PATINA
PATINA (
τρύβλιον) a deep dish
used alike for cooking ( “patinarius,”
stewed, opposed to “assus,”
roast, Plaut.
Asin.
1.3, 27) and for serving up food, as is seen from Plaut.
Pseud. 3.2, 51, whence we gather also that it was sometimes a
covered dish: probably this was generally the case when the food was brought
up in the patina in which it had been cooked (cf. Hor.
Sat. 2.8, 43). The patina was, however, often the dish for
serving up what had been cooked in other vessels. This is clear from our
finding silver patinae, e. g. a “patina argentea hederata”
(with ivy-leaf chasing: cf.
filicata) in Trebell.
Poll.
Claud. 17, and the patina of Aesopus valued at 100,000
sesterces (
Plin. Nat. 35.163). Among
costly patinae that of Vitellius holds the first place; not, however, from
its material, as it was of earthenware, but because it was so large that a
special oven had to be built for it at a cost of a million sesterces (Plin.
l.c.; Suet.
Vitell. 13).
As regards the Greek equivalents, the
τρύβλιον perhaps comes nearest in shape and use (
Aristoph. Birds 77): it was of earthenware
(Id.
Eccl. 252) and also of silver (
Ath.
6.230 e): the
λοπὰς was used
both for cooking and serving food, but it was flatter and more like the
patella: the
χύτρα, on the other hand, was deeper and (serving also both
purposes) is equivalent to
OLLA
The
λεκάνη is often given as the equivalent
of patina, and it was probably of much the same shape, but its uses were
different: a basin
ἵνα ἐξεμοῦσι (Poll.
10.76; cf. Ar.
Nub. 907); a trough for brick-makers (
LATER p. 8).
[
J.Y] [
G.E.M]
