Petrie’s lamp typology.  Although many of the dates that were allocated on stylistic grounds are now known to be incorrect, Petrie’s method of forming a typological series are used today for vessels and lamps. 

For manufacturing techniques use with:

UC 50856 ceramic oil lamp

UC 47390, faience waster

UC 34344, terracotta figure

Selective Bibliography:

Compare D.M. Bailey A catalogue of lamps in the British Museum volume 3: Roman provincial lamps (1988) 254, pl. 54 fig. 155, Q2090: Probably 2nd to 3rd century AD

J.W. Hayes Ancient Lamps in the Royal Ontario Museum. A catalogue. 1. Greek and Roman clay lamps 206, pl. 48.413: 1st to 2nd century AD.

 UC 47390, faience waster

Faience waster from Kom Helul, Memphis.  These are fragments of faience amphorae, which have mis-fired and collapsed upon one another.  The turquoise-blue colour of the glaze is typical of the Imperial Roman period.  The darker blue, which is preserved underneath is found on earlier faience or glazed wear vessels.  Although Petrie refers to the material as glazed pottery, the core of these vessels consists of ground quartz or sand, with added clay. This material was pressed into a mould, although some scholars have suggested that the wheel was also used.  The term faience comes from later Islamic pottery that has a similar glaze finish to the glazed wares; the correct term for the material illustrated here is glazed ware.  First century AD.    

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

Hellenistic and early Roman faience vessels can be found in case IC 19 and there are further examples in case M.

Discussion:

Wasters are an important clue to manufacturing processes and also for indicating kiln activity.  Discuss possible re-use of mis-fired pottery and objects. 

For manufacturing techniques use with:

UC 22814B, glass inlay

UC 34246, glass bead

UC 8455, plaster mould

Selective Bibliography:

F.D. Friedman (ed.), Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience (1998).

A. Kaczmarczyk and R.E.M. Hedges (eds), Ancient Egyptian Faience: An analytical survey of Egyptian faience from the Predynastic to Roman times.  (1988).

M-D. Nenna and M. Seif El-Din La vaiselle en faïence d’époque gréco-romaine IFAO Études alexandrines 4 (2000)

W.M.F. Petrie

Memphis I (1909): 14-15.

in E.B. Knobel, W.W. Midgley, J.G. Milne, M.A. Murray and W.M.F. Petrie Historical Studies (1911): 34-37

C. Taggart Journal of Libyan Studies 14 (1983) 152, no.7 (first century AD).

 

UC 50856, Ceramic oil lamp

                                                     

Ceramic oil lamp from Ehnasya; the top is moulded in the form of a frog whose four legs, head and body can be seen clearly, surrounding the oil hole.  Many of the so-called frog lamps are abstract in design and with a shorter nozzle.  A wick was placed in the hole at the end of the nozzle and oil would be poured into the lamp through the hole in the centre of the top, as can be seen from the burning around the nozzle.  The lamp was made in two separate halves and joined.  There is no potter’s mark on the base.  Late Ptolemaic - Early Roman. 

UC 34345 is illustrated here to show the potter’s mark on the base, in the form of an alpha.

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

For other Roman lamps see case WEC 9 and for Late Antique (Coptic) lamps see PC 37.  For the Dynasty XII lamps from Kahun see case WEC 3.

Points to discuss:

This type of lamp is manufactured exclusively in Egypt and in the third to fourth centuries AD.  Variations on the lone frog include: frog and corn, date and palm, boss lamps and arm lamps.  See W.M.F. Petrie, Ehnasya and Supplement (1905) 4-14 for Petrie’s lamp typology.  Although many of the dates that were allocated on stylistic grounds are now known to be incorrect, Petrie’s method of forming a typological series are used today for vessels and lamps. 

For manufacturing techniques use with:

UC 8455, lamp mould

UC 47390, faience waster

UC 34344, terracotta figure

UC 2445, Steatite dish

               

This steatite dish is decorated with two crocodiles decorating the inside and a finely carved wreath around the rim, with two sets of adjoining volutes forming handles at the sides.  In the centre of the outer face is a carved rosette, encircled by a wreath, and with a petal-like design radiating to the outer lip.  Opposite the heads of the crocodiles is a small nodule, possibly intended as a spout, although the top is now damaged.  This feature may offer a clue as to the function of this type of bowl, of which there are several examples in the Petrie Museum and also in the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria: athough it has been suggested that this type of palette may have been used for the preparation of make-up, several examples have representations of Isis and Sarapis decorating the inside.  If these objects served a religious function, the crocodiles may be associated with the Egyptian god Sobek.  First century AD (Datable from the representations of Sarapis and Isis on comparative examples).

Points to discuss:

Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, mentions the differences in the treatment of these animals in Histories Book II, 69-70: “Some of the Egyptians consider crocodiles sacred; others do not, but treat them as enemies. Those who live near Thebes and lake Moeris consider them very sacred.  Every household raises one crocodile, trained to be tame; they put ornaments of glass and gold on its ears and bracelets on its forefeet, provide special food and offerings for it, and give the creatures the best of treatment while they live; after death, the crocodiles are embalmed and buried in sacred coffins.  But around Elephantine they are not held sacred, and are even eaten. The Egyptians do not call them crocodiles, but khampsae. The Ionians named them crocodiles, from their resemblance to the lizards, which they have in their walls.  There are many different ways of crocodile hunting; I will write of the way that I think most worth mentioning. The hunter baits a hook with a hog's back, and lets it float into the midst of the river; he himself stays on the bank with a young live pig, which he beats.  Hearing the squeals of the pig, the crocodile goes after the sound, and meets the bait, which it swallows; then the hunters pull the line. When the crocodile is drawn ashore, first of all the hunter smears its eyes over with mud; when this is done, the quarry is very easily mastered -- no light matter, without that”.  

For Religion and Animal Cults use with:

UC 56555, bronze statuette of Bastet.

Bilbiography:  

WMF. Petrie, Objects of Daily Use (1927) pl. XXXIV, 24.

UC 40589, Bone hairpin

Bone hairpin with a plain, globular head; carved on a lathe and polished.  This type of hairpin is commonly found throughout the Roman and Late Antique periods.  They were worn by women and many of the complete examples have come from graves.  See for examples the head of a woman from Hawara; she wears two similar pins in her hair.  [Case WEC 10].  This particular example is more typical of the Roman period with its plain head and finely carved concentric lines around the neck: first to third century AD. 

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

Hawara case, where there are several examples on display.

UC 34344, terracotta figure of a woman.

Select Bibliography:

WMF. Petrie, Objects of Daily Use (1927) pl. XIX.40.

UC 34344, Terracotta figurine

                                   

Fragment of a terracotta figurine of a female.  Mould-made in two halves of Nile silt clay, and originally painted.  There are traces of a white plaster or lime wash on the surface and green paint on the necklace, which the subject wears.  Armlets and bracelets formed part of the mould and would have been painted.  The figure sits with the soles of her feet touching, knees splayed displaying her pubic triangle; her stomach is rounded and fleshy and her breasts are small.  Her arms are raised upwards, in a pose associated with prayer.   Probably late second century AD.  Although it is possible that clothes were painted onto the figure, the prominent pubic triangle might suggest that this figure was associated with fertility.

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

The terracotta figure of a woman (identified by Petrie as a doll) from Hawara, case WEC 10, UC 28002 and for Roman and Ptolemaic terracottas from Memphis see WEC 9.  Compare UC 8455, the plaster mould and UC 50856, mould-made ceramic oil lamp.

Points to discuss: Doll or goddess?  How can modern perceptions influence our interpretation of ancient material culture?  How was this made?  

Select Bibliography:

W.M.F. Petrie, Hawara, Biahmu and Arsinoe (1889) pl. XIX

S. Walker and M. Bierbrier, Ancient Faces. Mummy Portraits from Egypt (London 1997) 37-85 and 210-14.

UC 34246, Glass bead

                             

Dark blue glass bead with a white zig-zag decorating the outside.  The width is slightly uneven, as shown by the image above, and the decoration is not carefully applied.  Roman.

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

See Bead case 30, especially UC 51316.

Points to discuss: Compare the glass inlay below.  Do the beads on display necessarily come from groups? 

Select Bibliography:

H. C. Beck. The Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants (1927) [for names of forms and manufacturing techniques].

UC 22814 b, Glass inlay

This turquoise-blue glass inlay was probably originally from a decorative wooden shrine or box.  Other colours include dark blue and red, possibly imitating precious stones; this particular example is similar in appearance to turquoise.  The inlay appears to have been mould-made.  Second century AD (?), possibly from Denderah (see below).

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum: Case L UC 22812 and UC 22815 from Denderah.

Points to discuss: Compare the glass bead for manufacturing techniques.

UC 56555 Bronze figure of Bastet

Cast bronze figure of the goddess Bastet, who is often represented as a cat-headed woman, as here. Bastet, who is Egyptian in origin, was called the daughter of the sun god and was presented as a mother goddess.  Her principal cult centre was Bubastis in the Delta, and there was also a large temple to the goddess at Saqqara.   Although the goddess here is in Egyptian in style, she wears a short tunic, of a type worn in Imperial Rome.  In her right hand she holds a separately made image of a cat, which may be a later addition; in her left hand she holds a sistrum or rattle and there is a situla over her arm.  On the top of her head is a carved scarab, possibly originally inlaid, which refers to the solar cult.  Her left leg is placed forwards and her tail is attached to the base on which she stands; this was originally inserted into separately made metal or wooden base, possibly with an inscription naming the dedicator.  This type of object, i.e. Egyptian with Roman dress, is often found during the early Imperial period.  Emperors with hawk heads are sometimes made, associating the Roman rulers with Horus, in their role as pharaoh.  Roman, first to second century AD, provenance unknown, formerly part of the Langton Collection.

Comparanda in the Petrie Museum:

Animal burial and worship (see case WEC 9).

Points to discuss:

UC 8455-plaster mould, for manufacturing technique.  Private collections and excavated material (see the Langton cat collection in case WEC 9).

Select Bibliography:

S. Davies and H.S. Smith ‘Sacred Animal Temples at Saqqara’, in S. Quirke (ed.) The Temple in Ancient Egypt (London 1997).

N. Langton The Cat in Ancient Egypt, illustrated by the collection formed by N&B Langton (Cambridge 1940).

J. Malek The Cat in Ancient Egypt (London 1993).

                          

Plan of the Petrie Museum


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