Archaeological Museum of Bologna

In Roman times pottery for domestic use reached a high level of specialization: in each house there were in fact containers to transport, store, prepare, cook and serve food, made in ceramic and bronze.
Wares for everyday domestic use, known as “common-wares”, were produced throughout the Roman world in kilns (sometimes under family management) located close to consumers, to avoid high transportation costs and present forms that remain unchanged for many centuries. Among the most documented forms can be found the shallow dish, the deep dish, the pot, the plate, water and wine cups, jar and the olpe.
Wares used during the banquets of wealthy families were, instead, made in precious ceramic and consisted, for the most part, of trays, plates, water and wine cups. Among the fine wares, the sigillata, also known as Aretine ceramics (from Arezzo, its most renowned centre of production, beginning with the middle of the I century BC), were particularly diffused. Sigillata wares were characterized by a coral-red glaze that could be plain or embellished by decorative motifs, which were impressed or in relief. They are known as sigilla, from which the name of the ceramic class is derived.
in the Roman kitchens and dining rooms were also present bronze wares, much more expensive than earthenwares, and sometimes finely decorated.