Roman Military Bronze Skillet, Circa 1st Century AD

The bowl is small with curving sides from a small ringed foot. The base was cast and the bowl spun from it, the rim is well formed. Applied on one side of the bowl is a handle, slightly expanded at the termination and, toward the widest part, a keyhole-shaped opening that allowed the vessel to be suspended from a hook or peg; 262 grams, 24cm with the handle. Very fine condition. From the collection of European gentleman. Acquired on the Austrian art market in the 2000s.

Background: The Italian and Gaulish bronze-smiths were noted for their products, which included vases, flasks and large jars. Chief amongst the vessels produced in these workshops, however, were the large skillets, ladles, strainers and handled saucers that can be seen in many British and European museums. The handled saucers were apparently considered as part of a toilet set, and for this reason are commonly known as ‘bath-saucers’. The skillets occur in two main forms, those that are deep, normally having a flat handle, and those that are shallow with a tubular handle, the latter often terminating in an animal head. Incised lines on the interior of some deep skillets are no doubt to enable correct quantities of liquids and/or dry goods to be measured, and it has been suggested that the skillets were originally produced in graduated sets. When they are found on a Roman occupation site this is most often of military origin, while most finds of deep skillets have come from the frontier areas of the Roman Empire. ‘Bath-saucers’, on the other hand, are normally found in civilian contexts, although they do also occur on military sites and in hoards found in barbaricum. cited from: Bennett, J., & Young, R. (1981). Some New and Some Forgotten Stamped Skillets, and the Date of P. Cipius Polybius. Britannia, 12, 37-44. doi:1. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/526242 doi:1