Ludwig Ohlenroth, who was born in Augsburg in 1892 and died there in 1959, was not only active as an excavator and heritage conservation officer for several decades, particularly in Augsburg and Kempten, but was also intensively involved in Roman pottery. Numerous trips took him to museums in Germany and Italy, among other places, where he drew and catalogued early imperial lead-glazed vessels, Aco beakers and Sarius bowls. However, his research interest centred on Italian terra sigillata decorated with appliqués, in particular the motifs used as decoration. Ohlenroth began collecting and documenting appliqué-decorated Italian sigillata in the early 1920s. In 1937, he published an article on this ware, in which he limited himself to the examples from Raetia and Germania, but repeatedly referred to his wider research. He continued this until the 1950s, but was unable to finish it.
On more than 1200 vessels, Ohlenroth documented a total of over 900 different types of motifs, which he categorised into motif groups and described in detail. These include not only motifs frequently found on Italian terra sigillata, such as masks or heads, dogs and lions, dolphins, rosettes or various leaves, but also numerous very rare depictions, especially of a figurative nature, many of which are known only from single specimens. They give an impression of the variety and artistic quality of applied decoration on Italian terra sigillata. In addition, Ohlenroth documented the potter's stamps on the vessels and a few vessels in the form of profile drawings.
The present volume focuses on Ludwig Ohlenroth's drawings and his detailed catalogue, which had remained unnoticed for many decades as a legacy in the Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection. It is intended to serve as a reference work for the motifs of appliqué-decorated Italian terra sigillata based on a broad range of material. The legacy with the drawn motifs, edited by S. Schmid, is now supplemented by numerous new colour photographs of appliqués, in particular of rare, previously unpublished and unknown depictions. In addition, there are introductory contributions by Schmid on the life and work of Ohlenroth and the genesis of his notes on the appliqués. An extensive chapter by Schmid provides an overview of the current state of research into appliqué-decorated Italian sigillata, including chronology and production. This shows that many of the opinions expressed by Ohlenroth over eighty years ago are still valid today.