These two volumes are devoted to the subject of terra sigillata, red-slip tableware. McKenzie-Clark looks in detail at the production and consumption of terra sigillata in the Vesuvian area from evidence in three zones within Pompeii. Fulford and Durham present the ‘Seeing Red’ conference proceedings that contain new research on the production, consumption, distribution, onomastics and iconography of samian ware (Gallo-Roman sigillata).

M.-C. begins by explaining the complicated history of Vesuvian sigillata (VS), which according to her has been misidentified in the past as Italian, Gaulish or Eastern, due to a lack of scientific analysis. Using petrographic thin-sections, ICP-MS and ICP-AES, she discovered two fabric groups of Vesuvian origin, which she presents within a study of demand, supply and consumption. The most important elements of this publication are the scientific analyses of the pottery fabrics, and the identification of VS. Also significant is the presentation of new material, alongside a re-evaluation of older published pottery. The discussion shows that VS accounts for 50.8 per cent of red-slip tableware in sampled areas of Pompeii, blowing away the theory that Eastern terra sigillata (ETS) took up one-third of the market. The author uses the new data to tackle questions about when, where and how this pottery was used, by looking at nine different properties in three regions of Pompeii. Broadly, the conclusions find that better quality Italian terra sigillata (ITS) is found in upper-class residences that have significant quantities of other imported pottery, and that VS was more commonly found in commercial properties. M.-C. also demonstrates that there was continuity of production from Vesuvian black gloss to red-slip, as consumer tastes changed. She puts forward an attractive theory that the move from black to red pottery may further have been economically driven, since the process of making red pottery required less fuel. The final discussion analyses the change from consumption to consumerism, signalling economic growth, as demonstrated by VS pottery. To sum up, the originality and importance of this research in identifying VS pottery is clear, as is the message it sends out about the need to identify finewares using scientific analyses and not form alone. Regrettably, for all its strengths, this publication looks and reads like an unprocessed thesis; the wider historical questions are not sufficiently developed and it suffers greatly from poor design and production and badly organized material. Additionally, and inexplicably, the catalogue (which nevertheless is very well illustrated) appears in the middle of the volume, with the illustrations that pre-date the end of the first century b.c. at the end. The CD simply repeats the printed illustrations and catalogue information and does not provide any additional material — surely the purpose of a CD?

Turning to Seeing Red, the conference upon which this volume is based was developed to bring to light new research that has been possible since the publication of Brian Hartley and Brenda Dickinson's Names on Terra Sigillata and a related database. This Gallo-Roman pottery was mass-produced, principally in the first to mid-third centuries a.d. The twenty-six papers are written by all the leading experts in the field and aim to cover a wide range of topics, from fundamental subjects such as production and distribution to other fascinating related studies on linguistics, consumption, deposition and iconography, covering north-west and central Europe. The initial chapters look at the history of the project, how the database was created and works (with useful instructions on how to operate it), and its potential. For instance Mees and Polak (ch. 4) look at establishing site chronologies. Then chs 5–12 examine the organization of the industry. Allen (ch. 5) demonstrates that the size and choice of samples make a significant difference to results. Mullen (ch. 7) looks at the language of the firing lists and the origin of the potters, suggesting that the scribes were Greek, not from Gaulish Greek colonies but direct from Italian production centres, demonstrating the importance of trade in the spread of language. Lewit's chapter on the location of La Graufesenque, far from urban markets, concludes that there was no single decisive factor that explains its location and success, which was due to a combination of military markets, primary trade and local fuel supplies. Goodman (ch. 9) shows that the growing importance of negotiatores and their commercial networks meant that the location of pottery workshops relied more on these networks than geographical or other factors. Looking at more detailed studies of production, Pastor and Radbauer (chs 10 and 11) note the use of the same stamps in different workshops and the need for fabric analysis. On consumption and distribution, Weber (ch. 13) uses pre-consumption assemblages to suggest that directed and free trade existed together. Webster and Willis (chs 14 and 15) highlight the differences between urban, rural and military assemblages. Wider studies looking at the Mediterranean (chs 16–18) demonstrate that distribution to the north was probably mainly to do with military supplies and so was not affected by overland transport costs, which the state subsumed, but to the south there is a coastal emphasis, suggesting the cost of transport was a factor. Dannell and Mees (ch. 12) demonstrate that large numbers of vessels produced by only a few potters travelled long distances, such as to London, from where they were dispersed; whereas potters with smaller-scale production had a more restricted distribution, simply because the pottery was sold by the merchant earlier on in its journey. In frontier zones (chs 19–21), it is proposed that military supply and the movement of pottery by local auxiliary veterans caused the distribution of samian. Bird (ch. 22) has noticed the selection of particular wares in different provinces in funereal contexts — but was this choice or availability? Monteil (ch. 24) looks at standardization over time and concludes that it remained steady, but the question of who directed production, consumers or potters, remains to be answered. The question of imitation (Biddulph, ch. 25) shows that in Britain local industries were not trying to fill gaps with popular forms, but produced forms to suit the ‘cultural landscape’, leaving open to debate the influence of the consumer. Finally, Pitts (ch. 26) compares samian to the porcelain trade in the sixteenth century. He argues that consumers demanded certain types that fitted their culture, meaning that producing and consuming societies had different uses for goods.

With both detailed information for the specialist and intelligent debate on the big questions, this volume should become a lasting reference, and confirms without doubt that pottery has much to tell us beyond dating. One of the main problems to resolve is the relative involvement of state and civilian in distribution, and at what point do products in state controlled centres enter the civilian market place? At the port, or the actual market? Fulford argues for samian as a state supported contractual business, being the only way to explain its wide success, but on the contrary, I think many of the papers suggest that we need to look at alternative, more flexible models that take into account private markets stimulated by the military presence, the location of fuel supplies and primary trade. In general, I found this volume to be very accessible and useful for exploring ideas that can be related to other pottery types, defining future directions for all ceramic research.