Samian ware

American  

noun

1. a red-glazed terracotta pottery produced in Gaul and the Moselle Valley a.d. 100–300 and copied from Arretine ware.

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Samian ware British  

noun

1. a fine earthenware pottery, reddish-brown or black in colour, found in large quantities on Roman sites

2. Also called: Arretine ware.  the earlier pottery from which this developed, an imitation of a type of Greek pottery, made during the first century _bc at Arretium

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Etymology

Origin of Samian ware

First recorded in 1835–45; after classical references to a type of pottery produced at Samos, perhaps an imitation of the red-glazed ware produced in Gaul and Italy

Example Sentences

Fragments of Samian ware and carved marble have been found in them, but are probably later than the construction of these habitations.

From Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)

Some fragments of Samian ware, coins, and a bronze and silver metal vessel have been found in Bossens, a camp in St Erth, and the head of an ensign at St Just.

From Cornwall by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)

In 1852 tesselated pavement, Samian ware, earthen urns and lamp, and other Roman vessels were found from twelve to twenty feet deep near Basing Lane, New Cannon Street.

From Old and New London Volume I by Thornbury, Walter

I found the pottery, and picked out fragments of Samian ware; the bank is from three to nine feet deep in them.

From In Troubadour-Land A Ramble in Provence and Languedoc by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)

It must be remembered that the Romans possessed no fine porcelain decorated with lively colours and a beautiful glaze; Samian ware was the most decorative kind of pottery which was then made.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 1 "Gichtel, Johann" to "Glory" by Various