Mythology in Greek Pottery

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1 First Nine Weeks Project: Mythology Mr. Bonds 2013 Mythology in Greek Pottery A project in three parts Due 4 September 2013

2 Project Overview In this project you will work on three things: 1. Your ability to tell a story through art. 2. Your knowledge of types of greek pottery, the parts of a vessel, and the terms associated with the different pottery types, parts, and decorative patterns. 3. Your ability to write both technically and descriptively by writing a scholarly description of a piece of Greek pottery. Part 1 Design Your Own Greek Vessel Look around you. Wherever you are as you read this, look around you. Chances are, you will see objects that you use every day that are painted or decorated with characters made famous from movies, television, books, or religion. The things we use every day are important to us. We need them. In addition to needing them, we want the objects we use to have a personal connection. We want them to mean something to us. We want them to say something about us to other people. For this reason, when it comes to things we used everyday, we do one of two things: 1. If we buy something that is plain, we decorate it to suit us. 2. We specifically choose to buy something that is already decorated in a way that is pleasing to us or says something about us. Think about your school supplies over the years, from kindergarten until now. You needed notebooks, pencils, backpacks, etc. Did you use plain, undecorated items year after year? Or, did you choose to buy pencils, notebooks, or backpacks with cartoon characters, football players, rappers, or comic heroes on them? If you bought plain things, did they stay plain, or did you decorate them? Ask yourself why you chose the specific objects you did. The ancient Greeks also wanted a personal connection to the objects they used everyday. They wanted them decorated with familiar characters characters they felt were like them in some way. Since they didn t have television and movies, they relied on figures from their mythology: with no Dora the Explorer, they went with Atalanta; with no John Cena, they went with Herakles; with no Nicki Minaj, they went with Aphrodite. What I want you to consider: If you were an ancient Greek, what would you want on your pottery? What I want you to do: 1. Choose a type of pottery from the four provided stencils at the back of your packet. 2. Use the two sheets of orange paper I ve given you and your choice of stencils to cut out two outlines of the vessel. One of these will be the front of your vessel. The other will be the back. 3. Pick your favorite myth from the ones we ve covered so far. Pick a figure you especially like or one you think represents your best qualities in some way. On each side of your vessel, draw a tableau relating to the myth or figure you ve chosen. Try to pick two scenes that best summarize the story. If you choose the kylix, you may decorate both sides AND the circular interior. 4. Research photographs of pottery of the style you have chosen. Notice how the pottery is decorated beyond the scene in the tableau. Choose patterns from the list provided on the next page to further decorate your vessel.

3 Typical Ornamental Patterns on Greek Pottery

4 Part 2 Describe Your Own Greek Vessel Read the following article on this Greek vessel: Black figured amphora (wine jar) signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter Greek, about BC Made in Athens, Greece; found at Vulci (now in Lazio, Italy) Obverse: Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea Penthesilea brought her Amazon warriors to help the Trojans defend their city, but was killed in combat with Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors. The scene on this vase shows Achilles looming above her as she sinks to the ground. Achilles's face is masked and protected by his helmet; Penthesilea's helmet is pushed back to expose her features and emphasize her vulnerability at this vital moment. Her spear passes harmlessly across Achilles's chest, while his pierces her throat and blood spurts out. According to a later version of the story, at this very moment the eyes of the two warriors met and they fell, too late, in love. Reverse: Dionysos and Oinopion On the other side of the vase, Dionysos, god of wine, is shown with his son Oinopion. Ornamentation The vase is signed, just behind Achilles's right arm, by Exekias as potter. The painting has also been attributed to him. The amphora's taut and rounded shape is emphasized by the spirals around each handle. Extending upward from the foot of the amphora to the lower side of the tableau is a row of rays, a row of keys, and then a row of hanging lotus buds. Above the tableaus, around the neck, runs a palmettes lotus chain. The foot, lip, and handles of the vessel are black. L. Burn, The British Museum book of Gre (London, The British Museum Press, 1991) D. Williams, Greek vases (London, The British Museum Press, 1999) What I want you to do:

5 For your own vessel, I want you to write a similar descriptive article. Follow the structure of the article above. 1. Name attributed to your vessel (make it up) and the artist. 2. Date of origin 3. Provenance Where was it made? Where was it found? Where is it now? 4. Description of the obverse side Explain what is being illustrated on the front of your vessel. 5. Description of the reverse side Explain what is being illustrated on the back of your vessel. 6. Ornamentation Explain how the vase is decorated. Is the style red figure or black figure? Are the tableaus trimmed with a certain pattern? What patterns are found on the neck and lower body of the amphora?

6 Part 3 Write a descriptive catalog entry for the following Greek vessel in the same format. Attic Black Figure Neck Amphora in the style of the Antimenes Painter BC Attica Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of David M. Robinson, OBVERSE

7 REVERSE

8 Resources

9 Red Figure vs. Black Figure Pottery Between the beginning of the sixth and the end of the fourth centuriesb.c., black and red figure techniques were used in Athens to decorate fine pottery while simpler, undecorated wares fulfilled everyday household purposes. With both techniques, the potter first shaped the vessel on a wheel. Most sizeable pots were made in sections; sometimes the neck and body were thrown separately, and the foot was often attached later. Once these sections had dried to a leather hardness, the potter assembled them and luted the joints with a slip (clay in a more liquid form). Lastly, he added the handles. In black figure vase painting, figural and ornamental motifs were applied with a slip that turned black during firing, while the background was left the color of the clay. Vase painters articulated individual forms by incising the slip or by adding white and purple enhancements (mixtures of pigment and clay). In contrast, the decorative motifs on red figure vases remained the color of the clay; the background, filled in with a slip, turned black. Figures could be articulated with glaze lines or dilute washes of glaze applied with a brush. The red figure technique was invented around 530 B.C., quite possibly by the potter Andokides and his workshop. It gradually replaced the black figure technique as innovators recognized the possibilities that came with drawing forms, rather than laboriously delineating them with incisions. The use of a brush in red figure technique was better suited to the naturalistic representation of anatomy, garments, and emotions. The firing process of both red and black figure vessels consisted of three stages. 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. In the third stage, air was reintroduced into the kiln; the reserved portions turned back to orange while the glossed areas remained black. Painted vases were often made in specific shapes for specific daily uses storing and transporting wine and foodstuffs (amphora), drawing water (hydria), drinking wine or water (kantharos or kylix), and so on and for special, often ritual occasions, such as pouring libations (lekythos) or carrying water for the bridal bath (loutrophoros). Their pictorial decorations provide insights into many aspects of Athenian life, and complement the literary texts andinscriptions from the Archaic and, especially, Classical periods. Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

10 Types of Pottery

11 Stencils

12 Kantharos

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