Colour-coated pot

Fine table wares with smooth, shiny surface slips, often decorated, were made in Britain as well as in Continental provinces of the Roman Empire. They are known to archaeologists as 'colour-coated ware'. Potteries in the Nene Valley, near Peterborough in eastern England, were major production centres of these as well as plainer kitchen wares. The decoration of the fine-ware beakers is often of extremely high quality. It includes relief ornament made by piping clay onto the surface of the unfired vessel using a nozzle. Examples from the Continent sometimes carry inscriptions, while those from Britain and Gaul often feature elaborate decoration, featuring deities and scenes of hunting, or the sports of the circus and arena. This example is larger than average, but the decoration of hounds and hares is typical.