Choosing the
theme of ‘Art and Design in Roman Britain’ was easy for my handling table, due
to the wealth of art within the collections in the Roman Baths. I focused on
pottery, glass, wall painting, mosaics and jewellery as they were perfect
examples of art in Britain, and within Bath as all my objects were local finds.
Having only ever studied Roman art within Rome and the surrounding empire, it was a challenge learning
new things about art within Roman Britain, especially the cultural
overlapping with the Celtic tribes within Britain at the time of the Roman
conquest.
Overlap
between the Celtic and Roman styles was mainly seen within the jewellery on my handling table. The brooches and bracelets were perfect examples of a
Celtic influence, due to the swirling designs which are identifiable as
Celtic. I had beautiful twisted bronze and copper bracelets, with a tiny
child’s bracelet which was a personal favourite. I also had a number of replica
brooches, pins and torcs on display as examples of how varied and colourful
Roman jewellery was and how the styles had changed.
Child's Copper Alloy
Bracelet
Mosaics are
always important examples of art within the Roman world, let alone in Roman
Britain where fewer have survived. I used tesserae (the square stones in a
mosaic) as an example of the scale on which each tiny tessera was placed, and
was amazed how durable they are considering their age. Accompanying my tesserae
was a piece of mosaic from Weymouth House School in Bath, found in 1897. The mosaic was popular with those who had
never seen or had contact with a Roman mosaic before.
Mosaic piece from
Weymouth House School
Using Samian
pottery as examples was perfect due to its vibrant ochre colouring and
beautiful designs of birds, and a sun among other motifs on the sherds of the
pottery, I also had a replica Samian bowl with a Barbotine design around the
top to show how Samian ware might have looked when complete.
Samian Bowl Sherd
The most
popular and impressive item was a small bronze eagle, which was an ornamental
fitting for an object. I was amazed how well preserved the eagle was with the
perfect incision of feathers on the wings outstretched, and on the face of the
beak. Although small it made a big impact on my handling table due its beauty,
and for its symbolism of the Ancient Roman world and its presence which is
still here today.
Roman Bronze Eagle Figurine
Megan
Roman Society Intern
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