M. Cleuziou published a work in 1872, “La Poterie Gauloise,”[2] warmly and strenuously claiming for the Gauls an art and a pottery before the coming of the all-grasping Romans; who, he asserts, not only stole their country, but also have claimed to be their benefactors and civilizers when they were not. I cannot, of course, discuss the question here. The engravings given (Figs. [19], [20], [21], [22], [23]) are quoted by M. Figuier, from whom I take them, as examples of this early and curious work. Some of these certainly seem to indicate an inspiration original and quite different from what we see among the Romans. Later, and after the coming of the Romans, there were produced in Gaul vases and other articles, which may well be called “Gallo-Romaine,” or Gallic-Roman.
Fig. 25.—German Pottery. Fig. 26.—German Pottery.
The German potters also produced at a very early day large quantities of pottery, which has a character of its own. That it must have been very extensively made and used is evident from the many specimens exhumed in various parts of Germany; in such numbers, indeed, that the peasantry have a profound belief they are the work of the dwarfs, and that they sprout spontaneously like mushrooms, as I have said. The examples we present are more simple than most of the Roman work, and the decoration is more severe. ([Figs. 24], [25], [26].)
Pots, vases, and children’s toys, are also found in tombs in various parts of Germany, some of which show decided marks of art.