The displayed black lacquer bowl was found during excavations of the Masliny settlement in the Northwestern Crimea by a team from Kharkov University as part of the North Crimean archaeological expedition. Such bowls were used for serving the table. The bowl was made using a potter’s wheel and a template method. After pre-drying, the product was decorated with a stamped pattern. Before being fired, the item was coated with a special mixture, which gave it the appearance of a lacquered finish.
The art of black lacquer was quite advanced in the 3rd century BCE but declined in quality in the 2nd century BCE and completely vanished in the 1st century BCE. In 1900, a pottery workshop was discovered in Chersonesus where both relief and painted bowls were produced alongside terracotta ceramics. Additionally, large quantities of more common ceramic items were also manufactured, coated with either brown or graphite lacquer and often adorned with stamped patterns.
It was from Chersonesus that these bowls could have been brought to the settlement of Masliny, as the cities and settlements in the Northern Black Sea region had extensive trade contacts. In the center, this bowl is decorated with four palmettes. This fan-shaped image of a palm leaf appeared on ancient Greek vessels during later periods, replacing the geometric pattern. Greek artists might have found inspiration for new artistic ideas in classical Eastern art. Such artworks with their bizarre and colorful motifs could not have failed to impress the Greeks who visited those countries.
As a result of this, the so-called carpet style emerged in Greece. The nature, themes, and ideas of decorative drawings changed. Rosettes and palmettes became widely used. Potters from Chersonesus used the same subjects and drawings. The ancient Greeks did not simply copy the palmette. They believed that a palm leaf design was too cluttered and stylized the pattern, adding curls that resembled grape tendrils. As a result, an elegant Eastern palmette took pride of place among other traditional patterns in Greek ceramics.
