Ashmolean Museum: Presentations: Ancient Cyprus - Highlights

		Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology
		Presentations
		Ancient Cyprus in the Ashmolean Museum

	Highlights of the Collection: Mass-Market Tableware of the Late Roman Period
	Mass-Market Tableware of the Late Roman Period: Introduction	(Page 1 of 5)

Red ware jugs (AN1935.580, AN1896-1908.C.169, AN1896-1908.C.18) Fine tableware in later antiquity would have been made of metal (gold, silver and bronze), or carved from precious stones including rock crystal. However not everyone could afford such vessels, and even those who could would not have used them for all purposes. Instead a wide range of ‘everyday' domestic products were also used. This tradition was particularly prevalent during the late roman period, when good quality ‘mass-market' products were widely available throughout the empire.

Pottery was the most common form of everyday tableware during that period, and pottery with a glossy red colour was particularly popular, as it resembled the gold vessels used in the upper levels of society. (Black pottery imitated patinated silver vessels and green pottery imitated bronze ones). Other forms of ‘everyday' late roman table were made of glass, and even pewter, and these forms also often imitated the more expensive products.

Left: Red ware jug. Gift of T. Burton Brown (AN1935.580).
Middle: Red ware jug from Amathus, gift of the Trustees of the British Museum (AN1896-1908.C.169).
Right: Red ware jug. Gift of Sir John L. Myres (AN1896-1908.C.18).

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