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124-679: Since 2002 the museum has occupied the former Hallstatt parsonage, and the previous holdings of the museum have been reunited with many of the objects which had previously been on display at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna . The earliest discoveries were made in 1846 by Johann Georg Ramsauer , who was the Bergmeister or Official of the Habsburg Salt Mines. He started a series of meticulous excavations on

248-561: A broken sherd : a potter's stamp or moulded decoration provides even more precise evidence. The classic guide by Oswald and Pryce, published in 1920 set out many of the principles, but the literature on the subject goes back into the 19th century, and is now extremely voluminous, including many monographs on specific regions, as well as excavation reports on important sites that have produced significant assemblages of sigillata wares, and articles in learned journals, some of which are dedicated to Roman pottery studies. The motifs and designs on

372-462: A class usually referred to as 'cut-glass' decoration, with geometric patterns cut into the surface of the vessel before slipping and firing. Two standard 'plain' types made in considerable numbers in Central Gaul also included barbotine decoration, Dr.35 and 36, a matching cup and dish with a curved horizontal rim embellished with a stylised scroll of leaves in relief. During the second half of

496-427: A description of a contemporary studio pottery technique supposedly inspired by ancient pottery. Usually roughly translated as 'sealed earth', the meaning of 'terra sigillata' is 'clay bearing little images' (latin sigilla ), not 'clay with a sealed (impervious) surface'. The archaeological term is applied, however, to plain-surfaced pots as well as those decorated with figures in relief , because it does not refer to

620-485: A glossy black slip, though the dividing line between black terra sigillata and other fine black-gloss wares, which were also manufactured in the area, is sometimes hazy. When a vessel is a classic samian form and decorated in relief in the style of a known samian potter, but finished with black slip rather than a red one, it may be classed as black samian. Though the Central Gaulish forms continued and built upon

744-516: A much larger project – an Imperial Forum – which was never realized in full. Work on the Natural History Museum lasted from 1871 until 1881. On August 10, 1889, Emperor Franz Joseph himself officially opened the museum. Its façade, designed by Gottfried Semper, shows figures and statues representing progress in the field of natural sciences and the power of nature . Below the dome, the imperial dedication in golden letters reads: "To

868-399: A panacea effective against every type of poison and several diseases, including plague. Berthold invited authorities to test it themselves. In two cases, physicians, princes and town leaders conducted trials involving dogs who were either given poison followed by the antidote or poison alone; the dogs who got the antidote lived and the dogs who got the poison alone died. In 1581, a prince tested

992-442: A red cloth, holds an hourglass (presumably an allusion to Chronos , the god of time). In 39 display halls with an area of 8,700 m the collections give an overview of the diversity of life on Earth . The order of the halls is based on the classification values of the 19th century: humans as the " apex of creation" were originally presented in a large part of the mezzanine with anthropology , ethnology , and prehistory . On

1116-564: A result of this recent work that this is not the case and that the colour of the glossy slip is in fact due to no more than the crystal size of the minerals dispersed within the matrix glass. Arretine ware, in spite of its very distinctive appearance, was an integral part of the wider picture of fine ceramic tablewares in the Graeco-Roman world of the Hellenistic and early Roman period. That picture must itself be seen in relation to

1240-410: A single mould because they have a swelling profile that tapers inwards from the point of greatest diameter. Some large flagons were made at La Graufesenque by making the lower and upper bowl-shaped portions in moulds, and then joining these and adding the neck. Obviously the open forms, namely bowls that could be formed in, and extracted from, a single mould, were quicker and simpler to make.}} Study of

1364-543: A soft cloth or brush to achieve a shine ranging from a smooth silky lustre to a high gloss. The surface of ancient terra sigillata vessels did not require this burnishing or polishing. Burnishing was a technique used on some wares in the Roman period, but terra sigillata was not one of them. The polished surface can only be retained if fired within the low-fire range and will lose its shine if fired higher, but can still display an appealing silky quality. In archaeological usage,

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1488-714: A systematic way and new objects are added each year. Special temporary exhibitions may be presented as well in individual halls. The first four halls show the systematic mineral exhibit. Hall I contains large mineral samples (in a glass cabinet in the middle of the room), a collection of building materials (samples) and the first part of the systematic mineral exhibit. Hall II continues with sulphides , halogenides , oxides , hydroxides , nitrates , iodates and carbonates ), in Hall III there are carbonates, borates , sulfates , chromates , phosphates , arsenates and vanadates . Phosphates, arsenates and silicates, gemstones and

1612-432: A time, at a temperature of around 1000 °C. A 2005 work has shown that the slip is a matrix of mainly silicon and aluminium oxides, within which are suspended sub-microscopic crystals of haematite and corundum. The matrix itself does not contain any metallic ions, the haematite is substituted in aluminium and titanium while the corundum is substituted in iron. The two crystal populations are homogenously dispersed within

1736-408: A translation (e.g. terre sigillée ), is always used for both Italian and Gaulish products. Nomenclature has to be established at an early stage of research into a subject, and antiquarians of the 18th and 19th centuries often used terms that we would not choose today, but as long as their meaning is clear and well-established, this does not matter, and detailed study of the history of the terminology

1860-457: A transparent container, these layers are usually visible within 24 hours. The top layer is water, the center layer is the terra sigillata and the bottom layer is the sludge. Siphoning off the middle layers of "sig" which contain the smallest clay particles, produces terra sigillata. The remaining larger clay-particle bottom layers are discarded. Terra sigillata is usually brushed or sprayed in thin layers onto dry or almost dry unfired ware. The ware

1984-436: A whole class of pottery, in contemporary ceramic art , 'terra sigillata' describes only a watery refined slip used to facilitate the burnishing of raw clay surfaces to promote glossy surface effects in low fire techniques, including primitive and unglazed alternative western-style Raku firing. Terra sigillata is also used as a brushable decorative colourant medium in higher temperature glazed ceramic techniques. In 1906

2108-570: A wide range of topics related to human sciences , earth sciences , and life sciences . The Index Herbariorum code assigned to this museum is W and it is used when citing housed herbarium specimens. The earliest collections of the Natural History Museum Vienna date back more than 250 years. It was the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I , Maria Theresa ’s husband, who in 1750 purchased what

2232-534: Is a direct copy of the samian forms Dr.35 and 36, made in South and Central Gaul), but over time a distinctive ARS repertoire developed. There was a wide range of dishes and bowls, many with rouletted or stamped decoration, and closed forms such as tall ovoid flagons with appliqué ornament (Hayes Form 171). The ambitious large rectangular dishes with relief decoration in the centre and on the wide rims (Hayes Form 56), were clearly inspired by decorated silver platters of

2356-543: Is a large natural history museum located in Vienna , Austria . The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matters relating to natural sciences . The museum's 39 exhibition rooms cover 8,460 square meters and present more than 100,000 objects. It is home to 30 million objects available to more than 60 scientists and numerous guest researchers who carry out basic research in

2480-534: Is crowned with a 65 m dome bearing a huge bronze statue of the Greek sun god Helios , a symbol of the life-giving element without which nature would not exist. The upper and middle levels ( mezzanine and first floor) of the intricately decorated facade display allegorical and mythological figures representing key elements of the universe and its discovery and understanding by man. On the balustrade visitors can see sculptures of researchers and scientists who represent

2604-463: Is frequently very reminiscent of contemporary silver bowls, with formalised, radiating patterns of leaves and flowers. The crisp and precisely profiled forms of the plain dishes and cups were also part of a natural evolution of taste and fashion in the Mediterranean world of the 1st century BC. Arretine ware began to be manufactured at and near Arezzo (Tuscany) a little before the middle of

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2728-472: Is of interest and importance mainly to specialists, two sources stand out because their wares are often found outside their own immediate areas, namely Rheinzabern , near Speyer , and Trier . The Trier potteries evidently began to make samian vessels around the beginning of the 2nd century AD, and were still active until the middle of the 3rd century. The styles and the potters have been divided by scholars into two main phases, Werkstatten I and II. Some of

2852-572: Is really a side-issue that is of academic interest only. Scholars writing in English now often use "red gloss wares" or "red slip wares", both to avoid these issues of definition, and also because many other wares of the Roman period share aspects of technique with the traditional sigillata fabrics. Italian and Gaulish TS vessels were made in standardised shapes constituting services of matching dishes, bowls and serving vessels. These changed and evolved over time, and have been very minutely classified;

2976-439: Is sometimes used to characterize all varieties of it. Whereas Anthony King's definition, following the more usual practice among Roman pottery specialists, makes no mention of decoration, but states that terra sigillata is 'alternatively known as samian ware'. However, 'samian ware' is normally used only to refer to the sub-class of terra sigillata made in ancient Gaul. In European languages other than English, terra sigillata, or

3100-484: Is still much to be learnt about this material. While eastern sigillata C is known to come from Çandarli (ancient Pitane ), there were likely other workshops in the wider region of Pergamon . By the early 2nd century AD, when Gaulish samian was completely dominating the markets in the Northern provinces, the eastern sigillatas were themselves beginning to be displaced by the rising importance of African Red Slip wares in

3224-459: Is then burnished with a soft cloth before the water in the terra sigillata soaks into the porous body or with a hard, smooth-surfaced object . The burnished ware is fired, often to a lower temperature than normal bisque temperature of approximately 900 °C. Higher firing temperatures tend to remove the burnished effect because the clay particles start to recrystallize. Since the 18th century Samian ware pots have been found in sufficient numbers in

3348-519: The Augustan period (Augustus, reg . 27 BC–AD 14), but it was not until the reign of Trajan (AD 98–117), and the beginning of a decline in the South Gaulish export trade, that Central Gaulish samian ware became important outside its own region. Though it never achieved the extensive geographical distribution of the South Gaulish factories, in the provinces of Gaul and Britain , it was by far

3472-483: The Renaissance , it was seen as a proof against poisoning, as well as a general cure for any bodily impurities, and it was highly prized as a medicine and medicinal component. In 1580, a miner named Adreas Berthold traveled around Germany selling Silesian terra sigillata made from a special clay dug from the hills outside the town of Striga, now Strzegom , Poland, and processed into small tablets. He promoted it as

3596-580: The Schönbrunn zoo in 1752 and the botanical garden in 1753, also organized the first scientific overseas expedition. In 1755 he commissioned Nicolaus Joseph Jacquin to travel to the Caribbean , the Antilles , Venezuela , and Colombia . Jacquin returned from this expedition with many live animals and plants for the zoo and the botanical garden, as well as 67 cases full of other items of interest from

3720-502: The archduchess on her journey to Rio de Janeiro . Those taking part in the expedition, carried out under the scientific direction of the head of the history collection, included the researchers Johann Mikan and Johann Emmanuel, as well as the taxidermist Johann Natterer and the landscape painter Thomas Ender . The expedition lasted 18 years and aimed to collect all plants, animals, and minerals of scientific interest and bring them back to Vienna. The most ambitious Austrian expedition

3844-496: The relief -decorated wares echo the general traditions of Graeco-Roman decorative arts, with depictions of deities, references to myths and legends, and popular themes such as hunting and erotic scenes. Individual figure-types, like the vessel-shapes, have been classified, and in many cases they may be linked with specific potters or workshops. Some of the decoration relates to contemporary architectural ornament, with egg-and-tongue (ovolo) mouldings, acanthus and vine scrolls and

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3968-552: The 13th century, when Restoro d'Arezzo 's massive encyclopedia included a chapter praising the refined Roman ware discovered in his native city, "what is perhaps the first account of an aspect of ancient art to be written since classical times". The chronicler Giovanni Villani also mentioned the ware. The first published study of Arretine ware was that of Fabroni in 1841, and by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, German scholars in particular had made great advances in systematically studying and understanding both Arretine ware and

4092-502: The 19th century was the Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition (1872–1874) led by Julius von Payer and Carl Weyprecht . On August 30, 1873, the participants on board discovered Franz Joseph Land . With the main ship, the 220-ton Admiral Tegetthoff, at risk of breaking up under the pressure of the ice, the members of the expedition were forced to leave the ship. On May 20, 1874, they began their long retreat to

4216-472: The 1st century AD. Terra sigillata hispanica developed its own distinctive forms and designs, and continued in production into the late Roman period, the 4th and 5th centuries AD. It was not exported to other regions. The principal Central Gaulish samian potteries were situated at Lezoux and Les Martres-de-Veyre , not far from Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne . Production had already begun at Lezoux in

4340-585: The 1st century BC. The industry expanded rapidly in a period when Roman political and military influence was spreading far beyond Italy: for the inhabitants of the first provinces of the Roman Empire in the reign of the Emperor Augustus ( reg. 27 BC – AD 14), this tableware, with its precise forms, shiny surface, and, on the decorated vessels, its visual introduction to Classical art and mythology, must have deeply impressed some inhabitants of

4464-524: The 2nd century, some Lezoux workshops making relief-decorated bowls, above all that of Cinnamus, dominated the market with their large production. The wares of Cinnamus, Paternus, Divixtus, Doeccus, Advocisus, Albucius and some others often included large, easily legible name-stamps incorporated into the decoration, clearly acting as brand-names or advertisements. Though these vessels were very competently made, they are heavy and somewhat coarse in form and finish compared with earlier Gaulish samian ware. From

4588-515: The 3rd and 4th centuries, Argonne ware, decorated with all-over patterns of small stamps, was made in the area east of Rheims and quite widely traded. Argonne ware was essentially still a type of sigillata, and the most characteristic form is a small, sturdy Dr.37 bowl. Small, localised attempts to make conventional relief-decorated samian ware included a brief and unsuccessful venture at Colchester in Britain, apparently initiated by potters from

4712-454: The 4th century AD, competent copies of the fabric and forms were also made in several other regions, including Asia Minor , the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt. Over the long period of production, there was obviously much change and evolution in both forms and fabrics. Both Italian and Gaulish plain forms influenced ARS in the 1st and 2nd centuries (for example, Hayes Form 2, the cup or dish with an outcurved rim decorated with barbotine leaves,

4836-424: The 4th century, which were made in rectangular and polygonal shapes as well as in the traditional circular form. Decorative motifs reflected not only the Graeco-Roman traditions of the Mediterranean, but eventually the rise of Christianity as well. There is a great variety of monogram crosses and plain crosses amongst the stamps. In contrast to the archaeological usage, in which the term terra sigillata refers to

4960-753: The Classical naturalism of some of their Italian counterparts. In the last two decades of the 1st century, the Dragendorff 37, a deep, rounded vessel with a plain upright rim, overtook the 29 in popularity. This simple shape remained the standard Gaulish samian relief-decorated form, from all Gaulish manufacturing regions, for more than a century. Small relief-decorated beakers such as forms Déchelette 67 and Knorr 78 were also made in South Gaul, as were occasional 'one-off' or very ambitious mould-made vessels, such as large thin-walled flagons and flasks. But

5084-451: The Dr.11 allowed the poinçons (stamps) used making the moulds of human and animal figures to be fairly large, often about 5–6 cm high, and the modelling is frequently very accomplished indeed, attracting the interest of modern art-historians as well as archaeologists. Major workshops, such as those of M.Perennius Tigranus, P. Cornelius and Cn. Ateius, stamped their products, and the names of

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5208-656: The Dr.37 bowls, for example those with the workshop stamp of Ianus, bear comparison with Central Gaulish products of the same date: others are less successful. But the real strength of the Rheinzabern industry lay in its extensive production of good-quality samian cups, beakers, flagons and vases, many imaginatively decorated with barbotine designs or in the 'cut-glass' incised technique. Ludowici created his own type-series, which sometimes overlaps with those of other sigillata specialists. Ludowici's types use combinations of upper- and lower-case letters rather than simple numbers,

5332-521: The ETS-II was probably made in Pamphylia , at Perge , Aspendos and Side . However this classification has been criticized, and is not universally accepted. A potter's quarter at Sagalassos inland from the southern Turkish coast has been excavated since it was discovered in 1987, and its wares traced to many sites in the region. It was active from around 25 to 550 AD. African red slip ware (ARS)

5456-1127: The East Gaulish factories at Sinzig, a centre that was itself an offshoot of the Trier workshops. In the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, there had been several industries making fine red tablewares with smooth, glossy-slipped surfaces since about the middle of the 2nd century BC, well before the rise of the Italian sigillata workshops. By the 1st century BC, their forms often paralleled Arretine plain-ware shapes quite closely. There were evidently centres of production in Syria ; in western Turkey, exported through Ephesos ; Pergamon ; Çandarlı , near Pergamon; and on Cyprus , but archaeologists often refer to eastern sigillata A from Northern Syria , eastern sigillata B from Tralles in Asia Minor, eastern sigillata C from ancient Pitane , and eastern sigillata D (or Cypriot sigillata) from Cyprus, as there

5580-533: The Gaulish samian that occurred on Roman military sites being excavated in Germany. Dragendorff's classification was expanded by other scholars, including S. Loeschcke in his study of the Italian sigillata excavated at the early Roman site of Haltern . Research on Arretine ware has continued very actively throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, for example with the publication and revision of an inventory of

5704-716: The German potter Karl Fischer re-invented the method of making terra sigillata of Roman quality and obtained patent protection for this procedure at the Kaiserliche Patentamt in Berlin. Modern terra sigillata is made by allowing the clay particles to separate into layers by particle size. A deflocculant such as sodium silicate or sodium hexametaphosphate is often added to the watery clay/water slip mixture to facilitate separation of fine particle flocs or aggregates. For undisturbed deflocculated slip settling in

5828-629: The Mediterranean and the Eastern Empire. In the fourth century AD, Phocaean red slip appears as a successor to Eastern sigillata C. In the 1980s two primary groups of Eastern Terra Sigillata in the Eastern Mediterranean basin were distinguished as ETS-I and ETS-II based on their chemical fingerprints as shown by analysis by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). ETS-I originated in Eastern Cyprus , whereas

5952-672: The Museum. From 1876, Superintendents: From 1919, Chairmen of the Museum Council: From 1924, First Directors: From 1994: Directors General From June 2020: The Natural History Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts were commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830–1916) and designed by the architects Gottfried Semper (1803–1879) and Carl Hasenauer (1833–1894). The two museums have identical exteriors and face each other. They were originally designed to be part of

6076-545: The Natural History Museum Vienna is a unique artistic presentation. The exhibitions on mezzanine level: Halls 1–4: Mineralogy & Petrography Hall 5: Meteorites Halls 6–10: Paleontology Halls 11–13: Prehistory Halls 14–15: Anthropology The large public displays in halls I–V show aesthetic and scientifically valuable minerals , ores , gemstones , rocks (including decorative and building stones) as well as meteorites and impactites (including tektites ) collected over more than 500 years. All objects are arranged in

6200-560: The Naturhistorisches Museum has established a branch study centre ‘Die montanarchäologischen Forschungen’ in the ‘Bergschmiede‘ and undertakes further research and excavations. In 2010 and important further group of burials was uncovered and in 2013 a wooden staircase from the ‘Christian von Tuschwerk’, has been moved to a show area within the mine and dated by dendrochronology to the Bronze Age :1344 -1343 BCE. In

6324-559: The Roman period salt mining was recommenced on a considerable scale and monumental stone buildings were constructed. An impressive stone pediment is on display in the museum. In 1987, extensive remains of a stone building were found when the Janu Sports Store was built, and these are available for public view. The Roman finds include several fine Samian ware bowls. Naturhistorisches Museum The Natural History Museum Vienna ( German : Naturhistorisches Museum Wien )

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6448-480: The South Gaulish traditions, the decoration of the principal decorated forms, Dr.30 and Dr.37, was distinctive. New human and animal figure-types appeared, generally modelled with greater realism and sophistication than those of La Graufesenque and other South Gaulish centres. Figure-types and decorative details have been classified, and can often be linked to specific workshops Lezoux wares also included vases decorated with barbotine relief, with appliqué motifs, and

6572-607: The Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum joined with the Hallstatt museum to undertake further excavation. The excavator was Bergrat Hutter, and he was assisted by Isodor Engl. This led to many of the most important discoveries being placed on display in Vienna. In 1895 Engl became the curator of the Hallstatt museum. In 1907 new excavations were started by Marie, Duchess of Mecklenburg - Schwerin , who had

6696-496: The Western Roman Empire from about 50 BC to the early 3rd century AD. Definitions of 'TS' have grown up from the earliest days of antiquarian studies, and are far from consistent; one survey of Classical art says: Terra sigillata ... is a Latin term used by modern scholars to designate a class of decorated red-gloss pottery .... not all red-gloss ware was decorated, and hence the more inclusive term 'Samian ware'

6820-542: The Wissenschaftlicher Club (Science Club) and founder of the Mineralogy collection of the department. By 1886, Rudolf Köchlin became scientific assistant and, later, maintained an inventory of the collection and even kept a diary. Hochstetter died on July 18, 1884, and did not live to see the completion of the building for whose founding he had been so actively engaged. His successor as superintendent

6944-474: The ancient Roman economy. Modern "terra sig" should be clearly distinguished from the close reproductions of Roman wares made by some potters deliberately recreating and using the Roman methods. The finish called 'terra sigillata' by studio potters can be made from most clays , mixed as a very thin liquid slip and settled to separate out only the finest particles to be used as terra sigillata. When applied to unfired clay surfaces, "terra sig" can be polished with

7068-501: The attempt to find the answers. Sigillata vessels, both plain and decorated, were manufactured at several centres in southern France, including Bram , Montans , La Graufesenque, Le Rozier and Banassac , from the late 1st century BC: of these, La Graufesenque, near Millau, was the principal producer and exporter. Although the establishment of sigillata potteries in Gaul may well have arisen initially to meet local demand and to undercut

7192-743: The beginning of the 1st century AD, some of them had set up branch factories in Gaul, for example at La Muette near Lyon in Central Gaul. Nor were the classic wares of the Augustan period the only forms of terra sigillata made in Italy: later industries in the Po Valley and elsewhere continued the tradition. In the Middle Ages, examples of the ware that were serendipitously discovered in digging foundations in Arezzo drew admiring attention as early as

7316-442: The bowl dried, the shrinkage was sufficient for it to be withdrawn from the mould, in order to carry out any finishing work, which might include the addition of foot-rings, the shaping and finishing of rims, and in all cases the application of the slip. Barbotine and appliqué ('sprigged') techniques were sometimes used to decorate vessels of closed forms.{{|Closed forms: shapes such as vases and flagons /jugs that cannot be made in

7440-777: The cemeteries around the mines between 1846 and 1867. He was helped with this by a mining assistant, Isodor Engl. Then from 1871 to 1878, Engl continued the excavations on behalf of the Museum Francisco-Carolinum in Linz. Many of these earlier finds became part of the collections in Linz Museum. In 1884 the Hallstatt Museum Association started to form a museum collection. In 1889, the Anthropological Society of Vienna and

7564-412: The characteristic decorative motifs , combined in some cases with name-stamps of workshops incorporated into the decoration, and also sometimes with the cursive signatures of mouldmakers, makes it possible to build up a very detailed knowledge of the industry. Careful observation of form and fabric is therefore usually enough for an archaeologist experienced in the study of sigillata to date and identify

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7688-828: The clay deposits proved suitable. The products of the Italian workshops are also known as Aretine ware from Arezzo and have been collected and admired since the Renaissance. The wares made in the Gaulish factories are often referred to by English-speaking archaeologists as samian ware . Closely related pottery fabrics made in the North African and Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire are not usually referred to as terra sigillata, but by more specific names, e.g. African red slip wares . All these types of pottery are significant for archaeologists: they can often be closely dated, and their distribution casts light on aspects of

7812-405: The collection it contained were popular: from August 13, 1889, to the end of December 1889 the museum counted 175,000 visitors, of which most (134,000) visited the museum during the 19 Sundays over this time span alone. During 1889, the "Mineralogisch-Petrographische Abteilung" (Department of Mineralogy-Petrography) was under the directorship of Aristides Brezina . In 1889, the museum purchased

7936-622: The collection of Friedrich Freiherr von Distler , acquired in 1932). Kommerzialrat Isidor Weinberger was a patron at the start of the 20th century. He was one of the sponsors of mineralogy, and donated the large specimen of amethyst sample from the Serra do Mar in Brazil , weighing about 450 kilograms (990 lb). Particularly valuable are the more than 500 meteorite thin sections, formerly owned by Aristides Brezina, custodian and former director, which Weinberger had purchased and later presented to

8060-524: The collection of William Earl Hidden from Newark, New Jersey ( USA ) for a sum of ƒ 15,000 with the aid of an advance from the "All-highest Family Fund" of the Imperial Household. This loan had to be repaid in a series of complicated transactions, effected within a timeframe of ten years (i.e. through the sale of mineral doublets, meteorite sections, and precious-metal redemptions). These redemptions also included samples of silver and gold from

8184-553: The collections. To this end he had minerals from many different regions sent to Vienna, where they were added to the collection. Under the leadership of Ignaz von Born the cabinet of natural history quickly developed into a center of practical research. To mark the marriage of his daughter Leopoldine to the heir to the Portuguese throne, Dom Pedro , Emperor Francis II sponsored a scientific expedition to her new home country of Brazil in 1817. Two Austrian frigates accompanied

8308-561: The construction of the new Museum of Nature started in the fall of 1871, and construction was completed more than ten years later. On April 29, 1876, Emperor Franz Joseph I signed the document certifying the Natural History Court Museum, and Ferdinand von Hochstetter was appointed as the managing director of the museum. Hochstetter proposed a new organization for the museum and its collections. Four departments having far-reaching autonomy were created as successors to

8432-826: The continuing progress of human knowledge. These fundamental ideas are also the basis for the sculptures and paintings in the Dome Hall and the grand staircase; the highlight here is Hans Canon 's ceiling fresco, The Circle of Life . The internal structure of the building is dictated by the systematic organization of the exhibition and the individual departments. The mezzanine covers inanimate nature (Department of Mineralogy , Halls 1–5), sediments and traces of life early in Earth's history (Department of Geology & Paleontology , Halls 6–10), early human history (Department of Prehistory , Halls 11–13) and human development (Department of Anthropology , Halls 14–15). The first floor presents

8556-579: The contrasts of black and red. Glossy-slipped black pottery made in Etruria and Campania continued this technological tradition, though painted decoration gave way to simpler stamped motifs and in some cases, to applied motifs moulded in relief. The tradition of decorating entire vessels in low relief was also well established in Greece and Asia Minor by the time the Arretine industry began to expand in

8680-411: The decades passed, they evolved and changed with the normal shifts of fashion, and some new shapes were created, such as the plain bowl with a horizontal flange below the rim, Dr.38. Mortaria , food-preparation bowls with a gritted interior surface, were also made in Central Gaulish samian fabric in the second half of the 2nd century (Dr.45). There is a small sub-class of Central Gaulish samian ware with

8804-767: The decoration but to the makers stamp impressed in the bottom of the vessel. Terra sigillata as an archaeological term refers chiefly to a specific type of plain and decorated tableware made in Italy and in Gaul (France and the Rhineland) during the Roman Empire. These vessels have glossy surface slips ranging from a soft lustre to a brilliant glaze-like shine, in a characteristic colour range from pale orange to bright red; they were produced in standard shapes and sizes and were manufactured on an industrial scale and widely exported. The sigillata industries grew up in areas where there were existing traditions of pottery manufacture, and where

8928-496: The display halls, with display cases of dark, carved wood, are mostly originals from the opening days of the museum, from the plans of Ferdinand von Hochstetter . This historical presentation of the collections is almost unique in the world today. The mezzanine is decorated with more than 100 oil paintings, illustrations which complement the objects displayed in the halls. Some halls are additionally decorated with figures. This interplay between decoration and display objects gives

9052-407: The encouragement of this interest was a concern of the young sovereign, Franz Josef I : The newly built museum was inscribed: "Dem Reiche der Natur und seiner Erforschung —Kaiser FRANZ JOSEF I" ("To the realm of nature and its exploration —Emperor FRANZ JOSEPH I"). The new Imperial-Royal Natural History Court Museum thus documented the benevolent sentiment of the Imperial Household. Excavations for

9176-661: The end of the 2nd century, the export of sigillata from Central Gaul rapidly, perhaps even abruptly, ceased. Pottery production continued, but in the 3rd century, it reverted to being a local industry. There were numerous potteries manufacturing terra sigillata in East Gaul, which included Alsace , the Saarland , and the Rhine and Mosel regions, but while the samian pottery from Luxeuil , La Madeleine , Chémery-Faulquemont, Lavoye , Remagen , Sinzig , Blickweiler and other sites

9300-513: The factory-owners and of the workers within the factories, which often appear on completed bowls and on plain wares, have been extensively studied, as have the forms of the vessels, and the details of their dating and distribution. Italian sigillata was not made only at or near Arezzo itself: some of the important Arezzo businesses had branch factories in Pisa , the Po valley and at other Italian cities. By

9424-446: The first floor the visitor was to be guided from the "most simple" through to the "most consummate evolutionary animals". For this reason, the apes , as representatives of the primates , are found at the end of the tour. This systematic concept of the collections has been preserved to the present even though today evolution is no longer seen as development toward perfection, but as development toward diversity . The furnishings of

9548-616: The first letter referring to the general shape, such as 'T' for Teller (dish). In general, the products of the East Gaulish industries moved away from the early imperial Mediterranean tradition of intricately profiled dishes and cups, and ornamented bowls made in moulds, and converged with the later Roman local traditions of pottery-making in the northern provinces, using free-thrown, rounded forms and creating relief designs with freehand slip-trailing. Fashions in fine tablewares were changing. Some East Gaulish producers made bowls and cups decorated only with rouletted or stamped decoration, and in

9672-508: The first major scheme, by the German classical archaeologist Hans Dragendorff (1895), is still in use (as e.g. "Dr.29"), and there have been many others, such as the classifications of Déchelette, Knorr, Hermet, Walters, Curle, Loeschcke, Ritterling, Hermet and Ludowici, and more recently, the Conspectus of Arretine forms and Hayes's type-series of African Red Slip and Eastern sigillatas. These reference sometimes make it possible to date

9796-404: The form of lists or tallies apparently fired with single kiln-loads, giving potters' names and numbers of pots have long been known, and they suggest very large loads of 25,000–30,000 vessels. Though not all the kilns at this, or other, manufacturing sites were so large, the excavation of the grand four (big kiln) at La Graufesenque, which was in use in the late 1st and early 2nd century, confirms

9920-513: The former "Ambrasian Collection" of Archduke Ferdinand II , a loss and impairment to the collection. In the same year of 1889, several items from the former private collection of Crown Prince Rudolf , whose death was reported as suicide, were passed on to the department, although apparently this had been against his will: the Crown Prince had left his natural history collection to Viennese teaching institutions. In accordance with these terms,

10044-505: The geologic and paleontological collection and his mineral collection were to be passed to the "K.k. Hochschule für Bodenkultur" (Imperial-Royal University for Agriculture). Instead, the glass imitations of precious stones and some other mineralogical items were entrusted to the Imperial Natural History Court Museum. Koechlin became an assistant in 1892 and was promoted to assistant custodian in 1896. In

10168-619: The glossy red slip itself. The most recognisable decorated Arretine form is Dragendorff 11, a large, deep goblet on a high pedestal base, closely resembling some silver table vessels of the same period, such as the Warren Cup . The iconography , too, tended to match the subjects and styles seen on silver plate, namely mythological and genre scenes, including erotic subjects, and small decorative details of swags, leafy wreaths and ovolo ( egg-and-tongue ) borders that may be compared with elements of Augustan architectural ornament. The deep form of

10292-404: The grand staircase depicts "The Cycle of Life." Hans Canon (1829–1885) had the freedom to choose his subject and painted a dramatic allegory of the rise and decline of humanity. In addition, humankind serving as the central theme of this painting further fulfills Hochstetter ’s concept. The cycle of growing and passing away in human existence is presented in a circular composition. It reflects

10416-421: The huge diversity of the animal world ( Zoological Departments, Halls 22–39) as well as the fascinating realm of the Earth's smallest organisms ("Microtheater", Hall 21). The exhibits themselves are displayed in a systematic order according to how closely they are related to each other or their chronological position in the history of Planet Earth or human beings. The 100 square-metre ceiling painting above

10540-461: The idea of the fight for existence, which dominated scientific thought at that time. At the same time the animal world was brought into this cycle as well: on one side "mankind made the Earth its servant" (it catches a catfish with its trident); on the other side, however, nature wins the upper hand (a vulture guards its prey). Nevertheless, mankind stands in the center of these events: a man, wrapped in

10664-406: The kiln was so arranged as to prevent the reducing gases from the fuel from coming into contact with the pottery. The presence of iron oxides in the clay/slip was thought to be reflected in the colour according to the oxidation state of the iron (Fe[III] for the red and Fe[II] for the black, the latter produced by the reducing gases coming into contact with the pottery during firing). It now appears as

10788-478: The known potter's stamps ("Oxé-Comfort-Kenrick") and the development of a Conspectus of vessel forms, bringing earlier work on the respective topics up to date. Catalogues of the punch motives and the workshops of Arretine Sigillata were published in 2004 and 2009, respectively, and a catalogue on the known appliqué motifs appeared in 2024. As with all ancient pottery studies, each generation asks new questions and applies new techniques (such as analysis of clays) in

10912-413: The later mould-made Dr.37 bowls are of very poor quality, with crude decoration and careless finishing. The Rheinzabern kilns and their products have been studied since Wilhelm Ludowici (1855–1929) began to excavate there in 1901, and to publish his results in a series of detailed reports. Rheinzabern produced both decorated and plain forms for around a century from the middle of the 2nd century. Some of

11036-493: The lead section of this article is an early example, less angular than the developed form of the 60s and 70s, with decoration consisting of simple, very elegant leaf-scrolls. Small human and animal figures, and more complex designs set out in separate panels, became more popular by the 70s of the 1st century. Larger human and animal figures could be used on the Dr.30 vessels, but while many of these have great charm, South Gaulish craftsmen never achieved, and perhaps never aspired to,

11160-526: The like. While the decoration of Arretine ware is often highly naturalistic in style, and is closely comparable with silver tableware of the same period, the designs on the Gaulish products, made by provincial artisans adopting Classical subjects, are intriguing for their expression of ' romanisation ', the fusion of Classical and native cultural and artistic traditions. Many of the Gaulish manufacturing sites have been extensively excavated and studied. At La Graufesenque in southern Gaul, documentary evidence in

11284-418: The luxury tablewares made of silver. Centuries before Italian terra sigillata was made, Attic painted vases , and later their regional variants made in Italy, involved the preparation of a very fine clay body covered with a slip that fired to a glossy surface without the need for any polishing or burnishing. Greek painted wares also involved the precise understanding and control of firing conditions to achieve

11408-521: The manufacture of a broken decorated sherd to within 20 years or less. Most of the forms that were decorated with figures in low relief were thrown in pottery moulds, the inner surfaces of which had been decorated using fired-clay stamps or punches (usually referred to as poinçons ) and some free-hand work using a stylus . The mould was therefore decorated on its interior surface with a full decorative design of impressed, intaglio (hollowed) motifs that would appear in low relief on any bowl formed in it. As

11532-468: The mass of South Gaulish samian found on Roman sites of the 1st century AD consists of plain dishes, bowls and cups, especially Dr.18 (a shallow dish) and Dr.27 (a little cup with a distinctive double curve to the profile), many of which bear potters' name-stamps, and the large decorated forms 29, 30 and 37. A local industry inspired by Arretine and South Gaulish imports grew up in the Iberian provinces in

11656-407: The matrix. The colour of haematite depends on the crystal size. Large crystals of this mineral are black but as the size decreases to sub-micron the colour shifts to red. The fraction of aluminium has a similar effect. It was formerly thought that the difference between 'red' and 'black' samian was due to the presence (black) or absence (red) of reducing gases from the kiln and that the construction of

11780-447: The middle of the 1st century BC, and examples were imported into Italy. Relief-decorated cups, some in lead-glazed wares, were produced at several eastern centres, and undoubtedly played a part in the technical and stylistic evolution of decorated Arretine, but Megarian bowls, made chiefly in Greece and Asia Minor, are usually seen as the most direct inspiration. These are small, hemispherical bowls without foot-rings, and their decoration

11904-465: The most common type of fine tableware, plain and decorated, in use during the 2nd century AD. The quality of the ware and the slip is usually excellent, and some of the products of Les Martres-de-Veyre, in particular, are outstanding, with a lustrous slip and a very hard, dense body. The surface colour tends towards a more orange-red hue than the typical South Gaulish slips. Vessel-forms that had been made in South Gaul continued to be produced, though as

12028-557: The natural world. After the Emperor's death, Maria Theresa gave the natural science collection to the state and opened it up to the general public. Thus she created the first museum in line with the principles and visions of the Enlightenment . It was Maria Theresa who brought the mineralogist Ignaz von Born to Vienna. Born, who had developed a new method of extracting precious metals, was tasked with classifying and expanding

12152-481: The new northern provinces of the Empire. Certainly it epitomised certain aspects of Roman taste and technical expertise. Pottery industries in the areas we now call north-east France and Belgium quickly began to copy the shapes of plain Arretine dishes and cups in the wares now known as Gallo-Belgic, and in South and Central Gaul, it was not long before local potters also began to emulate the mould-made decoration and

12276-564: The older Cabinets; the Imperial-Royal Mineralogical Court Cabinet was divided in an Imperial-Royal Mineralogical-Petrographical Department and an Imperial-Royal Geologic-Paleontologic Department. The petrologist and meteorite specialist Aristides Brezina became director of the former and was supported by scientific colleagues: Friedrich Berwerth , with Felix Karrer and Rudolf Koechlin providing voluntary unpaid services. Felix Karrer became Secretary of

12400-605: The period 1846–1863 Ramsauer started, at the suggestion of the Museum Francisco-Carolium, a record of his discoveries. The quality of his records were well in advance of contemporary archaeological recording. These records are known as the ‘Protokoll’ and are now held in the Naturhistorisches Museum . The watercolour drawings of the burials were largely undertaken by his assistant Isodor Engl. About 980 burials are recorded as well as about 19,497 grave goods. Slightly over half of these burials are inhumations and

12524-443: The period 600-350BC. After the 2nd World War the collections were reorganized by Franz Zahler and Karl Höplinger. In 1969 the Museum was renamed the ‘Praehistorisches Museum’. During this period, study of collections proceeded jointly with the Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum . In particular the work of In 2002 the “Museum Hallstatt” was re-opened in the present premises and many of the discoveries brought back from Vienna. Since 2002

12648-554: The precious stones collection. The original rhinestone copy of the Florentine Diamond is kept in Hall IV. Terra sigillata Terra sigillata is a term with at least three distinct meanings: as a description of medieval medicinal earth; in archaeology, as a general term for some of the fine red ancient Roman pottery with glossy surface slips made in specific areas of the Roman Empire; and more recently, as

12772-484: The prices of imported Italian goods, they became enormously successful in their own right, and by the later 1st century AD, South Gaulish samian was being exported not only to other provinces in the north-west of the Empire, but also to Italy and other regions of the Mediterranean, North Africa and even the eastern Empire. One of the finds in the ruins of Pompeii , destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in August AD 79,

12896-475: The realm of nature and its exploration". The historicism style of art and architecture was very popular in 19th century Austria . The Natural History Museum Vienna incorporates stylistic elements from many past periods, in particular the Renaissance . Work began on the building in 1871 and the facade was finished in 1881. It is around 170 meters long and 70 meters wide, comprising two courtyards that are each surrounded by working and exhibition rooms. The roof

13020-643: The remainder are cremations. In 1859, Ramsauer approached the Kaiser Franz Joseph I , in the hope that these records could be published, but this was declined, presumably because of the considerable cost of colour printing. Salt mining in the Hallstatt region commenced in the late Neolithic , and on display in the museum are late Neolithic stone axes and shaft-hole axe-hammers, probably of the Bronze Age . Museum Hallstatt also has an extensive collection of Roman artefacts. These suggests that during

13144-551: The rock collection are exhibited in Hall IV. The collection of gems and precious stones can also be found in this hall. This collection is one of the most comprehensive and valuable of its kind to be found on the European continent. One cabinet contains significant specimens of jewelry material, whereby the raw material and the half-finished stones are placed alongside the finished cut and polished stones together with pieces of original jewelry. Two side cabinets contain larger samples of

13268-416: The same period, some workshops experimented briefly with a marbled red-and-yellow slip, a variant that never became generally popular. Early production of plain forms in South Gaul initially followed the Italian models closely, and even the characteristic Arretine decorated form, Dragendorff 11, was made. But many new shapes quickly evolved, and by the second half of the 1st century AD, when Italian sigillata

13392-423: The same year, Friedrich Berwerth was put in charge of the department, taking over from Aristides Brezina, who retired on August 30. Voluntary, unpaid assistance, from 1896 to the end of the monarchy was provided by Felix Karrer, alternately by Anton Pelinka , Hermann Graber , Friedrich Wachter and Karl Hlawatsch . In one last transaction before the collapse of the monarchy, the museum managed to purchase, during

13516-441: The same, or parallel, moulds may bear different names. The rim of the 29, small and upright in early examples of the form, but much deeper and more everted by the 70s of the 1st century, is finished with rouletted decoration, and the relief-decorated surfaces necessarily fall into two narrow zones. These were usually decorated with floral and foliate designs of wreaths and scrolls at first: the Dr.29 resting on its rim illustrated in

13640-416: The scale of the industry. It is a rectangular stone-built structure measuring 11.3 m. by 6.8 m. externally, with an original height estimated at 7 metres. With up to nine 'storeys' within (dismantled after each firing), formed of tile floors and vertical columns in the form of clay pipes or tubes, which also served to conduct the heat, it has been estimated that it was capable of firing 30,000–40,000 vessels at

13764-461: The sea near Whitstable and Herne Bay that local people used them for cooking. The oldest use for the term terra sigillata was for a medicinal clay from the island of Lemnos . The latter was called "sealed" because cakes of it were pressed together and stamped with the head of Artemis . Later, it bore the seal of the Ottoman sultan . This soil's particular mineral content was such that, in

13888-420: The south, transporting their equipment and provisions on sleds and boats. Despite many sacrifices and great danger, the scientists returned to Vienna with both their invaluable travel journals and observations of the landscape, as well as a number of natural history items of interest welded into metal cases. The Imperial Natural History Museum or Imperial-Royal Natural History Court Museum of Austria-Hungary

14012-824: The support of Kaiser Franz Joseph and Kaiser Wilhelm (on behalf of the Berlin Museum)), who excavated 40 graves. She was a leading figure in Iron Ages studies and conducted many excavations. However, after the 1st World War, her collection was confiscated by the Serbian Government. In 1934 the collection was sold in the United States and the finds from Hallstatt were acquired by the Peabody Museum , in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Isodor Engl

14136-498: The term terra sigillata without further qualification normally denotes the Arretine ware of Italy, made at Arezzo , and Gaulish samian ware manufactured first in South Gaul , particularly at La Graufesenque , near Millau , and later at Lezoux and adjacent sites near Clermont-Ferrand , and at east Gaulish sites such as Trier , Sinzig and Rheinzabern . These high-quality tablewares were particularly popular and widespread in

14260-422: The two-year journey, including the geologist Ferdinand von Hochstetter , ethnologist Karl von Scherzer and zoologist Georg Ritter von Frauenfeld . The entire journey was documented in hundreds of sketches and paintings by the landscape artist Josef Selleny. The scientists returned home with a vast haul of minerals, animals, plants and items of ethnological interest. The last significant research expedition of

14384-485: The years 1906–1907, the magnificent collection of Staatsrath Freiherr von Braun (totalling more than 2,500 items, doublets not included). There followed the far less important collections of August von Loehr and Rudolf von Görgey , although those were not entirely taken into inventory until after the Second World War, the delay being due to war and subsequent poor economic conditions (the same had happened to

14508-404: Was Franz Ritter von Hauer , a geologist and paleontologist . In the presence of the Emperor, the new "K.k. Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum" (Imperial-Royal Natural History Court Museum) was inaugurated on August 10, 1889. Initially, it was open to visitors four days per week—free on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, on Tuesdays for an admission price of one florin . The museum building and

14632-569: Was a consignment of South Gaulish sigillata, still in its packing crate; like all finds from the Vesuvian sites, this hoard of pottery is invaluable as dating evidence. South Gaulish samian typically has a redder slip and deeper pink fabric than Italian sigillata. The best slips, vivid red and of an almost mirror-like brilliance, were achieved during the Claudian and early Neronian periods (Claudius, reg . AD 41–54; Nero, reg . AD 54–68). At

14756-469: Was at the time the world's largest collection of natural history objects from the Florentine scholar and scientist Jean de Baillou. This was the first step on the road to creating the Natural History Museum Vienna. Baillou's collection comprised 30,000 objects, including rare fossils , snails , mussels , and corals , as well as valuable minerals and precious stones . Emperor Francis, who founded

14880-721: Was carried out by the SMS Novara , a frigate which sailed the world between 1857 and 1859. The scientific responsibility for this expedition was shared by the Academy of Sciences and the Geography Society. The man behind the project was Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian , Commander in Chief of the Austrian Navy. Among the advisors was the naturalist and researcher Alexander von Humboldt . Many scientists took part in

15004-459: Was created by ( Kaiser ) Emperor Franz Joseph I during an extensive reorganization of the museum collections, from 1851 to 1876, and opened to the public on August 10, 1889. Located in Vienna , the Museum was named in German as " K.k . Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum" (with "Hofmuseum" translated as "Court Museum"). In the mid-19th century, there was much interest in the natural sciences, and

15128-469: Was followed as the museum's curator by Frederick Morton in 1925. In 1927 Morton and Adolf Mahr began a new series of excavations, both in the mines and above ground. Their excavations were at first on the ‘Grünerwerk’ area of Bronze Age Salt Mining. This was followed in 1937–1939 by excavations in the ‘Damweise’ and the North Western part of the cemetery. This produced a further 61 burials dating to

15252-441: Was no longer influential, South Gaulish samian had created its own characteristic repertoire of forms. The two principal decorated forms were Dragendorff 30, a deep, cylindrical bowl, and Dragendorff 29, a carinated ('keeled') shallow bowl with a marked angle, emphasised by a moulding, mid-way down the profile. The footring is low, and potters' stamps are usually bowl-maker's marks placed in the interior base, so that vessels made from

15376-439: Was the final development of terra sigillata. While the products of the Italian and Gaulish red-gloss industries flourished and were exported from their places of manufacture for at most a century or two each, ARS production continued for more than 500 years. The centres of production were in the Roman provinces of Africa Proconsularis , Byzacena and Numidia ; that is, modern Tunisia and part of eastern Algeria . From about

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