Catinus

Drag shape plate. 18/31, site of the Roman Villa Haselburg

Drag shape plate. 32 from the Haselburg

Pottery invoice with mention of the canastri and catili from La Graufesenque. As you can see here, because of their shape, the catini's misfires were also used as writing pads in the La Graufesenque pottery.

As catinus ( Latin , also catīnus, catinum, catinulus, catillus, catillum ) a deep plate or bowl was referred to in Roman times .

Form and function

The catinus could be made of clay or metal, less often of glass. Specimens from Terra Sigillata are very common . A more precise distinction was made between the catinus serving vessel and the slightly deeper catillus plate . The shape of the vessel was largely identical in both and was even confused by the potters themselves. The only distinguishing criterion was size.

At the table, the flatter and larger catinus was used for application and for the entire table. In it Horace mentions a fish and a chicken, which only appears conceivable in a plate of considerable size. Even the head of John the Baptist is presented on a catinus in Matthew . Early Arretine Sigillata- Catini often have four repeated within factory Temple, possibly a reference to the frequent number of four table companions. In later times, dashed rings around the center of the plate are common.

In contrast, smaller, deep plates of the same shape must have been referred to as catillus ( diminutive ). They served the individual guest who ate from it with their fingers or a spoon. The number of pieces of the catilli is therefore significantly higher in the pottery calculations from La Graufesenque than that of the catini (1735 to 155058). The synonyms acetabulum and paropsis were also used for the smaller catilli . catilli could also be used as crucibles for melting metal. The upper part of a Roman mill in the form of a double hollow cone is also called a catillus .

The terra sigillata forms Dragendorff 31 and 32 could be identified as catinus and catillus on the basis of the pottery calculations from La Graufesenque . The vulgar Latin form canastri is also used there . The word encounters both masculine and neutral gender. Isidore of Seville reports that the neuter is more common, but the male form is mostly used in the written sources.

literature

• Friedrich Drexel : Roman sigillata services. In: Germania 11, 1928, pp. 51-53.
• Werner Hilgers : Latin vessel names. Names, function and shape of Roman vessels based on ancient written sources. Rheinland-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1969, p. 48f. u. Cat.-No. 91.
• Rolf Hurschmann : Catinus [1]. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 2, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01472-X , Sp. 1032.
• Franz Olck : Catinus. 1). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Col. 1790 f.
• August Oxé : The pottery bills from the Graufesenque. In: Bonner Jahrbücher , 130, 1925, p. 81 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ August Oxé : The pottery bills of the Graufesenque. In: Bonner Jahrbücher , 130, 1925, p. 81 f.
2. ↑ Horace: Satiren II 2,39; 4.77.
3. ↑ Horace: Satires I 3.92.
4. ↑ Mt. 14: 8.
5. ↑ August Oxé: The pottery bills of the Graufesenque. In: Bonner Jahrbücher , 130, 1925, p. 82.
6. ^ Frédéric Hermet: La Graufesenque (Condatomago). Paris 1934, p. 321.
7. ↑ Pliny : Naturalis historia 33,107.
8. ^ Isidore of Seville: origines XX 6.5.
9. ↑ Franz Olck : Catinus. 1). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Sp. 1790.