Page 70 - Manual of Roman Everyday Writing Volume 2: Writing Equipment

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Ceramic inkwells come in a variety of shapes but mostly have rounded
bodies. Metal inkwells are mainly cylindrical, rarely hexagonal. The
lid is often what defines a Roman inkwell and without it they can
be virtually indistinguishable from other vessels. An inkwell lid is
usually flat with a small circular opening in the centre which could
be closed with a stopper-lid in various ways. Ceramic inkwells may
have had stopper-lids made of perishable materials such as cork.

Typically, metal inkwells from the 1st and 2nd century have loop
handles attached to their side that were probably used to hold the
objects or to attach other writing equipment to them. Until the
end of the 1st century CE, metal double inkwells were used as well,
providing red ink for titles and headings and black ink for the bulk
of the text (Eckardt 2018, 70–76).
Fig. 46: Ceramic inkwell from Aquileia (Italy) with section
While ceramic inkwells are usually plain, metal inkwells can be
showing the typical flat lid, and with an ante cocturam maker’s
intricately decorated with silver and gold inlays, sometimes with
inscription reading A(ulus) Quintius Sp(urii) f(ilius) Plebeius
fecit (‘Aulus Quintius Plebeius, son of Spurius, made this’),
1st century CE. Redrawn by A. Willi after Gomezel 1994.

Inkwells were used throughout the Roman period but are rarely
found after the 4th century. They were predominantly made of
ceramics and of metal, mainly copper-alloy. Inkwells made of glass
are rare and their identification is controversial (Eckardt 2018, 57).
Examples of different materials and design have also been found
including lead, silver and alabaster examples (Božič and Feugère
2004, 35). The two most recognisable types of metal inkwells,
Biebrich and Noll types, date to the 1st century CE and the use of
Samian inkwells peaked in the same century.
Metal inkwells seem to have been mostly cast and then lathe-
finished, but some were shaped over a mould. No production
centres are known for certain, but it has been suggested that they
were mainly made in Italy or in Gallia Belgica and the Rhine area. Fig. 47: Metal inkwell, type Noll, with intricate gold and silver
Samian inkwells were produced for example at La Graufesenque decoration from Vaison (France), 1st/2nd century CE. Louvre,
(France), where they are listed in the potters’ accounts (Marichal inv. BJ1950. © Chatsam, Wikicommons, CC-BY-SA-3.0.
1988, e.g. no. 17 line 14). They are uncoated on the inside.