On the Importance of Pottery - Four

 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.

The Greek may have used molds prior to this to shape handles but using molds for mass production was something new! 

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!

On the Importance of Pottery - TWO

On the Importance of Pottery - TWO

This vessel shows us the importance of Dionysious in Classical Culture and of course also wine and the cult of the grape vine. Dionysios reclines his couch a ship and its pirate crew have become dolphins and swim along and around it. The mast is sprouting vines with full bunches of grapes. The ship is rendered in exquisite detail including the rigging of the sails full of wind and their cables.

Balance symmetry color form ornament and a story illustrated. And on a functional vessel not just for display but using! The potter who created this masterpiece is not recorded. He did not sign his name. Potters rarely did. He is as much a hero as some Spartan king or Athenian orator.

Amazons are Classical !

With the JLA movie out now lets take a look at some Classical depictions of Amazons.

The Greeks seem to have kept changing their minds sometimes showing them as wearing male Greek armour and sometimes as Central Asian nomads or in blends of both.

The use of Scythians as city guardsmen in Athens and possibly other cities seems to have influenced this. I wonder if perhaps some of the men brought their sisters with them and the sisters wee employed as temple guardians.

Hellenistic historians firmly believed there were Amazons.

Here's an image from 500 BCE

Now One from 470bce

Note shes wearing  greek style torso armour over trousers and a shirt!

420 BCE the full scythian / sarmatian look !

300 BCE back to blended costumes.

I'll take a closer more detailed look at these works one by one over the next posts.

ATHENA Athens and Pottery

ATHENA ATTICA AND POTTERY

Athenaeus 1. 28c records a myth about Athena and Attic Pottery and her invention of the potters' wheel

τὸν δὲ τροχὸν γαίας τε καμίνου τ̓ ἒκγονον

κλεινότατον κέραμον, χρησίμον οἰκονόμον,

ἡ τὸ καλὸν Μαραθῶν καταστήσα τρόπαιον

and the potters wheel clay and oven she discovered / begot?

Noblest pottery useful for housekeeping

she who (at) marathoon  raised fine trophy

καὶ ἐπαινεται ὄντως ὁ Ἀττικὸς κέραμος.

and Attic pottery is held in high esteem

I wonder if there were ancient kilns near Marathon?