Editing Terra sigillata (section)

===Central Gaulish samian ware===
[[File:Central Gaulish samian Dr.30.JPG|thumb|230px|Central Gaulish Dr.30, stamped by Divixtus]]

The principal Central Gaulish samian potteries were situated at Lezoux and [[Les Martres-de-Veyre]], not far from [[Clermont-Ferrand]] in the [[Auvergne (province)|Auvergne]].   Production had already begun at Lezoux in the [[Emperor Augustus|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 [[Roman Britain|Britain]], it was by far 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.<ref>Johns 1977, p. 24:  Tyers 1996, 113</ref>  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 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.  [[Mortarium|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 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.

[[File:Roman pottery Central Gaulish samian jar.JPG|thumb|230px|Central Gaulish samian jar with 'cut-glass' decoration]]

Though the Central Gaulish forms continued and built upon the South Gaulish traditions, the decoration of the principal decorated forms, Dr.30 and Dr.37, was distinctive.<ref>The basic study remains Stanfield & [[Grace Simpson|Simpson]] 1958 / 1990</ref>  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<ref>Many of the Central Gaulish types were first drawn and classified in Déchelette 1904.  Oswald's classification (Oswald 1936–7) is much fuller, covering South, Central and East Gaulish types, but is marred by the poor quality of the drawings.</ref> Lezoux wares also included vases decorated with [[barbotine]] relief, with appliqué motifs, and 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 the 2nd century, some Lezoux workshops making relief-decorated bowls, above all that of Cinnamus, dominated the market with their large production.<ref>Stanfield & Simpson 1958, pp. 263–271</ref>  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.<ref>Johns 1977,pp.16–17</ref>  Though these vessels were very competently made, they are heavy and somewhat coarse in form and finish compared with earlier Gaulish samian ware.

From 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.