Nature and Art, October 1, 1800.] 
MARKS AND MONOGRAMS, POTTERY, &c. 
137 
on the hank. Turning ray head whilst at full 
speed, I saw a heavy body in the act of falling ; 
there was a dull thud, as when a hundred-and-fifty- 
pound shot strikes an earthwork, and then a crash- 
ing sound, accompanied by a dismal groan. 
I was going three feet to the fugitive’s one, and 
soon he was “ under the rod,” laying like a helpless 
log on the surface. At this critical moment, Mr. 
Ray limped up, gaff in hand, and did his devoir like 
a true knight. 
When we again reached the bridge, the shade 
thrown on the river by the masonry had nearly 
passed away; high in the cloudless heavens marched 
the sun in his might ; over the lofty trees rose the 
towers of the princely castle where John of Anjou 
once revelled. In mid air the rooks wheeled and 
circled in their happy flight, whilst many an an- 
chorite thrush was offering up his sweet orisons. 
“ It’s all over for this morning,” observed Mr. 
Ray. My thoughts had 'been mounting up to the 
rooks yonder, perhaps farther ; his were fixed on 
earth. 
“Well, he is a beauty ! one-and-twenty pounds, 
I’ll go bail ; not a bad morning’s work, and before 
breakfast too. I think your honour won’t forget 
the Bridge of Lismore in a hurry.” 
MARKS AND MONOGRAMS, POTTERY AND PORCELAIN.* 
W E may class as Romano-British pottery all 
earthenware of the period of the Roman 
occupation, whether imported or manufactured in 
the island. Within the last twenty or thirty years 
many fresh specimens have been discovered, and 
the improvements in the metropolis and other 
towns have led to excavations laying bare most 
valuable remains, of which the zeal of antiquaries 
has not been slow to take advantage. Mr. Chaffers 
himself has done good service by his researches 
among the city excavations, “especially those for the 
Royal Exchange, which afforded him opportunities 
of saving from destruction many interesting relics 
of ancient art and objects illustrative of the 
manners and customs of the Romans in Britain.” 
He alludes with proper acknowledgment “ to the 
labours of others in the same field,” and notably those 
of Mr. C. Roach Smith, to whose “Illustrations of 
Roman London ” he refers those who wish for more 
detailed information. A sketch of a section of a 
cutting made in Cannon Street, in 1851, gives an 
excellent idea of the succession of accumulated 
strata on which modern London has been built, 
and of the relative position of Roman and English’ 
pottery discovered there. 
The earthen vessels of Roman manufacture dis- 
covered in London, from which Air. Chaffers’s 
illustrations are almost exclusively taken, consist 
of plates or dishes, vases, bowls, cups, lamps, and 
cinerary urns ; and the ware of which these are 
composed are chiefly Samian, Aretine, and Castor. 
The two former were importations, the last was pro- 
duced in England from British clay. There are, 
too, some other instances of Roman fictile work 
with British material, to which no particular name 
or locality has been assigned. 
Samian was a red lustrous ware, first made in 
Samos, whose potters were, celebrated 900 b.c., 
and which the Romans of the better class used for 
* Marks and Monograms on Pottery and Porcelain, with 
Historical Notices of each Manufactory, preceded by an 
Introductory Essay on the Yasa Fictilia of England, and 
followed by a copious Index. By W. Chaffebs, F.S.A. 
Second edition, considerably enlarged. (London : John Davy 
& Sons.) 
ordinary table service. It appears probable that 
hence “Samian” became a general term applied to all 
commoner earthenware, wherever made, among the 
Romans, of this same red colour, which was pro- 
duced by tinting the clay with ochre — a practical 
answer to the Horatian question, Quid concinna 
Samo ? It is not clearly stated whether the original 
Samian of the island of Juno derived its colour in 
the same way, or from the natural red of the clay. 
Air. Marryat attributes the extended use of the name 
to the excellent quality of the ware, “ as deserving 
from its perfection to be compared with that of 
Samos.” * Specimens have been found almost 
wherever there were Roman settlements, and in 
France and Germany Roman kilns and moulds have 
been discovered, supposed to be for the manufacture 
of this wai*e, though the evidence is not considered 
by our author to be quite satisfactory. From these 
it is believed that this colony was supplied, for no 
such kilns have yet been found in England. The 
method pursued by Roman potters in Germany, 
where, as at Heiligenberg, near Strasbourg, and at 
Cologne, moulds have been discovered, appears to 
have been as follows : — - 
“ Stamps, with handles either of bronze or baked elay, 
were modelled in relief with patterns, devices, and potters’ 
names ; these wore employed to impress an incuse pattern on 
the interior of a general mould of soft clay, capable of con- 
taining tho vessel in one piece, the interior being first 
rounded smoothly into a perfect form by tho lathe. The 
mould thus covered with the required pattern was fired, 
and became perfectly hard for future use. The moist paste 
of which tho vessel was made was then pressed into the 
mould by hand, so as to obtain a perfect impression of all 
the minute details. The irregular surface of the interior 
was smoothed by being turned in the lathe (for the lathe 
marks are always visible) while yet in a soft state, and 
before it was removed from the mould, thus preventing any 
injury which might otherwise happen to the ornamental 
vase by handling. Both the mould and vase inside it were 
then placed in the kiln and baked ; the former having been 
already fired, would not shrink, but act as a seggar to 
protect it from smoke, and regulate the heat, the latter 
would necessarily shrink during the baking, and be easily 
removed when finished. The moulds would then be kept 
for future use.” 
* Marryat’s “Pottery and Porcelain Glossary of Terms,” 
— Samian Ware. 
