General Information

The Sardian Late Classical/Hellenistic Tableware Family is represented by vessels local to Sardis, but likely produced by a few different workshops and/or potters. All are made of the fine, dense, micaceous clay local to the Hermus River Valley; all are forms for individual dining and drinking; and all are marked by an attitude of casual refinement. Within this family are three subgroups (A, B, and C) that differ slightly in clay quality and workmanship. Group A is characterized by a fabric that is more finely levigated and consistently fired, slip that can be a bit shiny and adheres well, and, often, additional painted, incised, or stamped decoration. Group B is characterized by a fabric that is more granular and a bit less hard, perhaps because it was fired at a lower temperature or for a shorter period of time. The slip is thin and matte, and the additional decoration more cursory. Group C is represented by a dumped fill  either from a shop or workshop dating to the 2nd-1st century BCE workshop at Sardis, and thus demonstrates a cohesive group of material that may be distinguishable from Groups A and B. Given the overlap in forms and quality between Group A and Group C, it is possible that Group C represents a later, datable iteration of the Group A tradition. 

All the vessels in this large ware family were produced from finely levigated clays local to Sardis and its environs, which fire to a light red/reddish yellow and contain a high concentration of gold mica. Vessels were either fully or semi-slipped, with the fired colors ranging from red to light brown to black. 

Potters produced an array of forms for dining and drinking: fish plates and saucers, ovoid and hemispherical cups with exterior and interior decoration, incurved and everted rim bowls.

In addition to this ware, several others have been identified at Sardis by Susan Rotroff in her 2003 Sardis M12 volume. Rotroff identifies three other discrete tableware productions: “Hard Fabric” (pp. 27-28), “Red Fabric 1” (pp. 135-136), and “Red Fabric 2” (pp. 138-139). Some vessels of Sardian LC/H TW share similarities with “Hard Fabric” and “Red Fabric 1”, and future testing and excavation may show that these belong to a single production source. What can be said with reasonable probability is that Sardian LC/H TW is certainly a local production and shares with these other groups the same refined clay and professional degree of workmanship.

Sardis (Turkey/Aegean)