23èmes Rencontres A.F.A.Verre - Communications (17 - 19 octobre 2008)

ROMAN AND EARLY CHRISTIAN MOULD-BLOWN VESSELS. FROM THESSALONIKI AND ITS REGION, 1st-5th C. A.D.
Anastassios C. ANTONARAS

In Thessaloniki, much alike what was going on in other Mediterranean cities, mold blown vessels appear from the middle of the 1st century in the local market. Namely, tableware-cups and beakers-; flasks for perfumes and unguents-amphorisks, juglets and plastic vessels in the form of dates, grapes and fish-; as well as bigger square bottles encounter. Mold blown vessels present 9,34% of the total number of 1st –early 2nd c. vessels and 18,8% of the forms present in the same period. It is evident that they present a rarity, meant only for few, well-to-do clients, as they are seldom found in graves, probably considered as too precious to be left in them. The majority of the finds come from habitation areas, and more precisely from the destruction layer of a public bath house built next to the city’s forum, which was destroyed during the reign of Domitian.

Mold blowing goes out of fashion after the early 2nd c., and during the 3rd c., according to the archaeological finds, practically no vessels occur of this technique at all.

The use of glass during the late roman period rises and so does the number of forms present in market. Glass vessels were long time now of clearly utilitarian character and their low price, it seems, did not permit the production of luxurious objects in general. (Small, restricted productions like diatreta, fondi d’oro etc, are exceptions meant for a small part of the population and do not affect the over all situation). Yet, there was a need of better, not exclusively utilitarian vessels and dip mold blowing presented an inexpensive and swift method of decoration which could meet this need of the public. So, use of mold blowing reappears in Thessaloniki during the 4th and 5th c. Now almost exclusively is used the technique of dip mold blowing and the body of the vessels produced are covered with oblique of, less often, with vertical ribs. Ten different forms are made with this technique and only three or four forms are made with foul mold blowing.

Dip mold blown vessels present 8.6 % of the total number of 4th and 5th c. vessels and 11 % of forms present in the same period. Almost all of them are tableware, vessels for pouring liquids-bottles, flasks and jugs-, and drinking vessels-beakers and footed skyphoi-; with the exception of one baby feeder.

Full mold blown vessels present 4,3 % of the total number of 4th and 5th c. vessels and 5,9 % of forms present in the same period. Almost all of them are tableware, vessels for pouring liquids, mainly wine, prismatic and plastic jugs, and amphorae. There is only one exception in the group, presented by a form of unguentaria, the janiform, or double head-shaped flasks.

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