Of the moulded or terra sigillata wares twelve different forms are found, of which as elsewhere three prevail to the exclusion of the others.[[3520]] The krater type (Dragendorff’s No. 11) is only found in the earliest period, about A.D. 40-50, and as already noted (p. [520]) forms 29 and 30 are not so common as at Graufesenque, while form 37, which practically took the place of 29, occurs in great quantities. Déchelette distinguishes three chronological epochs of development, covering respectively the periods A.D. 40-75, 75-100, and 110-260.[[3521]] In the first period the decoration of form 29 develops in the same manner as at Graufesenque, but with this important variation, that the running scroll is replaced by a straight pattern of vine or oak leaves, or bands of rosettes or circles. The colour of the glaze is lighter than at Graufesenque, the reliefs more delicately modelled. The potters of this period, all of whom use form 29, are Atepomarus, Cobnertus, Danomarus, Iliomarus, and Petrecus. It will be noted that these are all Gaulish names, whereas those at Graufesenque are all Latin.
To the second period (A.D. 75-110) belong the bowls of form 37 with transitional or metope decoration, or in the “free” style, which is employed by Libertus, an important potter of Trajan’s reign. Exportations now first begin, and examples are found on the Limes, but generally speaking they are few in number, and while the Rutenian potteries existed the output must have been limited. After the reign of Trajan, however, large numbers were exported to Britain and Germany. The cruciform ornamentation (p. [521]) is found on the forms 30 and 37, and a peculiar type of egg- or astragalus-pattern (borrowed from Arretium) is used by Butrio and Libertus. Figure subjects, introduced by Libertus, now become general, especially animals and hunting-scenes (see for an example Plate [LXVIII]. fig. 1). The typical potters of the period are Butrio, Libertus, Carantinus, Divixtus (Plate [LXVIII]. fig. 2), Juliccus, Laxtucissa, and Putrius.
The third period (110-260) is represented almost exclusively by the form 37 with decoration in “free” style or large medallions and wreaths; a few examples of form 30 and the olla (Déchelette’s No. 68: cf. p. 529) are found. The chief potters’ names are Advocatus, Banuus, Catussa, Cinnamus (Plate LXVIII. fig. 3), Doeccus, Lastuca, Paternus, and Servus. Of these, Paternus belongs to the period of the Antonines, and he and Cinnamus, says M. Déchelette, represent the apogee of the prosperity of Lezoux, and of its export commerce. The period of degeneration is marked by the appearance of barbotine decoration and imitations of metal (see below). It is difficult to say exactly when the potteries came to an end, but there is no evidence that terra sigillata was manufactured after the third century, and Plicque is probably right in attributing their destruction to the German invaders in the reign of Gallienus.
The wares characteristic of the earlier period include dolia of coarse clay and other plain fabrics, as well as the various types of terra sigillata. Among the latter are examples of importations from the Graufesenque and Banassac potteries and other places in the Aveyron district, but the majority are of local manufacture. These include, besides the moulded red wares with figured decoration and potters’ stamps, orange-red wares, yellow polished wares (often micaceous), and black ware with barbotine ornamentation, on which potters’ stamps are not found. Lezoux was also a centre for the enamelled glazed wares which have been described in Chapter III. In the later period the red wares are ornamented with figures from moulds, or with barbotine, or have lion’s-head spouts (see below). The marbled vases (p. [523]) are also found, and in the third century the vases with appliqué reliefs, with incised or hollowed-out ornamentation, or bronzed in imitation of metal, are the prevailing types.[[3522]]
The salient points of difference between the earlier and later fabrics, says Plicque, are these. The clay of the earlier is only baked to a small degree of heat and is not vitreous, but is exceedingly porous. It is also frequently full of micaceous particles. Subsequently it becomes more vitreous but less porous; it is more compact and sonorous, free from mica, and more brilliant and lustrous. In the earlier, the forms are artistic and symmetrical, the ornament sober and elegant, remarkable for its taste and simplicity. The figures are enclosed in medallions, and the ornaments consist of rays or rounded leaves, rows of beads, and guilloche-patterns. In the later, the art degenerates, the ornamentation becoming heavy and overcrowded, and the figures are broken up and badly arranged; the forms of the vases, too, become heavier. The principal decorative pattern is the egg-and-tongue round the rim. In the potters’ stamps of the two first periods the letters have frequent ligatures and abbreviations; the names are often in the nominative or with OFFICINA preceding the name. Later, the letters are coarser and ligatures are rare; the names are usually in the genitive, followed by M (manu) or OF(ficina). The characteristic 15
U for V found in the middle of the second century should be noted.
Among the subsidiary fabrics of Lezoux the most remarkable is that of the vases with appliqué reliefs.[[3523]] They are formed entirely on the wheel, and the decoration is made separately from moulds (p. [440]), and attached with barbotine, either in the form of a medallion or with an irregular outline, varying with the figure. Barbotine in many cases is also employed for foliage patterns filling in the background. The usual form is that of a spherical or ovoid vase (Plate [LXIX]. fig. 2), which may perhaps be termed an olla,[[3524]] with short neck and no handles. It may be noted in passing that such shapes could not conveniently be moulded, hence the variation of form when we pass from terra sigillata to other methods of decoration. In the third century this combined process largely supplanted the moulded wares at Lezoux. The paste and glaze, however, are identical with the terra sigillata. No potters’ signatures have been found on these vases, but they occur all over Gaul, including Belgium and Switzerland, and also in Britain. In the British Museum (Romano-British Room) there are two very fine specimens found at Felixstowe in Suffolk, one of which is that given on Plate [LXIX]. Roach-Smith mentions others from London, York, and Richborough,[[3525]] and they are also known at Évreux in France. A good but imperfect example from Gaul is in the Morel Collection, now in the British Museum, and has figures of Herakles and Maenads. The modelling in some cases is admirable, especially in the Felixstowe vases, and in the London specimens published by Roach-Smith, with masks and figures of Cupid. These vases represent the latest stage of the ceramic industry of Lezoux.
Another class of vases made at this centre which may be mentioned here includes a series of paterae, oinochoae, and trullae (p. [470]) with ornamented handles, all obviously made in imitation of metal.[[3526]] Of the paterae there is a good example in the British Museum from the Towneley Collection, ornamented with athletic contests and cock-fights round the edge. M. Déchelette (ii. p. 319) thinks some of the oinochoae made at Vichy may be imitations of the bronze jugs which are found at Pompeii, but many seem to be of a later date.