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Greek and Italic fine ware vessels were often covered by slip, an equal-parts mixture of clay and water. In red-figure pottery like the plate with a woman's face, the background, details, and outlines of the figures are painted with slip, while the figures themselves are left unpainted. During the firing process, the slip turns black, while the unpainted areas turn reddish-orange. Additional pigments could be added after firing. Cookware, such as the pot in the exhibition, was made of coarser fabric, or material, with more inclusions, such as palm fibers that may have enhanced functionality. You can find a video demonstrating ancient ceramic production techniques in the "To Learn More" section of this website.
Ceramic vessels were used in the culturally and socially important ritual of banqueting. The Greek symposium was an all-male event, at which the men would drink wine, play drinking games, converse, and enjoy music, all while reclining on couches and being entertained by courtesans. Etruscan banquets were different in that women were also present as social equals, rather than as servants or entertainment. Whereas the Greek symposium was a political and social tool for elite men, the Etruscans’ aristocratic society emphasized the bonds of lineage passed on by both men and women, which may explain the gender equality reflected in Etruscan art and banqueting.
Plate with woman's face, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology 2613, University of Michigan
The iconography of a woman’s profile is common on Apulian red-figure pottery from southern Italy. Scholars have not identified the entity that these female heads represent, but they recognize that motifs on Apulian ceramics reflect Italic cultural priorities and, since many of these vessels were placed in tombs, that they may have had funerary significance. Pottery with this design range in quality and additional white and yellow pigments were often used to detail clothing and jewelry. This plate lacks these touches and is also quite simplified in design and hasty in execution. This suggests that the workshop was producing these in large quantity and at affordable prices.
Plate with woman's face; Greek, Late Classical (Fourth century BCE); Clay, slip; 3.5 cm height; 14.7 cm width; 0.3 cm thickness. Purchase, Marburg Collection.
Cooking pot, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology 7329, University of Michigan
The cooking pot is made from clay with palm fiber temper. Adding temper into the clay fabric of ancient ceramic cooking ware is believed to have been a common practice to help enhance the workability of the clay and the longevity of each piece. For this pot and other ceramic cooking ware, the palm fiber temper may have helped the rounded pot withstand the direct heat it would have been exposed to during use. This pot was excavated by University of Michigan-sponsored archaeologists at the Roman Egyptian farming town of Karanis, where some evidence suggests that the people's diet included a soft porridge that could have been cooked in this vessel.
Cooking pot; Roman, Late Imperial to Late Antique period (3rd to 5th century CE); Clay, palm fiber, slip; 8.3 cm height, 11.3 maximum diameter; Karanis, Egypt (University of Michigan Excavations).
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