Bowl (Piece)

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This piece of a wooden bowl was found in a ditch at the early Christian monastic site on Iona in Argyll. It provides evidence of the use of lathes for making bowls between 550 and 750.

About half of the bowl, here shown lying on a broken side, survives. It is cracked and fragmentary in places. The bowl was decorated with incised lines around the body, made while the bowl was turning on the lathe.

This is a wooden version of a type of French wheel-made pottery known as 'E ware'. E ware was a prestigious and valuable import, so it is not surprising that it was copied in wood.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-100-103-193-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.1997.167
• Date: 550 - 750 AD
  Between 550 and 750
  
• Material: Wood
  Bowl / portion
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Bowl / portion
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Argyll, Iona
  
• Event:
• Description: Portion of a wooden bowl, copy of a type of French wheel-made pottery known as 'E ware', Iona, Argyll, 550 - 750 AD
  
• References:
  • Barber, J.W. Excavations on Iona, 1979. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 111 (1981), pp 282-380. 
• Translations:
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