The Filter of Ancient Wine
The wine strainer is 27.3 centimeters long, 9.3 centimeters high and has a diameter of 14
centimeters. The handle is long and flat with a semi-circular hole on the one end and ends in a
hemispherical basin with steep sides and an averted rim on the other end. The basin itself has
hundreds of small holes pierced through it. The pierced holes are arranged in a double set of
rings near the bottom of the basin, and on the very bottom of the basin, the holes are arranged
in a four petal motif, which resembles a four-leaf clover. The holes in the rest of the basin are
arranged in an interlocking-meander pattern. The strainer is made from sheet-bronze, which
gives the strainer its bronze and blue-green color. There is no visible inscription on the wine
strainer.
There are several questions that come to mind when looking at this artifact, such as: “what
was the artifact used for? Was it used on a daily basis or only on particular occasions? And
who used the artifact?” To answer these questions, one must know that serving wine in
ancient times required a ladle and a strainer.1 The strainer was used to filter the wine, as wine
in ancient Greek and Roman times often contained sediments,2 herbs and spices,3 and the
ladle was used to serve the wine. Wine during ancient times tasted different from the modern
wine, as the ancient wine was often mixed with herbs, spices, honey and seawater among
other things,4 resulting in the wine being sweeter than the wine people drink today. However,
Hill argues that strainers were generally used to strain out sediment as most of the wine was
bad wine.5 This is confirmed by Jackson, who explains the bad quality of the wine by pointing
out that the way in which wine was stored in amphoras coated with pitch might have masked
1
Dorothy Kent Hill, “Wine Ladles and Strainers from Ancient Times,” The Journal of the Walters Arts Gallery,
no. 5 (1942): 41.
2
Hill, “Wine Ladles and Strainers from Ancient Times,” 46.
3
Ronald S. Jackson, Wine Science: Principles and Applications (Saint Louis: Elsevier Science & Technology,
2014), 7, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uunl/reader.action?docID=1710531.
4
Jackson, Wine Science, 7.
5
Hill, “Wine Ladles and Strainers from Ancient Times,” 46.
The wine strainer is 27.3 centimeters long, 9.3 centimeters high and has a diameter of 14
centimeters. The handle is long and flat with a semi-circular hole on the one end and ends in a
hemispherical basin with steep sides and an averted rim on the other end. The basin itself has
hundreds of small holes pierced through it. The pierced holes are arranged in a double set of
rings near the bottom of the basin, and on the very bottom of the basin, the holes are arranged
in a four petal motif, which resembles a four-leaf clover. The holes in the rest of the basin are
arranged in an interlocking-meander pattern. The strainer is made from sheet-bronze, which
gives the strainer its bronze and blue-green color. There is no visible inscription on the wine
strainer.
There are several questions that come to mind when looking at this artifact, such as: “what
was the artifact used for? Was it used on a daily basis or only on particular occasions? And
who used the artifact?” To answer these questions, one must know that serving wine in
ancient times required a ladle and a strainer.1 The strainer was used to filter the wine, as wine
in ancient Greek and Roman times often contained sediments,2 herbs and spices,3 and the
ladle was used to serve the wine. Wine during ancient times tasted different from the modern
wine, as the ancient wine was often mixed with herbs, spices, honey and seawater among
other things,4 resulting in the wine being sweeter than the wine people drink today. However,
Hill argues that strainers were generally used to strain out sediment as most of the wine was
bad wine.5 This is confirmed by Jackson, who explains the bad quality of the wine by pointing
out that the way in which wine was stored in amphoras coated with pitch might have masked
1
Dorothy Kent Hill, “Wine Ladles and Strainers from Ancient Times,” The Journal of the Walters Arts Gallery,
no. 5 (1942): 41.
2
Hill, “Wine Ladles and Strainers from Ancient Times,” 46.
3
Ronald S. Jackson, Wine Science: Principles and Applications (Saint Louis: Elsevier Science & Technology,
2014), 7, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uunl/reader.action?docID=1710531.
4
Jackson, Wine Science, 7.
5
Hill, “Wine Ladles and Strainers from Ancient Times,” 46.
