Arturo Stenico was one of the pioneers of scholarly research into the terra sigillata pottery produced at Arezzo during the Augusto-Tiberian period, and his publications on the subject, mainly produced during the 1950s and 60s, remain an essential part of the bibliography today. His private collection, published in the book under review, is now conserved at Pavia; it was originally assembled by Carlo Albizzati, probably between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and acquired by Stenico after his death. Unfortunately, as the authors note in their introduction, the provenance of the individual pieces is not known: it is likely that much of it comes from Arezzo itself, particularly the fragments of moulds and other items used in the potteries, but it is also possible that pieces were purchased in Rome, where Albizzati studied for several years. The collection consists of 219 fragments, of which 204 come from relief-decorated vessels or, in a few cases, from the moulds used to produce them; the remaining fifteen pieces comprise twelve sherds with applied motifs, and three items used in the production process, including a name-stamp of Chrestus and C. Annius for use in a mould.

At first glance it might seem that the collection, consisting mainly of relatively small sherds, would be unlikely to yield a great deal of new information. In fact the catalogue provides a most instructive demonstration of just how much information can now be extracted from Arretine ware, and with what confidence many individual sherds can now be assigned to potters' workshops. Two major catalogues by F. P. Porten Palange, published by the RGZM at Mainz (Katalog der Punzenmotive in der arretinischen Reliefkeramik (2004) and Die Werkstätten der arretinischen Reliefkeramik (2009)), have contributed enormously to this state of affairs. They provide, in the first instance, a comprehensive catalogue of individual figure-types and motifs, with attribution to workshops where possible, and, in the second, a detailed illustration of how these were used within the potteries to compose the great variety of decorative schemes that have now been recorded. A further paper by P. identified a number of forged moulds and motif punches, previously accepted as genuine, in several major collections (JRGZM 37 (1995), 521–645). A result of this work is that all but seventeen of the relief-decorated sherds under consideration here can be attributed (the exceptions being nos 187–203, of which the last three comprise two handles of trays and a mould fragment, probably for a lid). It is to be hoped that this example will encourage more unpublished collections to be made available.

The catalogue is arranged by workshop and is divided between the two authors: the first part by P. describes the pieces produced by the largest of the potteries, that of the Perennii (nos 1–137), and the remainder by C. Troso deals with eight further workshops, the single sherd of Late Italian ware and the other material. Each workshop is introduced with a succinct but informative summary, giving the date range (particularly important with the larger ones, where there is a clear succession of distinctive styles and of individual mould-makers) and naming the various mould-makers whose stamps or — very rarely — signatures appear within the decorative field. Current evidence provides some tantalizing insights into how the workshops functioned: the Gruppo ‘Rasini Memmi’, represented here by a single fragment (no. 182), probably represents a short-lived collaboration between two individual potteries for the production of decorated vessels while continuing to produce other wares separately. Even more interesting is the evidence from recent excavations at Scoppieto, noted here and recently published in full by T. (Scoppieto IV/1, Terra sigillata decorata a rilievo (2014)), which shows that one of the latest owners of the Perennius workshop, Perennius Crescens, commissioned moulds from Scoppieto potters apparently for use at Arezzo.

Each entry has a comprehensive bibliography, and the occurrence of the same theme in the work of other potters is noted. The readings of all the stamps present within the decoration are written out, using circumflex accents across a space between letters to indicate ligatures. While this is perfectly clear and comprehensible, it looks rather old-fashioned by comparison with the index of potters' stamps on Gaulish terra sigillata (B. R. Hartley and B. M. Dickinson, Names on Terra Sigillata, vols 1–9 (2008–2012)), where a special font devised by Paul Tyers enables the exact reading to be given, including ligatures and a wide variety of eccentric letters. It would be most helpful, both to readers and to those processing stamped Italian sigillata, if a similar font series could now be prepared to include the frequently more elaborate ligatures used on Italian wares.

The catalogue is a very useful addition to the Arretine bibliography, and the book is handsomely produced. Each sherd is illustrated by a lifesize black and white photo, clearly printed on glossy photographic paper. This enables the fine detail of the decoration (and some of it is very fine indeed) to be both seen and appreciated, while also allowing easy comparison with other sherds or rubbings, or with illustrations at the same scale. The text is produced on ‘traditional’ paper, a pleasure to read and handle, and it is only to be regretted that the book is so highly priced.