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.
Ancient pottery fragment with reddish-brown clay showing curved decorative bands and dense geometric or linear patterns inscribed across its surface. A measurement scale bar is visible at the bottom of the image.
2. Moldmade Bowl Base (Hellenistic)
D09.2334:1. SC06-2f. Single sherd. Red slip. Rosette base, below floral band. Partially extant floral motif above.
Ancient terracotta pottery fragment with decorative palmette motif and geometric patterns impressed into reddish-brown clay surface.
3. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
A08-09.0050:36. SC06-1g. Bands of egg and dart pattern.
Cf. Mitsopoulou-Leon 1991 Taf. 88, D63.
Fragment of black-glazed pottery with molded decorative relief featuring repeating semi-circular or wave patterns arranged in horizontal bands. The ceramic shows dark coloring with lighter exposed areas where the surface has worn away.
4. Moldmade Bowl Body Fragments (Hellenistic)
A08-09.0005:1. SC06-1c. Five joining sherds. Net pattern below band of hatching.
A dark pottery fragment with incised geometric zigzag or crosshatch pattern filled with lighter-colored material, shown against a gray background with a measurement scale below.
5. Moldmade Bowl Body Fragments (Hellenistic)
D09.1685:2. SC06-1b. Four joining sherds. Frieze of rural labor between floral motifs.
A dark-colored ceramic pottery fragment with weathered, mottled surface showing patches of lighter brown discoloration against a black background. The piece appears curved, suggesting it's part of a vessel rim or body sherd.
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.
Ancient pottery fragment made of reddish-brown terracotta, featuring decorative relief patterns including a geometric meander border at the top and what appears to be a figurative or floral design below.
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.
Ancient clay vessel with textured surface featuring rows of raised bumps or knobs in geometric patterns on the lower body, with horizontal bands near the rim.
8. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
D09.1685:3. SC06-3e. Two joining sherds. Garland(?) in field, egg-and-dart below rim.
# Terra cotta pottery fragment with decorative relief patterns, featuring curved lines and repeated wave or scale motifs along the edge of what appears to be part of a vessel.
9. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
D09.1494:6. SC06-4f. Single sherd. Vertical ribbing below band of short diagonal strokes.
A terracotta pottery sherd with a reddish-brown surface, featuring vertical incised or impressed linear decorations along its lower edge. The fragment appears to be from a larger vessel, possibly a rim or body section.
10. Moldmade Bowl Rim (Hellenistic)
D09.1517:1. SC06-4j. Single sherd. Repeated floral motif in field, below egg-and-dart.
Pottery fragment with dark upper portion and reddish-brown lower section, featuring horizontal ridged bands and decorative impressed patterns including diagonal lines or chevrons near the break.
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]