Antiquities - ancient Romano British Castor Ware Hunt Cup

Romano British Castor Ware Hunt Cup

£1350

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A rare and superbly decorated Castor Ware glazed pottery cup decorated with a hunt scene in the form of a stag being chased by a hound.

Unlike more common ornamented Roman vessels, this type of pottery was decorated by hand and not by moulding. The figures were shaped with wet slip piped through a feather quill (in a similar manner to icing a cake); this technique resulted in exceptionally fluid and graceful figures which remain unparalleled to this day. The dashed dots surrounding the figures were applied to further accentuate movement, as if the pottery could see and feel the air being moved by the swiftness of the stag and hound.

The figures were formed while the pot was still unfired and contemporary writers noted that the artists capable of achieving such decoration were highly respected and valued. The finger-prints of the potter can be seen on the lower body where he held the vessel during the decoration process. One can also see an area to the rear of the hound where the surface had become damaged during decoration and the section was smoothed-over; the fact that such faults were tolerated indicates the complexity of the manufacturing process.

This type of pottery represents an important point in the artistic history of Britain when native crafts had been Romanised but were for the first time since the invasion allowed to re-introduce native Celtic influences. The figures on this cup perfectly demonstrate the elegant elongated forms associated with pre-Roman Celtic art and typify the height of Roman technology and indigenous artistic fusion. Castor Ware pottery was hugely popular and became the most expensive type of pottery table-ware available to Roman Britain, exceeding in value the finer imported luxury wares from Rome itself. Although the pottery was solely manufactured in the Cambridgeshire region it has been found in Roman settlements across the UK from Hadrian's Wall to the South Coast.

This cup dates to some of the earliest output of Castor Ware as later items were decorated in dual-tone slip.

Roman Britain, Nene Valley (around modern Peterborough), 2nd Century AD

Repaired from several pieces with a few small areas of loss as seen in the photographs. No concealed restoration or reconstruction has been carried out.

Size: 9.2 x 8.2 cms.

Ex. Private collection, Isle of Wight, UK. Reputedly from the old collections of Chichester Museum which were de-accessioned and dispersed in the 1940's.

A cultural export license will be required by the British government if an overseas client should wish to buy this item. We are happy to organise this free of charge but it will result in a delay of up to one month before the cup may be exported.

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