Rhenish (Cologne), Gallo-Roman, 1st Century / 1–100 CE
Beaker with Scale Pattern
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Beaker with Scale Pattern as ceramic (Rhenish (Cologne), Gallo-Roman, 1st Century · 1–100 CE).
Several textile fibers were found inside this beaker, suggesting that it may have contained an object or objects wrapped in cloth when it was buried.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as reddish ware with dark gray burnished slip.
The museum's collection notes: The dark brown glaze on the exterior of this beaker is patchy and irregular, allowing the light red clay beneath to show through. The glaze is especially light on the ridges of the raised scales that decorate the upper body of the vessel, arranged in four offset rows. The pattern was created by applying thick clay slip to the surface of the beaker after it was removed from the potter’s wheel.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtBeaker with Scale PatternOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.