Greek Pottery
Objectives Recognize the characteristics of Greek Pottery Understand the uses of different Greek forms Recognize the three Greek pottery styles Place Greek pottery on a timeline
Greek pottery In ancient Greece pottery making was a highly skilled art form. Each exquisite piece was carefully and individually hand crafted and painted. The style of the vase would determine its specific use, whether decorative or productive such as food, water, or wine storage..
Greek pottery Styles Geometric Black-Figure Red-Figure
Geometric Period 900-700BC Decorated with bands of simple geometric patterns covering most of the vessel Eventually entire vase was covered and figures were added
Cinerary amphora Early Geometric period. Dated to 860-840 B.C.
Greek funeral vase 780 BC The designs are arranged in horizontal bands. Paintings done on the natural ceramic color with a lustrous brown glaze.
Greek pottery often pictured many aspects of everyday life as well as featured scenes of important figures often glorifying the gods and goddesses.
Warrior fighting two lions
Figures made of triangles and lines
Black Figured Pottery Black figured vases are an ancient Greek vase with black figures painted on a reddish orange clay. The Athenian potters learned how to obtain the reddish orange hue by mixing red ochre with their clay. Details within the silhouetted figures were incised before firing.
Black-figure pottery Figures more life-like and placed in storytelling scenes Beginning of artists signing their work
Achilles killing the Queen of Amazons, Penthesileia 530 B.C.
Achilles & Ajax playing a board game 520 B.C.
Red Figured Pottery Realism became an objective The silhouetted and incised drawings were basically twodimensional Decoration was first outlined in black, leaving the design in the lighter reddish color of the undecorated vase. Details were added with a brush applying black, which appeared as brown after the refining.
Red-figure Pottery
Greek amphora Hector of Troy arming for battle" 620 B.C.
Athena & Poseidon Corinthian amphora
Music lesson
Basic Greek vase shapes lekythos krater hydria amphora kylix oenochoe
Krater A large, deep bowl with two handles, used for mixing wine and water.
Krater Greek, Attic, attributed to the Dinos Painter, ca. 430 BC Ceramic. 2000.6.1. Carlos Collection of Ancient Art Danae & the golden rain of Zeus" 470 B.C.
"The Francois Vase" by Ergotimos and Kleitias is an Attic Black-figure Krater from Chiusi, c.575 bce and 26" height. Museo Archaeologico, Florence
Amphora A two-handled jar used for storing liquids, such as oil and water, and solids, such as grain. A neckamphora has the neck sharply set off from the body.
Amphora Artemis & Dionysus Date unknown
Hydria A jar with a wide belly, narrow neck, and three handles: two are horizontal, for lifting, and one is vertical, for pouring. It is used to store and transport water.
Antimenes painter 530-500 B.C. Terra-cotta "Hydria" with Black-figure decoration by the "A.D. Painter" portrays "women at a fountain house." c.520 bce, 20 7/8" Museum of Fine Art, Boston
Kylix A drinking cup which has a shallow bowl, no horizontal handles, and a tall foot. The term "kylix" covers a wide variety of shapes, many of which are called simply "cups" or "bowls".
From the Greek to roll referring to the vases being turned on the potter s wheel Kylix
Greek, late Archaic, ca. 480 BC. Terracotta. 1998.8. Carlos Collection of Ancient Art
On the exterior and interior of this kylix (drinking cup), young men reclining on cushions participate in an after-dinner drinking party. Several of the figures are playing kottabos, a popular game of skill in which a player, holding up a cup, flings a few drops of wine toward a target. Three types of musical instruments are shown: the lyre, the barbitos (both stringed instruments), and the aulos (an oboe-like wind instrument), here represented in a leopardskin case. On the interior of the cup, a small three-legged table stands near the figures, with extra wreaths draped over it and a pair of boots beneath.
Lekythos A flask, with an elongated body, rounded base, narrow neck, and a flat lip, used to contain and pour oil.
Lekythos 440 BCE, white-ground, terra cotta, height 14 3/4 inches M.M of A.
Lekythos An oil jug with an elliptical shaped body, a narrow neck, a flanged mouth, a curved handle extending from below the lip to the shoulder, and a narrow base terminating in a foot. It was used chiefly for ointments and funerary offerings.
Oenochoe (eh - nuk oh ee) An ancient Greek wine pitcher
Oenochoe (eh - nuk oh ee)