Ancient Greek Pottery

Kevin J. Benoy

The Importance of Pottery

Storage
containers,
cookware and
dishes were as
necessary for the
Ancient Greeks as
they are for us.
Without much
glass and with
metal expensive,
clay was a very
handy material.

Clay

Clay is inexpensive and readily available.

It is weathered rock that has crumbled to dust.
Found in its original location, it is called
primary clay.
In the Mediterranean region, most clay has
been deposited by glaciers and is known as
secondary clay.
The impurities in clay give it varying colours.

For instance, red clay contains iron.

Clay

It is easily worked
and can be
shaped as desired.
Once fired it is
quite strong and
waterproof.
It makes an ideal
material for
containers of all
sorts.

Working With Clay

The first step is to remove rocks,

shells and other materials.
This is done by mixing the clay with
water in a process called levigation
or elutriation.
This allows the impurities to sink to
the bottom of the mixing tub. The
more often this is done, the
smoother the clay becomes.

Throwing pots

The clay is next kneaded and

placed on a wheel.
As the wheel spins, the potter
shapes the clay and forms it
into the desired shapes.
Large pots are made in
sections. Handles, feet and
spouts were also fabricated
separately.
Sections are glued together
with a layer of thin, watery,
clay, known as a slip.

Decoration

Once made, the

entire pot is
painted with a thin
black slip. How this
slip is applied will
create an image.
The entire object is
then fired in 3
stages.

Pottery Art

Only men were allowed to make pots in

Ancient Greece, though women were
permitted to paint them.
Pottery was frequently made by slaves.
What survives is often not high art. Really
valuable containers tended to be made of
bronze, silver or gold. However, little of this
survives because the metal was reused.
Pottery fragments, having no real value,
survive.

Pottery Art

Despite it being a
lesser form than
metal-craft, some
excellent
creations exist.
Greek pottery and
painting evolved
into a significant
art form.

Form and Function

Pots were shaped

according to their
function.

Form & Function

Large storage
containers were
called amphora
and are made
with two carrying
handles..

Form and Function

Small storage
boxes were called
pyxis.

Form and Function

Small vases for

perfume or oil
were called
Alabastron.

Form and Function

Athletes kept their

oil supply in small
containers called
Aryballos

Form and Function

Hydria were used

to carry water
from wells,
springs or rivers.

Form and Function

Kraters were
bowls to mix
water and wine
in.

Form and Function

Wine was ladled

from kraters
into shallow
wine cups called
kylix.

Form and Function

It was also poured

directly out of
wine jugs called
oinochoe.

Form and Function

Lekythos were
used to store oil

Periods and Styles

Pottery is one of the

oldest surviving art forms
from Ancient Greece.
Works and fragments
survive from the 2nd
millennium BC to the end
of the 1st century BC.
Greek pottery was traded
throughout the
Mediterranean world and
beyond.

Periods and Styles

Minoan & Mycenaean

Minoan &
Mycenaean pottery
is the oldest that
we know of.
It was exuberantly
decorated.
It tends have as a
trait horror vacui
or fear of leaving
open space.

Periods and Styles

Geometric

The next style to pervade

exhibits a different
sensibility.
From the end of the 2nd
millennium the geometric
style dominates.
Regular geometric
patterns and shapes, not
animal forms, are
pervasive.

Periods and Styles

Orientalizing

Contact with Asia

brought new
innovation in
design.
The next stage is
therefore known as
the orientalizing
period.
Plants and animals
reappear in the
bands of design.

Periods Periods and Styles

Orientalizing

During the
orientalizing period
(roughly 725-650
BC) the black figure
technique is
employed in
Corinth.
In the 7th century
BC, this spreads to
Athens.

Periods and Styles

Archaic

The Archaic style

existed from
around 700 to 480
BC.
Mythology and life
became important
subjects.
Some artists
signed their work.

Periods and Styles

Black-Figure

The Black-figure style

really did not dominate
until the 6th century BC.
Artists painted black
images silhouetted
against the natural red
clay background.
Details were inserted by
etching the black figures.
White or purple paint
could then be added.

Periods and Styles

Red-Figure

The red-figure style appeared

between 530-525 BC.
It was achieved by simply
reversing the manner of black
figure painting.
The red figures are reserved
and the background is painted.
This is more difficult but it
allowed the design to be seen
better at a distance and it
leaves the contour of the pot
more visible.

Periods and Styles

Classical

Interestingly, the classical period saw

change, but not necessarily any
improvement in technique.
Some observers actually feel that things
worsen as greater freedom brings less
balance.
Some suggest that pottery artists were
trying to outdo the painters of the day.
However, this cannot be confirmed or
denied, since no paintings have survived.

Periods and Styles

Classical White Ground

One significant
innovation is the
painting of a large
part of the pot with a
white background.
This creates almost a
canvas upon which
the artist can easily
work.

The End

By the end of the 5th century BC, pottery

painting seems to lose its status as an art
form. Some suggest that metal bowls
and vases were now favoured by the rich.
Outside Greece, local manufacturing
continued, particularly in what is now
Southern Italy.
In the 3rd century BC, the painting of
pottery before firing seems to end.
Decoration was now separate from
potting entirely.