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I found these (or at least something similar) in the book on Pompeii I got a couple of days ago. I found the book at a used book store for $12.00. Anyway, … more »

I found these (or at least something similar) in the book on Pompeii I got a couple of days ago. I found the book at a used book store for $12.00. Anyway, the "bronze drink heater" was used to heat liquids and worked a bit like a samovar, whatever that is... The item actually doesn't have a name listed in the book. It is merely a bronze apparatus for heating liquids that was also called inv. 72986 at the Naples Museum. The book says that it had a continuous flow of hot liquids I'm not sure what that meant, but anyway the liquid would travel from the big drum on the left down through hidden pipes that went around the open cylinder on the right. A charcoal fire would be placed in the cylinder/firebox and the larger box around it would catch the ashes. As the drink passed the fire it would be quickly heated to a good temperature for drinking. It would then be dispensed at the tap on the right side of the box. The two handled skyphos wine cup was in use from the time of ancient Greece all the way into Roman times. The oldest skyphoi were made from pottery, but by the time of the first century a variety of metals and glass were used. This one is made of bronze as the silver one pictured in the book would be unsuitable for the average person. It was made of several sections, an outer repousse shell, the inner liner, and soldered on to these would be the base and the handles. Glass bottles were very popular during the first century AD. This type would have been blown free form and then each side would be squared off by pressing it against a marble slab. Enjoy the models. « Less