Notice the detail of the artist rendering water with a GRAY slip and the robes unbound at the waist but clearly stitched at the shoulders and neck. The horizontal lines could be pleating from folding and ironing rather than formed by weaving. We also have an example of the meander pattern .
Orpheus Amongst the Thracians
#orpheus #thracians #greekceramics #painting
Orpheus amongst the Thracians is one of those simple yet elegant classical greek paintings that capture a surprising amount of detail on a very small scale .The artist has carefully rendered the lyre and details such as the lacing of the Thracian's boots and the way his cape and robes drape differently from the Greek costume of Orpheus. The one raised foot of the woman holding the scythe and her eyes looking at both men the raised open hand of the male speaking the more relaxed pose of Orpheus himself show a skilled artist.
#minotaur #theseus #archaicgreekart
I like the minor detail of the helmet sitting on the ground and the ?lower ranking? attendants being naked and shoeless whereas Theseus wears a tunic and boots and the two women embroidered robes unless perhaps thats a woven pattern? .
#archaicgreekceramics #bulls #lions #animals #corinthian
BULLS AND LIONS
Here's a closeup of a corinthian oinochoe - wine pourer that was decorated with bands of lions and bulls or should I say lionesses?
I do like the late Archaic depictions of animals on ceramic vessels !
#Heracles #cretanbull #greekceramics
The Bull Theseus caught at Marathon was supposedly the same one Heracles caught in Crete and shipped to Tiryns. It allegedly escaped and somehow wandered north all the way to Attica possibly because it had been dedicated to Poseidon and no one dared to kill it expect Theseus who offered it up as a sacrifice to dear maybe dad Poseidon or maybe just to annoy the Minoans who were supposed to give sacrificed it earlier.
We know this is Heracles and not Theseus as he is bearded and has tied his archers quiver to the branch of a nearby tree. Heracles favorite weapon apart from his club was his bow.
You might want to compare this to the famous Vaphio cup.
Note the bull is lassoed and bound by the hind legs not the horns or neck.
This black figure vessel has been dated to about 510 BCE so early Classical
Theseus and the Bull
#theseus #bull #Classicalgreekart #greekceramics
A simple elegant vessel but I do feel sorry for the bull who doesnt seem to know what comes next ... I also note the woman pictured is certainly not wearing a veil or a cape. She may possibly be Medea and the old man Theseus' father?
Bull's Head Rhyton
#bullshead #rhyton
You've probably seen Minoan Rhytons including the clay one I showed you recently.
I did an image search and found an example from the Classical period.
Whoever photographed it didnt think to include an angle showing the openings.
The general theory seems to have be that soft wax stoppers were used so these actually could function for pouring liquids. I suspect many of these were also designed to be designed as objects of arts between usage but whether hanging from a hook or sitting on a shelf I do not know.
#Athena the Warrior
No Comments Just Athena on a particularly elegant oil flask sharing so you can admire the beauty.
We think of Classical Ceramics progressing from Geometric through Archaic to Red Figure and Black Figure and Polychrome on White Ground but styles were not quite so neatly divided.
An artist known as the Athena painter seemed to have preferred a very pale almost white clay and used black but almost some red and used incision as well as painting. Note how the fine lines of the robe and details on the horse are incised through black slip but most of the rest of the image is painted.
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF POTTERY - FOUR
A brief note on how Pottery styles reflect cultural and technological changes
The Red figure White Ground and Black Figure Vessel of the Attic Classical era dwindled in production disappearing in the Hellenistic era..
The Cause? Probably Alexander's defeat of the Persians!
Other Causes? Yes. Read on.
With Alexanders defeat of the Persians Ionian and other Greek cities in Asia minor underwent a cultural revival. Athens was no longer the major cultural centre.
Wealth flowed into Greece. Returned soldiers spent money on metal.
The specialists who made handles and sprigs and painted the thrown vessels became painters of walls or makers of mosaics and ... an biggie! ... new developments in using molds allowed for mass production of objects like "Megarian" ware.
I have done pottery and while I suck at throwing from what I learnt and bowls I have seen it seems like bowls were being thrown and then placed in molds to dry
However some potters and workshops in Athens used the "West Slope" style derived from black figure.
If we had just the pots and no literature or history texts we would know something happened in Greece and Asia Minor. Ceramics became less treasured. We know Roman collectors valued something called Corinthinian bronze and other gold and silver or glass objects which have not survived or survived in far lower numbers.
Ceramics however can not be melted down. You can grind them into small pieces for grog to stiffen clays but ...
Ceramics of course were still being made.
The Athenians and other mainland or Asia Minor Greek studios and workshops also had to compete with workshops in Southern Italy Tuscany and other places.
But South Italian pottery is a theme for another post!
Kamares ware Two
