Objects: Feeding Bottles

C/1957/2/5, C/1957/3/11 & C/1957/3/12
Rhine River
Roman
Unknown date
Materials: ceramic

This group of three objects shows a type of ceramic vessel often known as a “feeder” or “feeding” bottle. This type of vessel can be found in a variety of materials throughout the ancient world, but is most commonly made of either ceramic or glass. While there is some question as to their use, typically this style of vessel is believed to be an ancient baby bottle.

The vessels could be filled with a type of gruel, porridge, milk, or other liquid, which would be fed to the child out of the small spout near the center of the vessel. Unlike modern baby bottles, these ancient versions were probably not given to the child to feed themselves but rather were held and poured by an adult.

All three of these “feeding” bottles in the collection of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History are believed to have been excavated from along the Rhine River during the 1880’s-1890’s. [Kate Barr]

Other examples of “feeding” bottles can be found at: The British Museum, the Museum of London, and the Ackland Art Museum.

For more information on Roman pottery, see:
Rhenish wares : fine dark coloured pottery from Gaul and Germany by R P Symond
Types of Roman coarse pottery vessels in northern Britain by J P Gilla
Roman pottery research in Britain and North-West Europe : papers presented to Graham Webster by A C Anderson & Alastair Scott Anderson

Object: Cinerary Urn

C/1955/8/1
Unknown location
Roman
Materials: marble, metal

This object is a Roman cinerary urn made of marble. A cinerary urn is a type of container used to contain the cremated remains of an individual. In various times throughout Classical history cremation was the preferred method of burial. Cinerary urns could be made of a variety of materials, from terracotta to stone. Early cinerary urns from Greece were often in the form or large pottery jars. In Italy these urns tended to be rectangular in shape, and early examples were made to resemble houses. It is thought that these funerary containers were meant to be the “houses” for the dead. During Roman times these urns would be displayed in wall niches in a tomb or columbarium. Because of how the urns were displayed, the backs of the urns (like the one at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History) are undecorated.

This urn shows the figures of several Greco-Roman deities on the front. Starting from the left the first figure is probably Calliope, and is identified by her lyre. The second figure is easily recognizable as Mercury with his winged hat and caduceus. The third figure is Diana, shown with her signature bow and arrow. The final figure is Hercules, shown leaning on his club.

Front

The right side has some damage and was repaired in antiquity with metal, which can be seen from the top.

Right side

It is believed that the image on the left side of the cinerary urn shows a sacrifice of a sheep, or lamb. [Kate Barr]

Left side

A few other examples of cinerary urns can be found at:
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Australian National University Museum
The Britsh Museum

Object: Mosaic

C/50-1/1/1
Mosaic
Seleucia Pieria, Turkey
2nd century AD
Materials: Stone and concrete

This mosaic is from the House of Cilicia at Selucia Pieria, the harbor of ancient Antioch. Much of the city was excavated by a team of archaeologists from Princeton University in the late 1930’s. Their findings (including further information on this mosaic) were published by Doro Levi in Antioch Mosaic Pavements (Princeton, 1947).

This mosaic floor depicts a personification of the Roman territory of Kilikia or Cilicia. Prior to its excavation and removal, the floor contained other personifications as well. The largely obscured figure to the left of Kilikia was likely a representation of Mesopotamia. Additionally there would have been representations of four river gods just beyond the corners of our portion of the mosaic. These representations included personifications of the Tigris, and Pyramos rivers, the other two river gods have been lost to time but were most likely the Euphrates, Kydnos rivers . The two surviving corner pieces can now be found at the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Smith College Museum of Art.

This mosaic was part of a triclinium or dining room. This can be determined examining the way in which the entire mosaic was originally laid out. Traditionally in a triclinium there are three couches arranged in a U-shape along three walls of the room. This produced an open area in the center of the room where the food could be served to all of the guests. In houses with mosaic floors the area underneath the couches would be decorated with relatively simple designs. The central area of the triclinium would contain the most elaborate portion of the mosaic as it would be the part of the floor visible to all the guests during a banquet. The section of mosaic held at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History was the central area of the triclinium as can be seen in the excavation photograph. [Kate Barr]

Object: Replica of Roman bowl

C/58-9/1/1
Replica of Roman bowl
20th century
Materials: Silver

In 1958 this silver bowl was brought to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History, then called the Stovall Museum. The bowl was purchased, along with other objects, from the Chicago Natural History Museum, now called the Field Museum. The bowl is a replica of a part of the Hildesheim Treasure found in Hildesheim, Germany.

The Hildesheim Treasure was an extremely large collection of some 50 pieces of Roman silver found in 1868. The Hildesheim Treasure is believed to date back to the early 1st century C.E. but no accurate date can be given. The Hildesheim Treasure was discovered when Prussian soldiers in Germany were digging a hole and came across the treasure packed carefully in a chest. It is believed that the Hildesheim Treasure originally belonged to a traveling Roman general in Germany who buried the treasure so it would not be found by the German tribes. It is possible that not all the pieces of the Hildesheim Treasure are Roman since many scholars consider some artifacts to be Greek. The original Hildesheim Treasure is held in Berlin but reproductions of the Hildesheim Treasure have been manufactured and placed in museums all over the world.

This bowl, currently housed in the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History is a replica of one of the most famous piece from the Hildesheim treasure collection. The image on the bowl is of Minerva, shown in high relief, draped in gold with an owl (usually associated with her) on the left; she is gazing to the right. Minerva was the Roman equivalent to the Greek goddess of war and wisdom, Athena.

Reproductions are an important part of collections because they allow experts from around the world to study the objects without the originals being damaged. Replicas also allow researchers to study concurrently without having to transport the originals all over the world. [Susan Lemmond]