to have been made in this country, but imitations of a very inferior character were produced. The body of the Samian ware is of a fine red colour, but its surface is of a deeper and richer tone; much like the best red sealing-wax. It is extremely hard and brittle, and is sonorous in sound when struck. The vessels of this ware consist for the most part of bowls, cups, and pateræ, or dishes, in each of which divisions are found an almost endless variety of form, and while some are perfectly plain, others are more or less covered with ornaments - figures of men, animals, foliage, borders, etc.-in relief. These relief ornaments were produced from moulds, and the names of the makers of the vessels was also frequently stamped upon them. The most usual ornamental borders are the egg-and-tongue ornament, the tassel-and-festoon border, small patterns formed of foliage and flowers, and others. Human figures and animals are of frequent occurrence, and are often very powerfully moulded. Subjects from classical mythology are common, and among the figures of the deities many were copied from wellknown models of art. Combats of pygmies and cranes are favourite subjects, as in the paintings, etc., in Pompeii. Sacrifices and religious ceremonies, and especially bacchanalian processions, and dances of bacchantes and satyrs, are not uncommon. Among other very favourite subjects are hunting scenes, gladiatorial combats, and the sports of the amphitheatre. Others represent sacrifices and re

Figs. 126 to 132. Roman Pottery.

ligious offerings. Musicians performing on various instruments are also common; and domestic scenes are depicted in great variety. Many of these are of a character not to be described, but sufficiently characteristic of the degraded state of morality under the Roman Empire. Of the plainer and commoner kinds of Samian ware vessels, the cups and bowls, etc., here engraved will give a tolerably correct idea.

The potter's name was usually placed in a small rectangular label. The name is most commonly put in the genitive case, combined with O or

OF (abbreviations of the word officina), as, for instance, OF MODESTI, which simply stands for officina Modesti, i.e. "from the workshop of Modestus;" or with M for manu, as COBNERTI M, for Cobnerti manu, "by" or "from the hand of Cobnertus." Sometimes the name is given in the nominative case, followed by F or FE, for fecit,

as COCVRO F, for Cocuro fecit, "Cocuro made it." Doubled or ligulated letters are frequently introduced into these inscriptions. Sometimes we meet with an error in the spelling of the word; and in one or two instances the person who made the stamp inscribed the name carelessly, so that it read direct on the stamp, and consequently it is reversed in the impression on the pottery. The name is not always placed in a square label, but in a few instances has been found inscribed round a small circle.

The pottery of the Upchurch Marshes, on the Medway, in Kent, and commonly known as "Upchurch ware," is found among Roman remains in

most parts of the kingdom; and a similar ware is found on Roman sites in France, Germany, and Flanders. The prevailing colour is a bluish or