Potter
L. Tettius Samia
Roman (active 20 BCE - 10 CE) Primary

Arretine Terra Sigillata Cup Base Fragment

Augustan-Tiberian
10 BCE - 37 CE

11/16 in. x 3 1/2 in. x 3 5/16 in. (1.8 cm x 8.9 cm x 8.4 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• cups - Open bowl-shaped vessels, used chiefly for drinking, often having one handle, but sometimes two handles or none, generally on a low foot-ring; also includes similar bowl-shaped vessels, generally without handles, resting on a stem and supported by a spreading foot. Occasionally made with a lid.
• sherds - Limited to fragments of pottery or glass.
• stamping - Marking the surface of an object by applying pressure with a tool, for example, transferring an ink mark to paper or embossing soft clay; also, applying preprinted labels such as postage stamps that substitute for official stamped marks. In bookbinding, distinguished from "blocking", in which pressure is applied by a machine.
• Terra sigillata - Refers a style used in fine pottery of Italy, Gaul, and Germany, and throughout the Roman Empire from the first century BCE to the third century CE. It developed from the traditions of ancient Greek pottery in the use of calcitic clays rich in iron compounds to produce a glossy surface, but it differs from Greek pottery in employing a single-phase firing in an open kiln. It is characterized by its red color, smooth finish, and sometimes by decorations of stamped figures or patterns. The term was coined in the ninteenth century, and historically there has been disagreement regarding to which pottery it applies, stemming from various interpretations of the term as either "stamped earth," with reference to the stamped designs, or "sealed earth" with reference to an astringent, fatty, medicinal bole called "terra sigillata," from the island of Lemnos, that was thought to be the clay from which the pottery was made. Further confusion has surrounded the relationship of this term and "Samian ware" or "Samian."