Potteries and Porcelains

Roman Terra-cotta Work.

The uses of clay among the Romans were much the same as among the Greeks and Etruscans; the main differences were that in some cases its use was more ex tensive in Rome, in others less; and generally that the products of Roman workshops are inferior to those of earlier times. The Romans divided the manufacture of objects in clay into two classes : opus figulinum for fine ware made from argilla or creta figularis and opus doliare for tiles and common earthenware.

Ornamental tiles followed much on the lines of those used in Greece, though the latter are both simpler and inferior in design. Terra-cotta was largely used at Pompeii for this purpose. A char acteristic feature of Pompeian houses is the trough-like gutter which formed an ornamental cornice to the compluvium or open skylight of the atrium and peristyle; these were adorned with spouts in the form of masks or animals heads, through which the rain-water fell from the gutters into the imp/uvium. Some good examples of roof-tiles and antefixal ornaments have also been found at Ostia.

Terra-cotta mural decoration was also largely employed by the Romans for both the interior and the exterior of their buildings. These were in the form of slabs ornamented with reliefs hung on the walls or round the cornices. Cicero speaks of fixing the bas reliefs (typos) "on the cornice of his little atrium." These slabs usually measure about 18 by 9 to 12 in., and have nearly all been found in Rome, though isolated examples occur in other places. The reliefs were pressed in moulds, and the same subjects recur with slight variations due to retouching before the firing. A few modelled reliefs also exist. Circular holes are left in the slabs for the plugs by which they were attached to the walls.

Roman Sculpture in Terra-cotta.

Frequent allusions in classical writers indicate that the ancient statues of the Romans were mostly of terra-cotta, and Pliny notes that even in his day statuettes of clay were still preferred for temples. There are also references to signa fictilia placed on pediments of buildings such as the Capitoline temple. In 493 B.C. Gorgasus and Damophilus of Himera in Sicily ornamented with terra-cotta reliefs and figures the temple of Ceres (now Santa Maria in Cosmedin). Towards the end of the republic modellers in clay are mentioned, such as Possis, who imitated grapes and other fruit, and the sculptor Arcesilaus. But their work in this material appears to have been confined to models for sculpture or metal work, and the invasion of the masterpieces of Greek art and the general adoption of marble by sculptors led to the neglect of terra-cotta as a medium of the glyptic arts. Few statues of any size in this material now exist. Some terra-cotta figures o1 considerable size were found

at Pompeii, having formed the cult-statues of a temple; ,others were employed for adorning gardens, like a series from Rome in the British Museum. Terra-cotta figures were also employed as architectural members of the caryatid type. All these belong to the Augustan and succeeding period, or at least are not later than the reign of Nero.

This industry also extended from Rome to the provinces, and terra-cotta statuettes of local make have been found in Britain, as at Richborough, Colchester and London. In Gaul in particular, and in the Rhine district, there were very extensive manufactures of terra-cottas after the conquest of Julius Caesar in 58 B.C. They were made by local craftsmen for the Roman colonists, who introduced their own types of design. The principal centre of manufacture was the district of the Allier in central France. Potteries have been found at Moulins, as well as in other parts of France, in Belgium and Alsace, and along the Rhine.

Collections.

The best collections of Greek terra-cottas are in the British Museum, the Louvre and the museums of Berlin, Athens, Boston and New York. Etruscan terra-cottas are best represented in the museums of Florence and Perugia, and the Museo di Papa Giulio in Rome. The Roman examples are chiefly to be found in Rome and Naples as well as in provincial museums at Nimes, Arles, in England and Germany.

After the downfall of the Roman empire in the west, the ar tistic use of terra-cotta was abandoned for many centuries, though, here and there, both in Italy and in the districts that had been once Roman provinces, decorated terra-cotta work was carried on sporadically both in parts of France and of Germany. The true renaissance of its use came during the 14th and i 5th centuries, when it was adapted once more to architectural service in the Gothic buildings of northern Italy and of Germany. In Germany the mark of Brandenburg is especially rich in buildings enriched with modelled terra-cotta. The church of St. Catherine in the town of Brandenburg is decorated in the most lavish way with delicate tracery and elaborate string-courses and cornices en riched with foliage all modelled in clay; the town-hall of Brand enburg is another instance of the same use of terra-cotta. In northern Italy this use of terra-cotta was carried to an equally high pitch of perfection. The western facade of the cathedral of Crema, the communal buildings of Piacenza, and S. Maria Belle Grazie in Milan are all striking examples of the extreme splen dour of effect that cars be obtained by terra-cotta work. Pavia itself is very rich in terra-cotta decoration.