Columbia 59.56
Attic Inkwell Archaic Period Lent by the Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri-Columbia; Museum Purchase (59.56). The Vase: h. 4.4 cm; d. of body 6.5 cm; d. of mouth 1.7 cm. Intact, but foot, mouth and lower edge of tubular rim chipped; surface scratched and chipped. Reddish brown, micaceous clay, white grit. Remains of black matter inside. Disk foot, concave underneath and with outer face bevelled, set off from body by slight groove. Globular body with steeply sloping shoulder. Small, round mouth sloping inwards and with deep, tubular rim. Decoration: Decorated with bands of black glaze, one on lower section of outer face of foot, four on body; mouth reserved, tubular rim black. Traces of ochre wash on reserved band of outer face of foot. The tubular rim, designed to prevent liquid from spilling, indicates the function of this little vase. Ink, both black and red, was used in the ancient Mediterranean world. Black ink was made from soot mixed with gum and had to be ground and mixed with water or vinegar before use. Red ink was made from cinnabar. Several examples of terracotta and lead inkwells from the Hellenistic period are known, some with penholders attached. These are all more spherical in shape than the Missouri inkwell. Inkwells from the Roman period also exist. These usually have a flat or slightly concave top with small mouth and sometimes a tubular rim. A date for the Missouri inkwell is difficult to establish. The shape seems to be unparalleled, and the banded decoration can not provide a close date since banded vases have been found in the Athenian Agora dating from the sixth to the fourth centuries. See Agora XII, nos. 85 (sixth century), 254 (sixth century), 918 (fourth century). Banded decoration is, however, more common in the sixth and early fifth centuries (Agora XII, p. 18), and a date in the Archaic period has, therefore, been suggested. If correctly dated, the Missouri inkwell seems to be the earliest one so far published. Erik Sjöqvist (infra） suggested that some fourth century double vases from Olynthos might have served as inkstands, and some little pots thought to be for ink in solid form and dating to the late fifth century were discovered on a shipwreck off the coast of Italy (Eiseman 1975). These have a mouth wide enough to allow solid ink to be scooped out, after which it would have been ground and mixed with water in another vessel. Two inkstands from Morgantina of the Hellenistic period illustrate the type of bowl which was used for grinding and mixing ink (Sjöqvist, infra). Any small bowl would presumably have been suitable for this purpose. Several small bowls and so-called saltcellars have been found in the Athenian Agora (Agora XII, nos. 843-956). One, number 915, still had remains of cinnabar inside. Although lacking the broad bases of the Morgantina example, some of them might have served as inkstands. They would not, however, have been suitable for storing liquid ink, whereas the small mouth of the Missouri inkwell could easily have been closed. For recent discussions of containers for ink and references to ancient inks and to other inkwells, inkstands and inkpots, see Eiseman 1975, 374-375; E. Sjöqvist, "Morgantina: Hellenistic Inkstands," AJA 63 (1959) 275-277. To the Hellenistic inkwells mentioned may be added some spherical ones with incised net-patterns. See H. A. Thompson, "Two Centuries of Hellenistic Pottery," Hesperia 3 (1934) 398, E 58 and others cited here.(unpublished) Jane Biers, University of Missouri-Columbia