Greek Vase Designs and Motifs
- Color Between the Archaic and Classical times, Greek vase designs existed primarily in three colors: black, red, and white. ...
- Red-Figured v. Black-Figured Vases ...
- The Geometric Period Though perhaps best known for their depictions of Greek gods and goddesses, the earliest ancient Greek vase decorations were derived from the Mycenean tradition, which consisted of geometric shapes and abstract patterns. ...
What are the different types of Ancient Greek pottery?
Initially, black-figure ancient Greek pottery designs were manufactured in Archaic and Classical Greece, but other varieties such as red-figure vessels and the white ground technique evolved. Styles such as West Slope Ware were typical of the later Hellenistic era, which witnessed the demise of vase painting.
What is the significance of Greek pottery?
In Greece, they have a history of telling stories. The ancient Greeks would tell stories in many different ways. One way that we find very interesting is their pottery vessels. In ancient Greece, pots were used daily. They were extremely useful but also breakable. Because of this, they were always in high demand.
Was red figure pottery invented in ancient Greece?
Jahn's study was the standard textbook on the history and chronology of Greek pottery for many years, yet in common with Gerhard he dated the introduction of the red figure technique to a century later than was in fact the case.
How was the colour of Athenian pottery achieved?
Athenian pottery of the 6th century bce often features narrative scenes composed of black figures painted on a light inset background panel, while the surrounding vase surface is a deep, lustrous black. The method by which this distinctive colour was achieved, involving a complicated three-stage process of firing,...
Why was Greek pottery black?
During the first, oxidizing stage, air was allowed into the kiln, turning the whole vase the color of the clay. In the subsequent stage, green wood was introduced into the chamber and the oxygen supply was reduced, causing the object to turn black in the smoky environment.
What two colors were most commonly used on Greek ceramics?
To produce the characteristic red and black colors found on vases, Greek craftsmen used liquid clay as paint (termed “slip”) and perfected a complicated three-stage firing process.
Why is ancient Greek pottery black and orange?
The bright colours and deep blacks of Attic red- and black-figure vases were achieved through a process in which the atmosphere inside the kiln went through a cycle of oxidizing, reducing, and reoxidizing. During the oxidizing phase, the ferric oxide inside the Attic clay achieves a bright red-to-orange colour.
How did ancient Greeks paint pottery?
Potters from Corinth and Athens used a special watery mixture of clay to paint their pots while the clay was still soft. After it was baked in the kiln, the sections of the pot they had painted with the clay would turn black, while the rest of the pot was red-brown. Sometimes they also did this the other way round.
What are ancient Greek colors?
We often hear about the famous Greek colour theory of four, basic colours, which is sustained and based on philosophical thought. The ancient Greek system of though praised four colours: red, yellow, black and white. By blending those four elements they enriched their colour palette.
What colors mean in ancient Greece?
Color symbolism in ancient Greece Red:A transitional color, indicating a change in life status. Black:Worn for mourning, but also to draw attention to the mourner's social status. Purple:Indicated royalty or high rank, due to the rarity of purple dye.
Was red or black-figure pottery first?
The Red-figure technique was first adopted in Athens in the 6th century BCE. Before this period, the Black-figure pottery technique was prevalently utilized.
What are the characteristics of Greek pottery?
Greek pottery is known for its distinctive shapes like the two-handled amphora, single-stem cup (kylix), and various types of jugs (oinochoai). Greek pottery is often decorated with geometric shapes or figures from Greek mythology. Used for everyday purposes, Greek pottery has been found across the ancient world.
What is Greek black-figure pottery?
Black figure pottery was a pottery painting technique started in the early 7th century BCE. As opposed to the outline technique of pottery where the painter would denote a figure by leaving the flesh unpainted with a black outline, black figure painting resulted in the entirety of the flesh portrayed in black.
What Colour were Greek vases?
Between the Archaic and Classical times, Greek vase designs existed primarily in three colors: black, red, and white. The red was derived from the iron-rich reddish-orange color of the clay that was used, the white was painted on using a light-colored clay, and black was made from an adhesive alkaline paint.
What did Greeks paint on vases?
Since no Greek wall painting has survived, vase painting is the only remaining example of Greek painting. Often the figures on the vases are mythical gods and heroes but scenes of daily life also appear.
What is ancient Greek pottery called?
Earlier Greek styles of pottery, called "Aegean" rather than "Ancient Greek", include Minoan pottery, very sophisticated by its final stages, Cycladic pottery, Minyan ware and then Mycenaean pottery in the Bronze Age, followed by the cultural disruption of the Greek Dark Age.
What is slip what was primarily used for by the Greeks?
Slip functioned in a variety of ways in ancient Greek vase construction and decoration. Slip was, for example, used as an adhesive for attaching appendages to the body of a vessel. Likewise, it was applied as decoration to the surface of a vessel while it was leather-hard and before it was fired in a pottery kiln.
What are 3 types of Greek columns?
The first three orders, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, are the three principal architectural orders of ancient architecture. They were developed in ancient Greece but also used extensively in Rome. The final two, Tuscan and Composite, were developed in ancient Rome.
Which medium did the Greek prefer to use for figurative sculpture?
Bronze, valued for its tensile strength and lustrous beauty, became the preferred medium for freestanding statuary, although very few bronze originals of the fifth century B.C. survive. What we know of these famous sculptures comes primarily from ancient literature and later Roman copies in marble (14.130.
What is slip what was it primarily used for by the Greeks quizlet?
What is "slip"? What was it primarily used for by the Greeks? A slip is the clay that has been watered down to the consistency of paint. This paint was used to decorate the ceramics.
When was Greek pottery invented?
The first distinctive Greek pottery style first appeared around 1000 BCE or perhaps even earlier. Reminiscent in technique of the earlier Greek civilizations of Minoan Crete and the Mycenaean mainland, early Greek pottery decoration employed simple shapes, sparingly used. Proto-Geometric pottery, however, differs from Minoan and Mycenaean in shape. The centre of gravity of the vase is moved downwards (creating a more stable vessel) with the feet and neck more articulated.
How was Greek pottery made?
Greek pottery was invariably made on the potter's wheel and usually made in separate horizontal sections: the foot, the lower and upper body, the neck, and finally the handles, if necessary. These sections were then joined together with a clay 's lip' after drying and it is possible in many cases to see the prints of the potter impressed on the inside of the vessel. The piece was then put back on the wheel to smooth the join marks and add the final shaping. Therefore, all vases were unique and the small variations in dimensions reveal that the use of simple tools and not cut-out templates was the norm.
What are the most common forms of pottery?
The most common forms of pottery were amphorae for storing wine, large kraters for mixing wine with water, jugs ( oinochoai) for pouring wine, kylixes or stemmed cups with horizontal handles for drinking (especially practical if lifting a cup from the floor when reclining on a lounger at dinner), hydra with three handles for holding water, skyphoi or deep bowls, and lekythoi jars for holding oils and perfumes. Precisely because these objects were for practical use, handles (when present) are generally sturdy affairs, yet the potter, by using carefully considered shapes, often managed to blend these additions into the overall harmony of the vessel and was aided in this endeavour with subtle decorative additions by the painter.
What is geometric pottery?
From the 8th century BCE, Geometric pottery decoration began to include stylized human figures, birds, and animals with nearly all the surface of the vase covered in bold lines and shapes painted in brown and black. Towards the end of the period in the 7th century BCE, the so-called Orientalising style became popular in Corinth. With its eastern trade connections, the city appropriated the stylised plants (e.g. lotus, palm, and the tree of life), animal friezes (e.g. lions), and curved lines of Egyptian and Assyrian pottery to produce its own unique Greek version. The rest of eastern Greece followed suit, often preferring red on a white slip background. Athens also followed the new trend and it became widespread with, for example, the Cyclades also producing pottery in this new freer style, often on very large vases and with more spacious decoration.
What was the red figure technique?
The black-figure technique was replaced by the red-figure technique (red figures created by painting their outline with a black slip background) around 530 BCE which would endure for the next 130 years or so. The two styles were parallel for some time and there are even 'bilingual' examples of vases with both styles but the red-figure, with its advantage of the brush over the graver, could attempt to more realistically portray the human figure and eventually it became the favoured style of Greek pottery decoration. Perhaps influenced by contemporary wall painting techniques, anatomical detail, diverse facial expressions, greater detail in clothing (especially of folds, following the new fashion of the lighter chiton dress which also fascinated contemporary sculptors), greater attempts at portraying perspective, the overlapping of figures, and the depiction of everyday life such as education and sporting scenes are all characteristic of this style.
What is the significance of pottery in ancient Greece?
400 BCE provides not only some of the most distinctive vase shapes from antiquity but also some of the oldest and most diverse representations of the cultural beliefs and practices of the ancient Greeks. Further, pottery, with its durability (even when broken) and lack of appeal to treasure hunters, is one of the great archaeological survivors and is, therefore, an important tool for archaeologists and historians in determining the chronology of ancient Greece . Whatever their artistic and historical value though, the vast majority of Greek vases, despite now being dusty museum pieces, were actually meant for everyday use and, to paraphrase Arthur Lane, it is perhaps worth remembering that standing on a stone pavement and drenched with water, they would have once gleamed in the Mediterranean sun.
What is the most popular design in the Proto-Geometric period?
The most popular Proto-Geometric designs were precisely painted circles (painted with multiple brushes fixed to a compass), semi-circles, and horizontal lines in black and with large areas of the vase painted solely in black. A new motif on the bases of vessels was the upright triangular points which would endure for centuries and become a staple feature of the later black-figure pottery design.
How did Greek pottery get its black color?
The black color effect was achieved by means of changing the amount of oxygen present during firing. This was done in a process known as three-phase firing involving alternating oxidizing -reducing conditions. First, the kiln was heated to around 920–950 °C, with all vents open bringing oxygen into the firing chamber and turning both pot and slip a reddish-brown (oxidising conditions) due to the formation of hematite (Fe 2 O 3) in both the paint and the clay body. Then the vent was closed and green wood introduced, creating carbon monoxide which turns the red hematite to black magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ); at this stage the temperature decreases due to incomplete combustion. In a final reoxidizing phase (at about 800–850 °C) the kiln was opened and oxygen reintroduced causing the unslipped reserved clay to go back to orange-red while the slipped area on the vase that had been sintered/vitrified in the previous phase, could no longer be oxidized and remained black.
What is Greek pottery called?
Earlier Greek styles of pottery, called "Aegean" rather than "Ancient Greek", include Minoan pottery, very sophisticated by its final stages, Cycladic pottery, Minyan ware and then Mycenaean pottery in the Bronze Age, followed by the cultural disruption of the Greek Dark Age. As the culture recovered Sub-Mycenaean pottery finally blended into ...
How many stages of firing are there in pottery?
While the description of a single firing with three stages may seem economical and efficient, some scholars claim that it is equally possible that each of these stages was confined to separate firings in which the pottery is subjected to multiple firings, of different atmosphere. In any case, the faithful reproduction of the process involving extensive experimental work that led to the creation of a modern production unit in Athens since 2000, has shown that the ancient vases may have been subjected to multiple three-stage firings following repainting or as an attempt to correct color failures The technique which is mostly known as the "iron reduction technique" was decoded with the contribution of scholars, ceramists and scientists from the mid 18th century onwards to the end of the 20th century, i.e. Comte de Caylus (1752), Durand-Greville (1891), Binns and Fraser (1925), Schumann (1942), Winter (1959), Bimson (1956), Noble (1960, 1965), Hofmann (1962), Oberlies (1968), Pavicevic (1974), Aloupi (1993). More recent studies by Walton et al. (2009), Walton et al. (2014), Lühl et al. (2014) and Chaviara & Aloupi-Siotis (2016) by using advanced analytical techniques provide detailed information on the process and the raw materials used.
What was the rise of vase painting?
The rise of vase painting saw increasing decoration. Geometric art in Greek pottery was contiguous with the late Dark Age and early Archaic Greece, which saw the rise of the Orientalizing period.
What is the black glaze on Greek pottery?
A series of analytical studies have shown that the striking black gloss with a metallic sheen, so characteristic of Greek pottery, emerged from the colloidal fraction of an illitic clay with very low calcium oxide content. This clay slip was rich in iron oxides and hydroxides, differentiating from that used for the body of the vase in terms of the calcium content, the exact mineral composition and the particle size. The fine clay suspension used for the paint was either produced by using several deflocculating additives to clay (potash, urea, dregs of wine, bone ashes, seaweed ashes etc) or by collecting it in situ from illitic clay beds following rain periods. Recent studies have shown that some trace elements in the black glaze (i.e. Zn in particular) can be characteristic of the clay beds used in antiquity. In general, different teams of scholars suggest different approaches concerning the production of the clay slip used in antiquity.
What is the name of the pottery that depicts carrying a body to its grave?
The Hirschfeld Krater, mid-8th century BC, from the late Geometric period, depicting ekphora, the act of carrying a body to its grave. National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it ...
When was Greek art revived?
Interest in Greek art lagged behind the revival of classical scholarship during the Renaissance and revived in the academic circle round Nicolas Poussin in Rome in the 1630s. Though modest collections of vases recovered from ancient tombs in Italy were made in the 15th and 16th centuries these were regarded as Etruscan.
How was ancient Greek pottery made?
Due to high iron content, it had an orange-red color and a slight sheen when fired in a kiln.
What is the significance of ancient Greek pottery?
Ancient Greek pottery is one of the greatest archaeological survivors that offers a fascinating insight into one of the earliest human civilizations. From c. 1000 to c. 400 BCE, Greek artisans crafted clay vessels for everyday use—think vases, cups, and plates. Many of these ceramics were decorated with narrative paintings that visualized stories of popular myths and early Mediterranean life.
How many vases were painted in Greece?
The majority of Greek vases are unsigned, but it’s believed that many individuals of the craft were extremely prolific. In some cases, over 200 vases have been attributed to a single artist, identified through their distinct style. These painters didn’t earn much, but their work was in great demand and sold throughout the Mediterranean.
What is black figure pottery?
Black-figure pottery is perhaps the style that comes to mind when you think of Greek vessels. The celebrated method was a Corinthian invention during the 7th century and spread from there to other regions, including Sparta, Boeotia, Euboea, the east Greek islands, and Athens. Black-figure pottery dominated the market for the next 150 years as pottery painters gained confidence in rendering stylized figures and animals with much more detail. Mostly in black ink, the figures were often illustrated in complex scenes from Greek mythology. Artists painted their figures posed to show their movements, from fighting their enemies to dancing.
What did the Greeks use to decorate their vessels?
To decorate the vessels, ancient Greeks used brushes to add black pigment that was made from a mix of alkali potash or soda, clay with silicon, and black ferrous oxide of iron. The paint was affixed to the clay by using urine or vinegar which burned away in the kiln, leaving the pigment bound to the pot. In later pottery styles, details were often added with a thinned black paint which gave a yellow-brown or dark red hue after it was fired.
How was artistic freedom achieved in Greek pottery?
Despite the fact that Greek pottery was relatively restricted in shape, artistic freedom was achieved through decoration. Scroll down to learn about the different painting styles that emerged.
Why did artists paint in white?
Rather than paint the figures in black, artists began outlining them with a black slip background, leaving the figures in white. This allowed painters to achieve even more precision in their characters, from diverse facial expressions to intricate clothing details. Artists were also able to depict complex everyday scenes with greater perspective and overlapping figures.
Ancient Greek Pottery
The early part of the Greek civilization had Egyptian influences on the designs of their pottery, but the latter half had a strong Athenian influence which included the Greek gods and the goddesses as well as scenes depicting real life.
Greek Pottery Designs
It was produced in many regions of Greece which Athens and Corinth had produced the finest pottery. Amphora, which is also known as the two handled, tall, storage vessel was used to store wine, oil, honey, and corns.
Ancient Dipylon Vase
A giant amphora known as Dipylon Vase was used in the tomb of aristocrats and wealthy people, having geometric figures of the deceased family and friends.The vases were sold in the area which was known as Keramikos and it took around one to two drachmas, depending on the design to buy one.
Uses of Greek pottery
For fetching water from the fountains or public places, they used Hydria which had an oval body, with two horizontal handles.
Materials & Production
Potters & Painters
- Painter and potter (kerameus) were usually, although not always, separate specialists. However, lasting partnerships existed such as between the potter Ergotimos and painter Kleitas. Many individual potters and less frequently, painters, have been identified with certainty through their signatures (most commonly as “...made this”) although the majority of Greek vases are unsigne…
Shapes
- Although Greek pottery provides us with a wide range of shapes from cups to plates to massive amphorae, many of the forms remained relatively constant over centuries. This is primarily because Greek potters were producing wares for practical use - holding wine, water, oil, and perfumes - and once the optimum practical shape had evolved, it was copied and maintained. H…
Decorative Styles: Proto-Geometric Pottery
- Greek pottery, particularly in terms of decoration, evolved over the centuries and may be categorized into four broad groups: 1. Proto-geometric pottery 2. Geometric pottery 3. Black-figure pottery 4. Red-figure pottery These groups or styles, however, did not pass abruptly from one to the other but rather in some cases ran contemporary for decades. Also, some city-states …
Geometric Pottery
- From around 900 BCE the full Geometric style appeared and favoured the rectangular space on the main body of the vase between the handles. Bold linear designs (perhaps influenced by contemporary basketwork and weaving styles) appeared in this space with vertical line decoration on either side. It was in this period that the Maeander design first appeared (perhaps inspired b…
Black-Figure Pottery
- Although first produced in Corinth, then with fine examples made in Laconia and southern Italy (by Euboean settlers), it would be the potters and painters of Attica who would excel above all others in the black-figure style, and they would go on to dominate the Greek market for the next 150 years. Not all figures were painted black as certain colour conventions were adopted, such as w…
Red-Figure Pottery
- The black-figure technique was replaced by the red-figure technique (red figures created by painting their outline with a black slip background) around 530 BCE which would endure for the next 130 years or so. The two styles were parallel for some time and there are even 'bilingual' examples of vases with both styles but the red-figure, with its advantage of the brush over the gr…
New Media
- Into the fourth century BCE, perhaps in attempting to copy the innovations in perspective of contemporary fresco, the red-figure style would reveal its limitations and vases would degenerate into over-packed scenes with strange floating perspectives. Significantly, pottery painting would no longer be linked intrinsically to the form which it decorated and so ceased to exist as an art-f…
Conclusion
- In conclusion, then, we may say that not only has Greek pottery given us some of the most distinctive, influential, and beautiful shapes and designs of antiquity but it has also given us a window into the lives, practices, and beliefs of a people long gone and of whom we very often have no contemporary written record. These everyday objects, unlike those other archaeologica…
Overview
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exerted a disproportionately large influence on our understanding of Greek society. The shards of pots discarded or buried in the 1st millennium BC are st…
Development of pottery painting
Greek pottery goes back to the Stone Age, such as those found in Sesklo and Dimini.
More elaborate painting on Greek pottery goes back to the Minoan pottery and Mycenaean pottery of the Bronze Age, some later examples of which show the ambitious figurative painting that was to become highly developed and typical.
Rediscovery and scholarship
The interest in Greek art lagged behind the revival of classical scholarship during the Renaissance and revived in the academic circle round Nicolas Poussin in Rome in the 1630s. Though modest collections of vases recovered from ancient tombs in Italy were made in the 15th and 16th centuries these were regarded as Etruscan. It is possible that Lorenzo de Medici bought several Attic …
Uses and types
The names we use for Greek vase shapes are often a matter of convention rather than historical fact, a few do illustrate their own use or are labeled with their original names, others are the result of early archaeologists attempt to reconcile the physical object with a known name from Greek literature – not always successfully. To understand the relationship between form and function Gree…
Clay
The few ways that clay pottery can be damaged is by being broken, being abraded or by coming in contact with fire. The process of making a pot and firing it is fairly simple. The first thing a potter needs is clay. Attica's high-iron clay gave its pots an orange color.
When clay is first dug out of the ground it is full of rocks and shells and other u…
The few ways that clay pottery can be damaged is by being broken, being abraded or by coming in contact with fire. The process of making a pot and firing it is fairly simple. The first thing a potter needs is clay. Attica's high-iron clay gave its pots an orange color.
When clay is first dug out of the ground it is full of rocks and shells and other u…
Inscriptions
Inscriptions on Greek pottery are of two kinds; the incised (the earliest of which are contemporary with the beginnings of the Greek alphabet in the 8th century BC), and the painted, which only begin to appear a century later. Both forms are relatively common on painted vases until the Hellenistic period when the practice of inscribing pots seems to die out. They are by far most frequently found on A…
Figurines
Greek terracotta figurines were another important type of pottery, initially mostly religious, but increasingly representing purely decorative subjects. The so-called Tanagra figurines, in fact made elsewhere as well, are one of the most important types. Earlier figurines were usually votive offerings at temples.
Relationship to metalwork and other materials
Several clay vases owed their inspiration to metalwork forms in bronze, silver and sometimes gold. These were increasingly used by the elite when dining, but were not placed in graves, where they would have been robbed, and were often treated as a store of value to be traded as bullion when needed. Very few metal vessels have survived as at some point they were melted down and the metal reused.