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

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

Roman lamps, tear vessels, and fragments of sacrificial vessels of Samian ware were met with chiefly towards the Cheapside corner of the churchyard.

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)

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)

Below Kit's Coty House, Mr. Wright, the archæologist, found the remains of a Roman villa, with quantities of Samian ware, coins, and other articles.

From A Week's Tramp in Dickens-Land by Hughes, William R. (William Richard)