Greek, Roman and Byzantine Pottery at Ilion (Troia):
Sebastian Heath and Billur Tekkök, Editors
Hellenistic Moldmade Bowls
Please note that this is a public draft of work in progress
introduction - bibliography
Hellenistic moldmade bowls are first produced in the late third century. They appear in the Athenian Agora after 224/3 BC and may be an Attic innovation (Rotroff 1982, 2006). Their production is attested at multiple sites around the Aegean, including Ephesos. The catalog below gives a brief selection of some of the motifs found at Ilion. Such bowls are a regular occurrence in Late Hellenistic deposits and have been published from the Lower City (Berlin 1999).
1. Moldmade Bowl Base (Hellenistic)
D09.1685:1. SC06-1a. Two joining sherds with base and lower wall. Black slip is partly worn off. Floral pattern.
Agora XXII pp. 17-18 dates "Floral bowls" to the late 3rd through mid-2nd centuries B.C. Similar piece cataloged at Berlin 1999 no. 279.
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2. Moldmade Bowl Base (Hellenistic)
D09.2334:1. SC06-2f. Single sherd. Red slip. Rosette base, below floral band. Partially extant floral motif above.
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3. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
A08-09.0050:36. SC06-1g. Bands of egg and dart pattern.
Cf. Mitsopoulou-Leon 1991 Taf. 88, D63.
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4. Moldmade Bowl Body Fragments (Hellenistic)
A08-09.0005:1. SC06-1c. Five joining sherds. Net pattern below band of hatching.
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5. Moldmade Bowl Body Fragments (Hellenistic)
D09.1685:2. SC06-1b. Four joining sherds. Frieze of rural labor between floral motifs.
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6. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
D09.0926:1. SC06-2g. Single sherd. Red slip. Grapevine scroll beneath meander.
Cf. Mitsopoulou-Leon 1991 Taf. 86, D52.
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7. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
F28.0087:1. SC06-3y. Two joining sherds, almost full profile. Band of egg and darts. Pattern of nodules. Black glaze.
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8. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
D09.1685:3. SC06-3e. Two joining sherds. Garland(?) in field, egg-and-dart below rim.
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9. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
D09.1494:6. SC06-4f. Single sherd. Vertical ribbing below band of short diagonal strokes.
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10. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
D09.1517:1. SC06-4j. Single sherd. Repeated floral motif in field, below egg-and-dart.
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General Bibliography
Berlin, Andrea. 1999. “Studies in Hellenistic Ilion: The Lower City. Stratified Assemblages And Chronology,” Studia Troica 9: 73-158.
Rotroff, Susan. 1982. The Athenian Agora, Volume XXII: Hellenistic Pottery. Athenian and Imported Moldmade Bowls. Princeton. [worldcat.org]
Rotroff, Susan. 2006. “The Introduction of the Moldmade Bowl Revisited: Tracking a Hellenistic Innovation,” Hesperia 75.3: 357-378. [online]