Roman Terracotta wine beaker - 85 mm

Roman Terracotta Wine Beaker
Culture / Period: Roman Imperial
Date / Period: 1st–2nd century A.D.
Material: Terracotta
Dimensions: 85 mm
Condition: Good condition, with age-related surface wear and deposits. A small ancient-looking opening or area of damage is present in the body, as clearly visible in the photographs.

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Provenance information:
Object Registration ID: 996
The current owner (S.N.J. S.) purchased the wine beaker from P. vd V. in Steyl, the Netherlands.
The previous owner, P. vd V. from Steyl, stated that the object had been in his collection since the 1990s.
According to the previous owner, the object had previously been part of a private collection in the Netherlands since the 1990s.
No further information concerning the earlier ownership history of the object was available from the previous owner.

Background Information:
This Roman terracotta beaker is a compact drinking vessel with a rounded body, short neck, thickened rim and small foot. The lower body is articulated by a series of horizontal grooves, providing a simple decorative element while emphasising the vessel’s profile. Beakers of this general type belonged to the extensive range of ceramic tablewares used for serving and consuming liquids in the Roman world.
Drinking vessels formed an important part of Roman domestic and social life. They were used in households, taverns, military settlements and other everyday contexts, with wine being one of the principal beverages consumed throughout the Empire. Ceramic beakers offered a practical and widely accessible alternative to vessels made from glass or metal.

The regular form and horizontal turning marks reflect wheel-thrown production within an established pottery tradition. Roman ceramic workshops manufactured vessels in considerable quantities, adapting shapes and fabrics to regional preferences and markets. Pottery and other commodities circulated through extensive local and interregional trading networks, resulting in broadly shared traditions of dining and drinking across the Roman provinces.

Dating to the 1st–2nd century A.D., the beaker belongs to the early Roman Imperial period, when urban centres, rural communities and military settlements were connected through highly developed systems of production and exchange. As an object intended for everyday use, it provides a direct and tangible connection to Roman dining and drinking practices and to the people who handled such vessels almost two thousand years ago.