Plate Fragment with Venator (Hunter) and Bear

Plate Fragment with Venator (Hunter) and Bear

A fragment from a bowl decorated with a venator motif, part of a common decorative scheme on African red slip ware.

Part of the slightly convex, curved rim of an African red slip ware bowl, perhaps Hayes Form 52B. The lip has a bevelled lower edge and the upper edge of the rim is grooved near the lip edge. The fragment includes the upper part of an applique of a venator attacking a bear with his spear. The clay is orange-pink in colour, smooth and slightly granular in texture, and the piece is speckled with white incrustation, especially in the molded grooves of the applique. The dark slip that normally coats the upper surface is not evident (perhaps due to cleaning?), but the lower surface has a mottled darker red-orange coating.

The venator has a frontal upper torso and a profile head, facing right. He has short, cap-like hair, a round eye and a rounded jaw. His well developed abdominal muscles are delineated and he wears a chest guard decorated with a central rectangle, outlined in relief. A pattern of raised dots runs around the sides and bottom edge of this rectangle. There is a large medallion with a relief outline and a central raised dot fastened on his left shoulder, probably securing a cloak. Only the upper part of his right arm is intact, but he presumably holds a spear in his righ hand. The shaft of this spear can be seen passing across his sbdomen and he hohlds it in his left hand as he thrusts it into the chest of a bear.
The profile bear faces left as he lunges towards the venator with his mouth open. His lidded left eye is large and his ears are round. The head is smooth, but the rest of the bear that remains (left arm, shoulder and upper chest) is rough, suggesting shaggy fur. His left arm is fringed with fur along its lower edge.

El Djem, Tunisia

Moulding

83.082

280-380 CE

38x64 mm

Terracotta

Purchased from B. A. Seaby Ltd, London, 1983.