Lion Head Mortarium

Details

Lion-spouted Mortaria (plural of Mortarium) like this were imported into Britain during the late 2nd century and would have been used in many a Roman kitchen to produce delicious treats.  Used to grind herbs and spices and to make purees and pastes, the grit embedded into the bottom of mortaria acts as a grinding medium. In this case, a fine quartz grit is pressed into the bottom of the bowl before the whole bowl is dipped in a layer of red slip. 

The stylised lion's head adds a delightful decorative touch to this functional kitchen utensil.  The decorative head was produced in a mould before it was applied to the side of the bowl.  Incised lines are then scratched around the lion's head, and a hole is cut in the mouth of the lion to form a spout, making it also function as a juice maker.

Many of the examples found in Britain were East Gaulish imports, and this replica is based on one found at Papcastle Roman Fort in Cumbria.  

Form 45

'Add To Cart' items are ready to send straight away. Please be aware that if bought alongside 'Pre-order' items, your order will be sent when all items are ready. 

'Pre-order' items are made to order, and we will dispatch them as soon as we have handcrafted them for you; this usually takes 90 days, but international orders can take a little longer.

Materials

Earthenware, terracotta

Dimensions

Approx. 140 mm tall, 80 mm diameter

Production

As with all our Museum-Quality Replicas, we have made this pot, as the original would have been, entirely by hand from natural clay and using replicas of the types of tools that the ancient makers would have used. As each pot varies, you may not receive the same cup in the image, but you can be sure that your pot will be one of a kind due to the variations caused by the firing process. 

Health and Safety

This pot is a Museum museum-quality replica made using the tools and techniques that ancient potters would have used during this era.  As this is an unglazed pot with a porous surface, it will absorb some of the flavours during the cooking process or when used as food storage, adding to the taste of future dishes.  However, this also mean that this pot does not meet modern health and safety standards, and therefore, we do not advise you to use it for cooking or storing foodstuffs.  When ancient cooks used these pots, they relied on applying sufficient heat to the pot and contents to ensure that the heat killed all bacteria.  Heating to over 70°C for at least 10 minutes would have killed most disease-causing bacteria, and temperatures of 100°C would do even more.  

It is likely that the first time a mortarium was used, the internal surface was ground down with a pestle to remove any grit that was not fully embedded in the surface of the clay.  This would have helped to avoid any dental emergencies.   

Postage

All items are sent using a second-class postal service; if you wish to have an item sent first-class, please contact me for a quote.  Many Thanks