Among the artists of the period who have left their names on the vases,
besides those already mentioned, the most conspicuous is Nicosthenes, a
potter of some originality, from whose hand we have over seventy
examples, a few being in the red-figure method. He is supposed to have
introduced at Athens a revival of the Ionic fashion of painting on a
cream-coloured ground instead of on red, of which some very effective
examples have been preserved. He was always a potter rather than a
painter, and most of his vases are remarkable for their
forms--introducing plastic imitations of metal vases--rather than for
their painted decoration. Most of the artists of this period, as in the
succeeding one, have left their signatures on cups (_kylikes_), but this
form did not receive so much attention from the painter as at a later
period, and many of these examples bear only inscriptions and no painted
decoration.
III. _Red-figured Vases._--The sudden reversal of technical method
involved in the change from black figures on a red ground to red figures
on black is not at first sight easy of explanation. Some artists, like
Nicosthenes and Andocides, used both methods, sometimes on the same
vase, and there is no doubt that the two went on for some years
concurrently. As, however, no intermediate stage is possible, there is
no question of development or transition. The new style was in fact a
bold and ingenious innovation. It may possibly have been suggested by a
small class of vases in which the figures are painted in the
black-figure _method_, but have the converse appearance, that is to say
they are painted in a thick red pigment on a ground of shining black. It
may therefore have occurred to the artist that he could obtain the same
effect merely by leaving the figures unpainted on the red clay and
surrounding them with the black. The change, must, however, be closely
associated with the career of the artist Andocides, who not only
produced vases in each method, but also several in which the two are
combined (fig. 27). In two or three cases the subject is actually the
same on each side, almost every detail being repeated, except that the
colouring is reversed.
The date at which the change took place was formerly placed well on in
the 5th century, on account of the great advance in drawing which most
of the red-figured vases show, as compared with the black. They were
thus regarded as contemporary with the painter Polygnotus, if not with
Pheidias. But the excavations on the Acropolis of Athens yielded so many
fragments in the advanced red-figured style which must be earlier than
480 B.C., that it has become necessary to find an earlier date for its
appearance. This is now usually placed at about 520 B.C., overlapping
with the preceding period.
The red-figure period is usually subdivided into four, marking the chief
stages of development, and known respectively as the "severe," "strong,"
"fine," and "late fine" periods. Their principal characteristics and
representative painters may be briefly enumerated.
In the _severe_ period there is no marked advance on the black-figured
vases as regards style. The figures are still more or less stiff and
conventional, and some vases even show signs of an analogous decadence.
The real development is partly technical, partly in the introduction of
new subjects. Although the change of style probably had its actual
origin in the _amphora_, as treated by Andocides, the new developments
are best seen in the _kylix_, a form of vase which now sprang into
popularity and called forth the chief efforts of the principal artists.
Its curved surface gave ample scope for skilful effects of drawing and
decorative arrangement, and the earlier painters devoted all their
attention to perfecting it as a work of decorative art. For other
shapes, such as the _hydria_, and _lekythos_, the old method was for a
time preferred.
The most typical artist of the period was Epictetus, and other famous
cup-painters were Pamphaeus, Cachrylion and Phintias. The earliest cups
are decorated in a quite simple fashion like those of the black-figure
period, often with a single figure each side between two large
"symbolical" eyes, and a single figure in a circle in the interior. To
the latter the artist at first devoted his chief efforts, though even
here his scope was at first limited. But although he had not yet
attained to skill in composition, he did discover that the circular
space was well adapted for exhibiting his newly-acquired abilities as a
draughtsman and for disposing figures in ingeniously conceived
attitudes. In all cases the object was to fill the space as far as
possible, a characteristic of all the best Greek art. By degrees more
attention was paid to the designs on the exterior, and the single
figures were replaced by groups, but regular compositions in the form of
friezes telling some story were not introduced until quite the end of
this period. Epictetus was throughout his career a thoroughly "archaic"
artist, but a considerable advance was made by Cachrylion, who stands
on the verge of the succeeding stage.
The _strong_ period centres round the name of Euphronius, the author of
a really great artistic movement. His capacity for inventing new
subjects or new poses--or otherwise overcoming technical and artistic
difficulties--marks a great advance on all previous achievements, and he
seems to represent the stage of development traditionally associated
with the painter Cimon of Cleonae, the inventor of foreshortening and
other novelties. Thus figures were no longer represented exclusively in
profile, as in the black-figured vases which had made no advance beyond
the conventions of Egyptian art. Ten vases signed by him are in
existence (though it is not certain that all were actually painted by
him), most of them having mythological subjects (fig. 28).
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Cup by Euphronius.]
Of his contemporaries, Duris, Hieron and Brygus take foremost rank, all
three being, like Euphronius, essentially cup-painters, though they use
other forms at times. For decorative effect and beauty of composition
their vases have never been surpassed. As an example we may quote a
_kotyle_ or beaker in the British Museum signed by Hieron, with a group
of Eleusinian deities. The larger vases of this period are more rarely
signed, but many of them rival the cups in execution, though the
subjects are characterized by greater simplicity and largeness of style.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Hydria by Meidias in the style of Polygnotus.]
In _the fine_ style (460-440 B.C.) breadth of effect and dignity are
aimed at, and although cup-painting had passed its zenith, and signed
specimens become rarer, yet, considering the red-figured vases as a
whole, this period exhibits the perfection of technique and drawing. In
many of the larger vases the scenes are of a pictorial character,
landscape being introduced, with figures ranged at different levels, and
herein we may see a reflection of the style of the painter Polygnotus.
One of the finest cups in this style is in the Berlin Museum, it is
signed by the artists Erginus and Aristophanes, and the subject is the
battle of the gods and giants. To the end of the period belongs a
beautiful _hydria_ in the British Museum by the painter Meidias with
subjects from Greek legend in two friezes (fig. 29). Generally speaking,
there is a reaction in favour of mythological subjects.
In the _late fine_ style, which begins about 440 B.C., the pictorial
effect is preserved, but with perfected skill in drawing the
compositions deteriorate greatly in merit, and become at once
over-refined and careless. The figures are crowded together without
meaning or interest. The fashion also arose of enhancing the designs by
means of accessory colours--almost unknown in the previous stages--such
as white laid on in masses, blue and green, and even with gilding.
Athletic and mythological subjects yield place to scenes from the life
of women and children or meaningless groups of figures (fig. 30).
A good example of this style is an _amphora_ from Rhodes with the
subject of Peleus wooing Thetis, in which polychrome colouring and
gilding are introduced. There are also many imposing and elaborate
specimens found (and perhaps made) in the colonies of the Crimea and the
Cyrenaica; in particular one signed by Xenophantus with the Persian king
hunting, and another representing the contest of Athena and Poseidon for
the soil of Attica, both from the Crimea.
Contemporary with the red-figure method is one in which the figures are
painted on a white slip or _engobe_ resembling pipe-clay, with which the
whole surface was covered; the figures are drawn in outline in red or
black, and partly filled in with washes of colour, chiefly red, purplish
red, or brown, but sometimes also with blue or green. This style seems
to have been popular about the middle of the 5th century B.C. and was
employed for the funeral _lekythoi_ which came into fashion at Athens
about that time. These vases, which form a class by themselves, were
made specially for funeral ceremonies and were painted with subjects
relating to the tomb, such as the laying-out of the corpse on the bier,
the ferrying of the dead over the Styx by Charon, or (most frequently)
mourners bringing offerings to the tomb (fig. 31). They continued to be
made well on into the 4th century, but the later examples are very
degenerate and careless.
Of other forms, especially the _kylix_ and the _pyxis_ (toilet-box),
some exceedingly beautiful specimens have come down to us, which show a
delicacy of drawing and firmness of touch never surpassed, although the
lines were probably only drawn with a brush. The technique of these
vases may reflect the methods of the painter Polygnotus and his
contemporaries, who used a limited number of colours on a white ground.
Among them no finer specimen exists than the cup in the British Museum
with Aphrodite riding on a goose; the design is entirely in brown
outlines, and the drawing, if slightly archaic, full of grace and
refinement.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Painting from a small toilet-box or pyxis,
showing painted vases used to decorate a lady's room. On the left is a
gilt pyxis with a tall lid, and an oenochoe on a low table; on the right
two tall vases (lebes) on a plinth. All except the pyxis are decorated
with painted figures, and contain flowers.]
In the subjects on red-figured vases we do not find the same variety of
choice as on the black-figured, but on the other hand there is
infinitely greater freedom of treatment. The stereotyped form of
composition is almost entirely discarded, and each painter forms his own
conception of his subject. The class of slim _amphorae_, known as
"Nolan" from the place where they were mostly found, are distinguished
by having the design limited to one or at most two figures on each side,
often on a large scale; these vases are also famous for the marvellous
brilliance of their shining black (fig. 32).
Towards the middle of the 5th century the patriotism of the Athenian
artist finds expression in the growing importance which he attaches to
local legends, especially those of Theseus, the typical Attic hero. He
seems to have been regarded as the typical Athenian athlete or
_ephebus_, and his contests as analogous to episodes of the gymnasium.
Hence the grouping on some vases of scenes from his labours are like so
many groups of athletes (fig. 33), and hence, too, a general tendency of
the red-figured vases, especially the cups, to become a sort of
glorification of the Attic _ephebus_, the representations of whom in all
sorts of occupations are out of all proportion to other subjects.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Funeral lekythos showing vases placed inside
tomb.]
We find evidence of this, too, in another form. Many vases, especially
the cups of the "severe" and "strong" periods, bear names of persons
inscribed on the designs with the word [Greek: kalos], "fair" or
"noble," attached; sometimes merely, "the boy is fair." The exact
meaning of this practice has been much discussed, but evidence seems to
show that the persons celebrated must have been quite young at the time,
and were probably youths famous for their beauty or athletic prowess.
Some of the names are those of historical characters, such as
Hipparchus, Miltiades or Alcibiades, and, though they cannot always be
identified with these celebrated personages, enough evidence has been
obtained to be of great value for the chronology of the vases, Further,
the practice of the vase-painter of adopting his own particular
favourite name or set of names has enabled us to increase our knowledge
of the characteristics of individual artists by identifying unsigned
vases with the work of particular schools.
IV. _Vases of the Decadence_.--For all practical purposes the red-figure
style at Athens came to an end with the fall of the city in 404 B.C.
Painted vases did not then altogether cease to be made, as the
Panathenaic prize vases and the funeral _lekythoi_ testify, but at the
same time a rapid decadence set in. The whole tendency of the 4th
century B.C. in Greece was one of decentralization, and the art of
vase-painting was no exception, for we find that there must have been a
general migration of craftsmen from Athens, not only to the Crimea and
to North Africa, but also to southern Italy, which now becomes the chief
centre of vase production. Here there were many rich and flourishing
Greek colonies or Grecianized towns, such as Tarentum, Paestum and
Capua, ready to welcome the new art as an addition to their many
luxuries. In the character of the vases of this period we see their
tendencies reflected, especially in their splendid or showy aspect; the
only aim being size and gaudy colouring.
The general method of painting remains that of the Athenian red-figure
vases, but with entire loss of simplicity or refinement, either in the
ornamentation, the choice of colours, or the drawing of the figures.
Large masses of white are invariably employed, especially for the flesh
of women or of Eros, the universally present god of Love, and for
architectural details. Yellow is introduced for details of hair or
features, and in attempts at shading, nor is a dull iron-purple
uncommon. The reverses of the vases, when they have subjects, are devoid
of all accessory colouring, and the figures are drawn with the greatest
carelessness, as if not intended to be seen. There is throughout a
lavish use of ornamental patterns such as palmettes, wreaths of leaves,
or ornaments strewn over the field (a reversion to an old practice).
[Illustration: FIG. 32.--"Nolan" amphora by Euxitheus (c. 450 B.C.),
figure of Briseis; the other side has Achilles.]
The drawing, having now become entirely free, errs in the opposite
extreme; the forms are soft and the male figures often effeminate. The
fanciful and richly-embroidered draperies of the figures and the
frequent architectural settings seem to indicate that theatrical
representations exercised much influence on the vase-painters. The great
painters of the 4th century may also have contributed their share of
inspiration, but rather perhaps in the subjects chosen than in regard to
style; though the effect of many scenes on the larger vases is decidedly
pictorial, they are chiefly remarkable for their emotional and dramatic
themes.
The influence of the stage is twofold, for tragedy as well as comedy
plays its part. Many subjects are taken directly, others indirectly,
from the plays of Euripides, such as the _Medea_, _Hecuba_ (Plate II.
fig. 60), or _Hercules Furens_, and the arrangement of the scenes is
essentially theatrical. The influence of comedy is seen in subjects
derived from the _phlyakes_, a kind of farce or burlesque popular in
southern Italy, and here again the setting is adapted from the stage,
some vases having parodies of myths, others comic scenes of daily life.
Many vases of this period, especially those of large size, were
expressly designed for funeral purposes. Some of these bear
representations of the underworld, with groups of figures undergoing
punishment. On others shrines or tombs are depicted--sometimes
containing effigies of the deceased, at which the relatives make
offerings--as on the Athenian _lekythoi_. But by far the greater portion
of the subjects are taken from daily life, many of these being of a
purely fanciful and meaningless character like the designs on Sèvres or
Meissen china; the commonest type is that of a young man and a woman
exchanging presents, the presence of Eros implying that they are scenes
of courtship.
The vases of this period are usually grouped in three or four different
types, corresponding to the ancient districts of Lucania, Campania and
Apulia, each with its special features of technique, drawing and
subjects. In Lucanian vases the drawing is bold and restrained, more
akin to that of the Attic vases; in Campania a fondness for polychromy
is combined with careless execution. In Apulia a tendency to
magnificence exemplified in the great funeral and theatrical vases is
followed by a period of decadence characterized by small vases of
fantastic form with purely decorative subjects. Besides these we have
the school of Paestum, represented by two artists who have left their
names on their vases, Assteas and Python. A well-known example of the
work of the former is a _krater_ in Madrid with Heracles destroying his
children, a theatrical and quasi-grotesque composition, and there is a
fine example of Python's work in a _krater_ in the British Museum, with
Alkmena, the mother of Heracles, placed on the funeral pyre by her
husband Amphitryon, and rain-nymphs quenching the flames (Plate I. fig.
55).
[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Cup with exploits of Theseus.]
About the end of the 3rd century B.C. the manufacture of painted vases
would seem to have been rapidly dying out in Italy, as had long been the
case elsewhere, and their place is taken by unpainted vases modelled in
the form of animals and human figures, or ornamented with stamped and
moulded reliefs. These in their turn gave way to the Arretine and
so-called "Samian" red wares of the Roman period. In all these wares we
see a tendency to the imitation of metal vases, which, with the growth
of luxury in the Hellenistic age, had entirely replaced painted pottery
both for use and ornament; the pottery of the period is reduced to a
subordinate and utilitarian position, merely supplying the demands of
those in the humbler spheres of life.
_Collections_.--The majority of the painted vases now in existence are
to be found in the various public museums and collections of Europe,
of which the largest and most important are the British Museum, the
Louvre and the Berlin Museum. Next to these come the collections at
Athens, Naples, Munich, Vienna, Rome and St Petersburg; isolated
specimens of importance are to be found in other museums, as at
Florence, Madrid or the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris. Most of the
great private collections of the two preceding centuries have now been
dispersed. In recent years the Boston Museum has raised America to a
level with Europe in this respect; and the Metropolitan Museum at New
York contains a vast collection of Cypriote pottery.
LITERATURE.--Important original articles are to be found in various
archaeological journals such as _American Journal of Archaeology_
(1885, &c); _Annual of the British School at Athens_ (1894, &c.);
_Athenische Mitteilungen_ (1876, &c.); _Bulletin de correspondance
hellénique_ (1877, &c.); _Comptes rendus de la commission impériale
archéologique_ (St Petersburg, 1859-1888); _Gazette archéologique_
(Paris, 1875-1889); _Jahrbuch des kaiserlichen deutschen
archäologischen Instituts, Berlin_ (1886, &c.); _Journal of Hellenic
Studies_ (1880, &c.); _Monumenti antichi_ (Milan, 1890, &c.);
_Monuments grecs_ (Paris, 1872-1898); _Monuments Piot_ (Paris, 1894,
&c.); _Revue archéologique_ (Paris, 1844, &c.). The older works have
been recently superseded by important publications embodying the
latest views such as Hartwig, _Die griechischen Meisterschalen des
strengen rotfigurigen Stils_ (1893); Louvre, _Catalogue des vases
antiques de terre cuite_, by E. Pottier (1896, &c.); S. Reinach,
_Répertoire des vases peints_ (Paris, 1899-1900); H. B. Walters,
_History of Ancient Pottery_ (Greek, Etruscan and Roman), 1905, with
an excellent bibliographical list; also art. "Hischylos" in _J.H.S._
xxix. (1909) p. 103.
ETRUSCAN POTTERY--Parallel with the development of the art of pottery in
Greece runs the course of the art in Etruria, though with far inferior
results; in its later stages it is actually no more than a feeble
imitation of the Greek. The period of time which we must consider
extends from the Bronze age (1000 B.C. or earlier) down to the 3rd
century B.C., when Etruscan civilization was merged into Roman.
The earliest civilization traced in Italy is not, strictly speaking,
Etruscan, but may perhaps be more accurately styled "Umbrian." It is
usually referred to as the "Terramare" period from the remains
discovered in that district in the basin of the Po. These people were
lake-dwellers, barely removed from the Neolithic stage of culture, and
their pottery was of the rudest kind, hand-made and roughly baked. Cups
and pots have been found sometimes with simple decoration in the form of
knobs or bosses, and many have a crescent-shaped handle serving as a
support for the thumb.
The next period, the earliest which can be spoken of as "Etruscan," is
known as the "Villanova" period, from a site of that name near Bologna,
or as the period of pit-tombs (_a pozzo_), from the form of the graves
in which the pottery has been found (see VILLANOVA). It begins with the
9th century B.C. and lasts for about two hundred years. The pit-tombs
usually contain large cinerary urns or _ossuaria_ (containing the ashes
of the dead), fashioned by hand from a badly-levigated volcanic clay
known as _impasto Italico_. These vessels were irregularly baked in an
open fire, and the colour of the surface varies from red-brown to
greyish black. They appear to have been covered with a polished slip,
intended to give the vases a metallic appearance. The shape of the urns
is peculiar, but uniform; they have a small handle at the widest part
and a cover in the form of an inverted bowl with handle (Plate III. fig.
63). Their ornamentation consists of incised or stamped geometrical
ornaments formed in the moist clay in bands round the neck and body;
more rarely patterns painted in white are found. Common pottery is also
found showing little advance on that of the Terramare period except in
variety of decoration. The technique and ornament are the same as in the
case of the urns. They correspond in development, though not in date, to
the early pottery of Troy and Cyprus, as well as to the primitive
pottery of other races, but one marked difference is the general
fondness of the Italian potter for vases with handles.
Sometimes the cinerary urns take the form of huts (_tuguria_), though
these are more often found in the neighbourhood of Rome. One of the best
examples is in the British Museum; it still contains ashes which were
inserted through a little door secured by a cord passing through rings.
The ornamentation suggests the rude carpentry of a primitive hut, the
cover or roof being vaulted with raised ridges to represent the beams.
The surface is polished, and other specimens are occasionally painted
with patterns in white.
In the next stage a change is seen in the form of the tombs, the pit
being replaced by a trench; this is accordingly known as the
"trench-tomb" or _a fossa_ period, and extends from the 8th century B.C.
to the beginning of the 6th. Importations of Greek pottery now first
make their appearance. The character of the local pottery actually
remains for some time the same as that of the preceding period, but it
improves in technique. By degrees an improvement in the forms is also
noted, and new varieties of ornamentation are introduced; there is,
however, no evidence that the wheel was used.
Two entirely new classes of pottery are found at Cervetri (Caere)
belonging to the 7th century. One consists of large jars ([Greek:
pithoi]) of red ware, the lower part being moulded in ribs, while the
upper has bands of design stamped round it in groups or friezes. These
designs were either produced from single stamps or rolled out from
cylinders like those used in Babylonia. The subjects are usually
quasi-oriental in character, and it is not certain that this ware was
made in Etruria, especially as similar vases have been found in Rhodes
and Sicily; either it was imported, or it was a local imitation of Greek
models.
The other class is similar as regards the shapes and the nature of the
clay, but is distinguished by having painted subjects in white outlines
on a red glossy ground. The clay, a kind of _impasto Italico_, was first
hardened by baking, and then a mixture of wax, resin and iron oxide was
applied and polished; on this the pigments, a mixture of chalk and
earth, were laid. The subjects are from Greek mythology or are at least
Greek in character, but the technique is purely Etruscan, and the
drawing is crude and un-Greek in the extreme.
The fourth period shows a close continuity with the third; but the
difference is defined firstly by the appearance of a new type of tomb in
the form of a chamber (_a camera_), secondly, by the all-pervading
influence of oriental art, and to a less extent of that of the Greeks.
The period extends from about 650 to 550 B.C., and is further marked by
the general introduction of the wheel into Etruria and by the appearance
of inscriptions in an alphabet derived from western Greece. In the
earlier tombs the typical local pottery is of hand-made _impasto
Italico_ resembling that of the previous periods; in the later we find
what is known as _bucchero_ ware--the national pottery of Etruria--which
is made on the wheel and baked in a furnace, and shows a marked tendency
to imitate metal.
To this period also belongs the famous Polledrara tomb or Grotto d'lside
at Vulci, the contents of which are now in the British Museum and
include some remarkable specimens of pottery. It dates from about
620-610 B.C. The most remarkable of the vases is a _hydria_, of
reddish-brown clay covered with a lustrous black slip on which have been
painted designs in red, blue and a yellowish white. The colours have
unfortunately now almost disappeared, and it is doubtful if they had
been fired. The principal subject is from the story of Theseus and
Ariadne. This tomb also contained a large wheel-made _pithos_ of red
_impasto_ ware with designs painted in polychrome. In the
Regulini-Galassi tomb at Cervetri (about 650 B.C.) large cauldrons of
red glossy ware were found, with gryphons' heads projecting all round,
to which chains were attached. A similar cauldron from Falerii on a high
open-work stand is now in the British Museum.
We now come to the _bucchero_ ware, which is characteristic of the later
portion of this period, though the earliest examples go back to the end
of the 7th century. Its main feature is the black paste of which it is
composed, covered with a more or less shining black slip. Modern
experiments seem to indicate that the clay was smoked or fumigated in a
closed chamber after baking, becoming thereby blackened throughout, and
the surface was then polished with wax and resin. Analyses of the ware
have proved that it contains carbon and that it had been lightly fired.
The oldest _bucchero_ vases are small and hand-made, sometimes with
incised geometrical patterns engraved with a sharp tool like metal-work.
Oriental influence then appears in a series of chalice-shaped cups found
at Cervetri with friezes of animals. From about 560 B.C. onwards the
vases are all wheel-made, with ornaments in relief either stamped from a
cylinder or composed of separate medallions attached to the vase. The
subjects range from animals or monsters to winged deities or suppliants
making offerings (fig. 34); in other cases we find meaningless groups of
figures or plant forms. These types are found chiefly in southern
Etruria, but at Chiusi (_Clusium_) a more elaborate variety found favour
from about 500 to 300 B.C. The shapes are very varied and the ornament
covers the vase from top to bottom, the covers of the vases being also
frequently modelled in various forms. The figures are stamped from
moulds, incised designs being added to fill up the spaces. The range of
subjects is much widened, including scenes from Greek mythology and
oriental types combining Egyptian and Assyrian motives, which must have
been introduced by the Phoenicians.
[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Etruscan oinochoe, of black bucchero ware, with
figures in relief. (British Museum.)]
Thus the technique of the _bucchero_ wares is purely native, but the
decoration is entirely dependent on foreign types whether Greek or
oriental, and throughout the whole series the tendency to imitate
metal-work is to be observed in every detail, both in the forms and in
the methods of decoration. Some are mere counterparts of existing work
in bronze.
The last variety of peculiarly Etruscan pottery which calls for notice
is the Canopic jar, so called from its resemblance to the [Greek:
kanôpoi] in which the Egyptians placed the bowels of their mummies. They
are rude representations of the human figure, the head forming the
cover, and in the tombs were placed on round chairs of wood, bronze or
terra-cotta. An example of such a jar on a bronze-plated chair may be
seen in the Etruscan Room of the British Museum (Plate III. fig. 65).
Their origin has been traced to the funeral masks found in the earliest
Etruscan tombs. From these a gradual transition may be observed from the
mask (1) placed on the corpse, (2) on the cinerary urn, (3) the head
modelled in the round and combined with the vase, and (4) at last the
complete human figure. The earliest of these jars are found in the
"pit-tombs" of the 8th century B.C., and the latest and most developed
types belong to the 5th century B.C.
The skill shown by the Etruscans in metal-work and gem-engraving never
extended to their pottery, which is always purely imitative, especially
when they attempted painted vases after the Greek fashion. The kinds
already described are all more or less plastic in character and
imitative of metal, except in the case of the Cervetri and Polledrara
finds, which have little in common with anything Greek, and exhibit a
quite undeveloped art. But towards the end of the 6th century B.C., when
Greek vases were coming into the country in large numbers, attempts were
made to imitate the black-figure style, especially of a particular
class of Ionian vases. Imitations of these are to be found in most
museums and may be readily recognized as Etruscan from peculiarities of
style, drawing and subject, as well as their inferior technique (fig.
35).
[Illustration: FIG. 35.--Etruscan Amphora imitating Greek style; parting
scene of Alcestis and Admetus, with Etruscan inscriptions.]
At a later date (4th-3rd century B.C.) they began to copy red-figured
vases with similarly unsuccessful results. With the exception of a small
class of a somewhat ambitious character made at Falerii (Civita
Castellana), of which there is a good example in the British Museum with
the subject of the infant Heracles strangling the serpents, they are all
marked by their inferior material and finish and their bizarre
decoration. The style is often repulsive and disagreeable, as well as
ineffective, and the grim Etruscan deities, such as Charun, are
generally introduced. Some of these vases have painted inscriptions in
the Etruscan alphabet. The latest specimens positively degenerate into
barbarism.
Painted vases of native manufacture are also found in the extreme south
of Italy and have been attributed to the indigenous races of the
Peucetians and Messapians; their decoration is partly geometrical,
partly in conventional plant forms, and is the result of natural
development rather than of imitation of Greek types. Some of the shapes
are characteristic, especially a large four-handled _krater_. They cover
the period 600-450 B.C., after which they were ousted by the
Graeco-Italian productions we have already described.
ROMAN POTTERY.--Roman vases are far inferior to Greek; the shapes are
less artistic, and the decoration, though sometimes not without merits
of its own, owes most of its success to the imitation or adaptation of
motives learnt from earlier Grecian, Egyptian or Syrian potters. They
required only the skill of the potter for their completion, and, being
made by processes largely mechanical, they are altogether on a lower
scale of artistic production.
It has been noted that during a certain period--namely, the 3rd and 2nd
centuries B.C.--ceramic art had reached the same stage of evolution all
round the Mediterranean, painted pottery had been ousted by metal-work,
and such vases as continued to be made were practically imitations of
metal both in Greece and Italy. These latter we must regard as
representing ordinary household pottery, or as supplying to those who
could not afford to adorn their houses and temples with costly works in
metal, a humble but fairly efficient substitute. There is a terra-cotta
bowl of the 2nd century B.C. in the British Museum which is an exact
replica of a chased silver bowl with reliefs in the same collection, and
may serve as an illustration of this condition of things (Plate II. fig.
56).
These imitations of metal were largely made in southern Italy, a
district which enjoyed close artistic relations with Etruria, and we
have already seen that the same principle had long been in vogue among
the Etruscans. Hence it is not surprising that an important centre of
pottery manufacture should have sprung up in Etruria, in the and century
B.C., which for many years set the fashion to the whole Roman world. But
before discussing such products it may be as well to say something on
the technical character, shapes and uses of Roman pottery in general.
_Technical Processes_.--Roman pottery regarded in its purely technical
aspect is in some ways better known to us than the Greek, chiefly
owing to extensive discoveries of kilns and potters' apparatus in
western Europe. It may be classified under two heads, of which only
the second will concern us for the most part as yielding by far the
greater amount of material and interest: (1) the plain, dull
earthenware used for domestic purposes, and (2) the fine, red shining
wares, usually known to archaeologists as _terra sigillata_, clay
suited to receive stamps (_sigilla_) or impressions.
For both classes all kinds of clay were used, varying somewhat in
different regions, and ranging in colour when fired from black to
grey, drab, yellow, brown and red. The clays varied greatly in
quality; most of the pottery made in southern Gaul was fashioned from
the ferruginous red clay of the Allier district, but at
St-Remy-en-Rollat and in that neighbourhood a white clay was used. In
Italy we find a carefully levigated red clay in use, great care being
devoted to its preparation and admixture. But apart from decoration
and style there is a great similarity in the general appearance of the
Italian and provincial pottery made under Roman influence, and it is
often very difficult to decide whether the vases were manufactured
where they had been found or were imported from some famous centre of
manufacture. The secret of the glossy red surface seems to have been
common property and found its way from Italy to Gaul, Spain and
Germany, and perhaps even to Britain.
The manner in which this glossy red surface was produced has been a
much-disputed question, some, as for instance Artis, the excavator of
the Castor potteries in Northamptonshire, claiming that it was a
natural result obtained in the baking, after polishing of the surface,
by means of specially contrived kilns. But it is now generally agreed
that it was artificial. It is true that the Roman lamps and many of
the commoner wares have a gloss produced by polishing only, varying in
colour and brightness with the proportion of iron oxide in the clay
and the degree of heat at which the pieces were fired. But the surface
finish of the finer or _terra sigillata_ wares is something quite
distinct, and reaches a high and wonderfully uniform perfection.
It is possible that the technical secret of the potters of the Roman
world was only a development from the practice of the Greeks, but it
does seem as if the finer Roman wares were coated with a brilliant
glossy coating so thin as to defy analysis, yet so persistent as to
leave no doubt of its existence as a definite glossy coat. Repeated
attempts have been made to determine its nature by analysis, but
chemists ought to have known better, for the coating is so thin that
it is impossible to remove it without detaching much more body than
glaze. Examination shows it to be much more than a surface polish or
than the gloss of the finest Greek vases, and we shall have to wait
for a final determination of its nature until some one who is at once
a chemist and a potter can reconstruct it synthetically. Whatever its
nature and method of production, it is certain that the glaze itself
was a transparent film which heightened the natural red colour of the
clay, until in the finest specimens it has something of the quality of
red coral.
In the manufacture of vases the Romans used the same processes as the
Greeks. They were all made on the wheel, except those of abnormal
size, such as the large casks (_dolia_), which were built up on a
frame. Specimens of potters' wheels have been found at Arezzo and
Nancy, made of terra-cotta, with a pierced centre for the pivot, and
bearing small cylinders of lead round the circumference to give a
purchase for the hand and to aid the momentum of the wheel. For the
ornamental vases with reliefs an additional process was necessary, and
the decoration was in nearly all cases produced from moulds. The
process in this case was a threefold one: first the stamps had to be
made bearing the designs; these were then pressed upon the inside of a
clay mould which had been previously made on the wheel to the size and
shape required; finally, the clay was impressed in the mould and the
vase was thus produced, decoration and all. Handles being of rare
occurrence in Roman pottery, the vases were thus practically complete,
requiring only the addition of rim and foot. The stamps were made in
various materials, and had a handle at the back (Plate III. fig. 64).
The moulds were of lighter clay than the vases, and were lightly fired
when completed, so as to absorb the moisture from the pressed-in clay.
Large numbers of these moulds are in existence (Plate III. fig. 61),
and the British Museum possesses a fine series from Arezzo. Those
discovered in various parts of Gaul have afforded valuable evidence as
to the sites of the various pottery centres, as their presence
obviously denoted a place of manufacture, and the value of this
evidence is increased when they bear potters' names.
Remains of kilns for baking Roman pottery[8] are very numerous in
western Europe, especially in Gaul, where the best examples are at
Lezoux near Clermont, at Châtelet in Haute-Marne, and near Agen in
Lot-el-Gäronne. In Germany good remains have come to light at
Heiligenberg in Baden, al Heddernheim near Frankfort, Rheinzabern near
Carlsruhe, and Westerndorf in Bavaria. In England the best kilns are
those discovered by Artis in 1821-1827 at Castor in Northamptonshire
(see fig. 4).
_Shapes_.--As is the case with Greek vases, a long list of names of
shapes may be collected from Latin literature, and the same
difficulties as to identification arise in the majority of cases. They
may, however, be classified in the same manner; as vases for storing
liquids, for mixing or pouring wine, for use at the table, and so on.
In addition Varro and other writers have preserved a number of archaic
and obscure names chiefly applied to the vases used in sacrifices.
The principal vases for storing liquid or solid food were:--The
_dolium_, a large cask or barrel of earthenware; the _amphora_, a jar
holding about six gallons; and the _cadus_, a jar about half as large
as the _amphora_. The _dolium_ had no foot, and was usually buried in
the earth; it was also used for purposes of burial. The _amphora_
corresponds to the Greek wine-jar of that name, and had, like its
prototype, a pointed base. Many examples were found at Pompeii stamped
with the names of consuls (cf. Hor. _Od._ in. 21. I), or with painted
inscriptions relating to their contents. The _cadus_ is mentioned by
Horace and Martial.
Of smaller vases for holding liquids, such as jugs, bottles and
flasks, the principal were the _urceus_, answering to the Greek
[Greek: oinochoê], the _ampulla_, a kind of flask with globular body,
and the _lagena_, a narrow-necked flask or bottle. Of drinking-cups
the Romans had almost as large a variety as the Greeks, and the great
majority of the ornamented vases preserved to the present day were
devoted to this purpose. The generic name for a cup was _poculum_, but
the Romans borrowed many of the Greek names, such as _cantharus_ and
_scyphus_. The _calix_ appears to have answered in popularity, though
not in form, to the Greek _kylix_, and is probably the name by which
the ornamented bowls were usually known. The names for a dish are
_lanx_, _patina_ and _catinum_. Another common form is the _olla_
(Greek [Greek: chutra]), which served many purposes, being used for a
cooking-pot, for a jar in which money was kept, or for a cinerary urn.
The form of vase identified with this name has a spherical or
elliptical body with short neck and wide mouth. Of sacrificial vases
the principal was the _patera_ or libation-bowl, corresponding to the
Greek [Greek: phialê].
_Arretine Ware_.--The Latin writers, and in particular Pliny, mention
numerous places in Italy, Asia Minor and elsewhere, which were famous
for the production of pottery in Roman times. Pliny mentions with
special commendation the "Samian Ware," the reputation of which, he
says, was maintained by Arretium (Arezzo). Samian pottery is also
alluded to by other writers, and hence the term was adopted in modern
times as descriptive of the typical Roman red wares with reliefs,
whether found in Italy, Germany, Gaul or Britain. But it was only
accepted with diffidence as a convenient name, and as early as 1840
discoveries at Arezzo made it possible to distinguish the vases found
there as a local product, now known as "Arretine" ware. The name
"Samian" has, however, adhered to the provincial wares and at the
present day is often used even by archaeologists. But recent researches
have shown that nearly all the provincial wares can be traced to Gaulish
or German potteries, and, since it is implied by Pliny that "Samian"
pottery is older than "Arretine," the name may now be fairly rejected
altogether, as we have rejected the name "Etruscan" for Greek pottery.
The Romans probably used it as a generic term, just as we speak of
"china," and the real Samian ware is to be seen in the later Greek
pottery, with reliefs, of the 3rd century B.C.
There were, as Pliny and other writers imply, many pottery centres in
Italy, at Rhegium, Cumae, Mutina and elsewhere, as well as at Saguntum
in Spain, but all were surpassed in excellence by Arretium. In more
modern times its pottery came under notice even in the middle ages, and
discoveries were made in the time of Leo X (about 1500) and again in the
18th century. The Arretine ware may be regarded as _the_ Roman pottery
_par excellence_, and its popularity extended from about 150 B.C. down
to the end of the 1st century of the Empire, reaching its height in the
1st century B.C., after which it rapidly degenerated, and its place was
taken by the wares of the provinces. Its general characteristics may be
summed up as follows:--(1) The fine local red clay, carefully levigated
and baked very hard to a rich coral red or a colour like sealing-wax;
(2) the fine red glaze, which has already been discussed; (3) the great
variety of forms employed, showing the marked influence of metal-work;
(4) the almost invariable presence of stamps with potters' names. The
majority of the specimens have been found at Arezzo itself, but there
was a branch of the industry at Puteoli, producing pottery almost equal
in merit, and it was also exported to central and eastern Europe and
Spain.
The earliest examples are of black glossy ware, but the red appears to
have been introduced by 100 B.C., when the first potters' stamps appear.
These are usually quadrangular in form, though other shapes are found,
and are impressed in the midst of the design on the ornamented vases, or
on plain wares on the bottom of the interior. The number of potters'
names is very large, though some appear to have been more prolific than
others, and to have employed a large number of slaves, whose names
appear with their masters' on the stamps. The best known is Marcus
Perennius, whose wares take highest rank for their artistic merit, the
designs being copied from good Greek models. He employed seventeen
slaves, of whom the best known is Tigranes, the stamps usually appearing
as M·PEREN and TIGRAN. The slave-name of Bargates is found on one of his
finest vases, in the Boston Museum, the subject being the fall of
Phaethon. We may suppose that the stamps for the figures were designed
by the masters, but that the vases were actually moulded by the slaves.
Other important artists are Calidius Strigo, who had twenty slaves; P.
Cornelius, who had no less than forty; Aulus Titius, who signs himself
A·TITI·FIGVL·ARRET; the Annii and the Tetii; and L. Rasinius Pisanus, a
degenerate potter of the Flavian period, who imitated Gaulish wares.
The forms of the vases are all, without exception, borrowed from metal
shapes and are of marked simplicity (see fig. 37, Nos. 1, 8, 9, 11).
They are mostly of small size and devoid of handles, but a notable
exception is a bell-shaped _krater_ or mixing-bowl, of which there is a
very fine example in the British Museum, found at Capua and decorated
with the four seasons (Plate III. fig. 62). For the decoration and
subjects the potters undoubtedly drew their inspiration from the
"new-Attic" reliefs of the Hellenistic period, of which the _krater_
just cited is an example. So, too, are such subjects as the dancing
maenads or priestesses with wicker head-dresses, or the Dionysiac scenes
which are found, for instance, on the vases of Perennius. Others again
are distinguished by a free use of conventional ornament, figures when
they occur being merely decorative. There is throughout a remarkable
variety both in the ornamentation and in the methods of composition.
_Provincial Wares_.--The Arretine ware, as has been noted, steadily
degenerated during the 1st century of the Empire, and the manufacture of
ornamental pottery appears to have entirely died out in Italy by the
time of Trajan. Its place was taken by the pottery of the provinces,
especially by that of Gaul, where the transference of artistic
traditions led to the rise of new industrial centres in the country
bordering on the Rhone and the Rhine.
As to the general characteristics of the provincial wares, that is, of
the ornamented wares or _terra sigillata_, the clay is fine and
close-grained, harder than the Arretine, and when broken shows a light
red fracture; the surface is smooth and lustrous, of a brighter yet
darker red colour (i.e. less like coral) than that of Arretine ware, but
the tone varies with the degree of heat used. The most important feature
is the fine glaze with which it is coated, similar in composition to
that of the Arretine; it is exceedingly thin and transparent, and laid
equally over the whole surface, only slightly brightening the color of
the clay. The ornament is invariably coarser than that of Arretine ware,
by which, however, it is indirectly inspired.
The vases are usually of small dimensions, consisting of various types
of bowls, cups and dishes, of which two or three forms are preferred
almost to the exclusion of the rest, and they frequently bear the stamp
of the potter impressed on the inside or outside. Although this ware is
found all over the Roman world, by far the greater portion comes from
Gaul, Germany or Britain, and evidence points to two--and only
two--districts as the principal centres of manufacture: the valleys of
the Loire and the Rhine and their immediate neighbourhood. In the 1st
century A.D. Gaulish pottery was largely exported into Italy, and
isolated finds of it occur in Spain and other parts.
The recent researches of Dr Dragendorff and M. Déchelette have shown
that a chronological sequence of the pottery may be clearly traced, both
in the shapes employed and in the method of decoration; and, further,
that it is possible--at least as regards Gaul--to associate certain
potters' names and certain types of figures, though found in many
places, with two centres in particular, Graufesenque near Rodez
(department of Aveyron) in the district occupied by the Ruteni, and
Lezoux near Clermont (department of Puy-de-Dôme) in the country of the
Arverni. The periods during which these potteries flourished are
consecutive, or rather overlapping, but not contemporaneous, the former
being practically coincident with the 1st century A.D., the latter with
the 2nd and 3rd down to about A.D. 260, when the manufacture of _terra
sigillata_ practically came to an end in Gaul.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Bowl of Gaulish ware, with moulded patterns in
slight relief.]
There were also certain smaller potteries, some of which mark a
transition between the Italian and provincial wares, in the north of
Italy and on the Rhine and upper Loire, e.g. St Remy-en-Rollat, and
others of later date, as at Banassac and Montans in the latter district,
but none of these produced pottery of special merit or importance. The
early Rhenish wares are, strictly speaking, of a semi-Celtic or Teutonic
character, while the later German _terra sigillata_, for which the
principal centres were Rheinzabern near Carlsruhe and Westerndorf in
Bavaria, are of similar character but inferior to the 2nd-century
pottery of Lezoux. A mould from Rheinzabern is illustrated, Plate IV.
fig. 66.
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Shapes used in Roman Pottery. 1-11, Arretine;
18-65, Gaulish and German.]
The ornamented vases produced in these potteries are, as we have said,
almost confined to two or three varieties, which follow one another
chronologically. A shape favoured at first is the _krater_, which has
been mentioned as one of the characteristic Arretine forms; but this
enjoyed but a short term of popularity. Early in the 1st century we find
a typical form of bowl in use, which, following the numeration of Dr
Dragendorff's treatise, is usually spoken of as No. 29. This is
characterized by its moulded rim engraved with finely incised hatchings,
and by the division of the body by a moulding into two separate friezes
for the designs (fig. 36). Its ornament is at first purely decorative,
consisting of scrolls and wreaths, then small animals and birds are
introduced, and finally figure subjects arranged in rectangular panels
or circular medallions. About the middle of the century a second variety
of bowl (known as No. 30; see fig. 37) was introduced; this is
cylindrical in form, and, being found both at Graufesenque and Lezoux,
may be regarded as transitional in character. In the latter half of this
century a new form arises (No. 37; fig. 37), a more or less
hemispherical bowl which holds the field exclusively on all sites down
to the termination of the potteries. In this form and in No. 30 a new
system of decoration is introduced, the upper edge being left quite
plain. The panels and medallions at first prevail, but are then
succeeded by arcading or inverted semicircles enclosing figures, and
finally after the end of the 1st century (and on form 37 only) we find
the whole surface covered with a single composition of figures
unconfined by borders or frames of any kind, but in a continuous frieze;
this is known as the "free" style (Plate IV. fig. 69).
As regards the figure subjects, it may be generally laid down that the
conceptions are good, but the execution poor. Many are obvious
imitations of well-known types or works of art, and the absence of
Gaulish subjects is remarkable. They include representations of gods and
heroes, warriors and gladiators, hunters and animals, the two latter
classes being pre-eminently popular.
The potters' names at Graufesenque are nearly all of a common Roman
type, such as Bassus, Primus, Vitalis; those at Lezoux are Gaulish in
form, such as Advocisus, Butrio, Illixo or Laxtrucisa. This seems to
imply that Roman influence was still strong in the earlier centre which
drew its inspiration more directly from Arretium. But even the purely
Roman names are sometimes converted into Gaulish forms, as _Masclus_ for
Masculus, or _Tornos_ for Turnus. The stamps are quadrangular in form,
depressed in the surface of the vase with the letters in relief; on the
plain wares they are usually in the centre of the interior, but on the
ornamented vases are impressed on the exterior among the figures. The
usual formula is OF (for _officina_) or M (for _manu_) with the name in
the genitive, or F, FE or FEC for _fecit_ with the nominative.
Besides the ordinary _terra sigillata_ with figures produced in moulds
we find other methods of decoration employed. In the south of France,
about Arles and Orange, vases were made with medallions separately
moulded and attached round the body; these have a great variety of
subjects, both mythological and gladiatorial or theatrical, or even
portraits of emperors. There is a remarkable specimen in the British
Museum with a scene from the tragedy of the _Cycnus_, on which Heracles
and Ares are represented, with seated deities in the background (Plate
IV. fig. 67). The date of these reliefs is the 3rd century after Christ.
Of the same date is a somewhat similar ware made at Lezoux. Here each
figure is attached separately to the vase, and the background is filled
in with foliage produced by the method known as _en barbotine_
(slip-painting), of which we shall speak presently. The effect of these
vases, which are mostly large jars or _ollae_ (Plate IV. fig. 70), is
often very decorative, and there is a fine specimen in the British
Museum from Felixstowe, on which the modelling is really admirable.
Other good examples have been found in various parts of Britain.
[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Jar of Castor ware, with reliefs of a stag
pursued by a hound, executed in semi-fluid slip. 6 in. high.]
The "slip-decoration" process is practically unknown in Italy, but it is
found early in the 1st century of our era in Germany, and appears to
have originated in the Rhine district. It is not confined to the red
ware, but in the early German examples is applied on a dull grey or
black background. On the continent its use is almost limited to simple
decorative patterns of scrolls or foliage, but in Britain it was largely
adopted, as in the well-known Castor ware made on the site of that name
(_Durobrivae_) in Northamptonshire. Many of the vases found or made here
have gladiatorial combats, hunting-scenes, or chariots executed by this
method (fig. 38). The decoration was applied in the form of a thick
viscous slip, usually of the same colour as the clay, but reduced to
this consistency with water, and was laid on by means of a narrow tube
or run from the edge of a spatula. The Castor ware appears to date from
the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D.
Painted wares are at all times rare, but were occasionally produced in
Gaul, Germany and Britain. A notable class of such ware seems to have
been produced in the Rhine district, represented by small jars covered
with a glossy black coating, on which are painted in thick white slip
inscriptions of a convivial character, such as BIBE, REPLE, DA VINUM, or
VIVAS (Plate IV. fig. 68). A very effective ware, obviously imitating
cut glass, by means of sharply incised patterns, was made at Lezoux in
both the red and black varieties.
LITERATURE.--Dragendorff in _Bonner Jahrbücher_, xcvi. 37 ff.;
Déchelette, _Vases céramiques de la Gaule romaine_ (1904); Walters,
_Ancient Pottery_, ii. chaps, xxi.-xxiii.; _British Museum Catalogue
of Roman Pottery_ (1908). (H. B. Wa.)