A ''titulus pictus'' is an ancient Roman commercial inscription made on the surface of certain artefacts, usually the neck of an
amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
. Typically, these inscriptions were made in red or black paint. The inscription specifies information such as origin, destination, type of product, and owner. Tituli picti are frequent on
ancient Roman pottery containers used for trade. They were not exclusively used for trade. They were also used to provide easily recognizable
advertisements and may have served as insurance if a good was damaged in some way. There are around 2,500 ''tituli picti'' recorded in
CIL IV (the volume of Latin inscriptions from Pompeii and Herculaneum).
The text of these inscriptions used a wide variety of
abbreviations such as ''primum'', ''excellens'', ''optimum'', ''flos'', ''florum'', ''praecellens'', ''penuarium'', and ''secundarium''. It is possible that these epithets were used to convey the quality of the product. These abbreviations were organized into a style consisting of several elements.
Numerals were used to indicate the age and weight of the contents and the weight of the container when empty. The measurement of the container's weight would be duplicated by another component of the ''titulus pictus'' in the
genitive case
In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
. There was also a ''
tria nomina'' indicating the buyer and the seller. The fifth element was the name of the owner.
The structure of the ''titulus pictus'' differed depending on its usage. The most intricate ''tituli'' were for
Spanish oil amphorae. Usually, these ''tituli'' were painted in black, and indicated the amphora's weight, contents, producer, and owner's name in the
genitive case
In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
.
Wine ''Tituli'' from
Crete were written in Greek, Latin, or both. These inscriptions informed the reader of the qualities of the wine, the volume of the container, the date, the origin, and the owner (whose name was written in red and the
dative case). The colors of the ''tituli'' conveyed information about its source. For example, white ''tituli'' were used to refer to producers. Red ones meant that the producer was a local producer. Black ''tituli'' meant the owners were
wholesale traders. Different
grammatical cases had different meanings when used in the ''titulus pictus''. The dative case was used to show the recipient or buyer of the good. The genitive case was used to identify the producer and owner of the product. The
ablative case
In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; sometimes abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. T ...
was used to identify the
consignor of the goods. The
nominative case was used to identify the consumer or wholesaler.
A container found in
Tunisia has a ''titulus pictus'' dated between the 4th century and 6th centuries that reads: One Cretan ''titulus pictus'' found in
Capua reads:
See also
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Merchant's mark
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Monte Testaccio: Tituli picti
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History of marketing
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Titulus (inscription)
References
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{{Refend
Latin words and phrases
Economy of ancient Rome
Ancient Roman pottery