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HISTORY OF ANCIENT POTTERY
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PLATE I
[Illustration:
KYLIX BY DURIS.
THE LABOURS OF THESEUS.
(BRITISH MUSEUM).
]
------------------------------------
HISTORY OF ANCIENT POTTERY
GREEK, ETRUSCAN, AND ROMAN
BY H. B. WALTERS, M.A., F.S.A.
BASED ON THE WORK OF
SAMUEL BIRCH
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I
WITH 300 ILLUSTRATIONS
INCLUDING 8 COLOURED PLATES
[ILLUSTRATION]
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1905
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINTED BY
HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
LONDON AND AYLESBURY.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE
In 1857 Dr. Samuel Birch issued his well-known work on ancient pottery,
at that time almost the first attempt at dealing with the whole subject
in a comprehensive manner. Sixteen years later, in 1873, he brought out
a second edition, in some respects condensed, in others enlarged and
brought up to date. But it is curious to reflect that the succeeding
sixteen years should not only have doubled or even trebled the material
available for a study of this subject, but should even have
revolutionised that study. The year 1889 also saw the completion of the
excavations of the Acropolis at Athens, which did much to settle the
question of the chronology of Attic vases. Yet another sixteen years,
and if the increase in actual bulk of material is relatively not so
great, yet the advance in the study of pottery, especially that of the
primitive periods, has been astounding; and while in 1857, and even in
1873, it was impossible to do much more than collect and co-ordinate
material, in 1905 Greek ceramics have become one of the most advanced
and firmly based branches of classical archaeology.
It therefore implies no slur on the reputation of Samuel Birch’s work
that it has become out of date. Up till now it has remained the only
comprehensive treatise, and therefore the standard work, on the
subject; but of late years there has been a crying need, especially in
England, of a book which should place before students a condensed and
up-to-date account of Greek vases and of the present state of knowledge
of the subject. The present volumes, while following in the main the
plan adopted by Dr. Birch, necessarily deviate therefrom in some
important particulars. It has been decided to omit entirely the section
relating to Oriental pottery, partly from considerations of space,
partly from the impossibility of doing justice to the subject except in
a separate treatise; for the same reason the pottery of the Celts and
of Northern Europe has been ignored. Part I. of the present work,
dealing chiefly with the technical aspect of the subject, remains in
its main outlines much as it was thirty years ago; but the other
sections have been entirely re-written. For the historical account of
vase-painting in Birch’s second edition one chapter of forty pages
sufficed; it now extends to six chapters, or one quarter of the work.
The subjects on the vases, again, occupy four chapters instead of two;
and modern researches have made it possible to treat the subjects of
Etruscan and Roman pottery with almost the same scientific knowledge as
that of Greece.
A certain amount of repetition in the various sections will, it is
hoped, be pardoned on the ground that it was desirable to make each
section as far as possible complete in itself; and another detail which
may provoke unfavourable criticism is the old difficulty of the
spelling of Greek names and words. In regard to the latter the author
admits that consistency has not been attained, but his aim has been
rather to avoid unnecessary Latinising on the one hand and pedantry on
the other.
Finally, the author desires to express his warmest acknowledgments to
all who have been of assistance to him in his work, by their writings
or otherwise, especially to a friend, desiring to be nameless, who has
kindly read through the proofs and made many useful suggestions; to the
invaluable works of many foreign scholars, more particularly those of
M. Pottier, M. Salomon Reinach, and M. Déchelette, he owes a debt which
even a constant acknowledgment in the text hardly repays. Thanks are
also due to the Trustees of the British Museum for kind permission to
reproduce their blocks for Figs. 75, 109, 118, 125, 128, 131, 138, 185,
191, and 197, to M. Déchelette for permission to reproduce from his
work the vases given in Figs. 224, 226, and to the Committee of the
British School at Athens for similar facilities in regard to Plate XIV.
(pottery from Crete). Lastly, but by no means least, the author desires
to express to Mr. Hallam Murray his deep sense of obligation for the
warm interest he has shown in the work throughout and for the pains he
has taken to ensure the success of its outward appearance.
H. B. W.
LONDON, _January 1905_.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I
PAGE
PREFACE v
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I ix
LIST OF PLATES IN VOLUME I xiii
LIST OF TEXT-ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME I xv
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT POTTERY xix
NOTE ON ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS WORK xxxvi
PART I
GREEK POTTERY IN GENERAL
CHAPTER I
_INTRODUCTORY_
Importance of study of ancient monuments—Value of pottery as
evidence of early civilisation—Invention of the art—Use of
brick in Babylonia—The potter’s wheel—Enamel and
glazes—Earliest Greek pottery—Use of study of
vases—Ethnological, historical, mythological, and artistic
aspects—Earliest writings on the subject—The “Etruscan”
theory—History of the study of Greek vases—Artistic,
epexegetic, and historical methods—The vase-collections of
Europe and their history—List of existing collections 1–30
CHAPTER II
_SITES AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF DISCOVERY OF GREEK VASES_
Historical and geographical limits of subject—Description of
Greek tombs—Tombs in Cyprus, Cyrenaica, Sicily,
Italy—Condition of vases when found—Subsequent
restorations—Imitations and forgeries—Prices of vases—Sites
on which painted vases have been found: Athens, Corinth,
Boeotia, Greek islands, Crimea, Asia Minor, Cyprus, North
Africa, Italy, Etruria—Vulci discoveries—Southern Italy,
Sicily 31–88
CHAPTER III
_THE USES OF CLAY_
Technical terms—Sun-dried clay and unburnt bricks—Use of
these in Greece—Methods of manufacture—Roof-tiles and
architectural decorations in terracotta—Antefixal
ornaments—Sicilian and Italian systems—Inscribed
tiles—Sarcophagi—Braziers—Moulds—Greek lamps—Sculpture in
terracotta—Origin of art—Large statues in
terracotta—Statuettes—Processes of
manufacture—Moulding—Colouring—Vases with plastic
decoration—Reliefs—Toys—Types and uses of
statuettes—Porcelain and enamelled wares—Hellenistic and
Roman enamelled fabrics 89–130
CHAPTER IV
_USES AND SHAPES OF GREEK VASES_
Mention of painted vases in literature—Civil and domestic
use of pottery—Measures of capacity—Use in daily
life—Decorative use—Religious and votive uses—Use in funeral
ceremonies—Shapes and their names—Ancient and modern
classifications—Vases for storage—Pithos—Wine-
amphora—Amphora—Stamnos—Hydria—Vases for
mixing—Krater—Deinos or Lebes—Cooking-vessels—Vases for
pouring wine—Oinochoë and variants—Ladles—Drinking-
cups—Names recorded by
Athenaeus—Kotyle—Skyphos—Kantharos—Kylix—Phiale—
Rhyton—Dishes—Oil-
vases—Lekythos—Alabastron—Pyxis—Askos—Moulded vases 131–201
CHAPTER V
_TECHNICAL PROCESSES_
Nature of clay—Places whence obtained—Hand-made
vases—Invention of potter’s wheel—Methods of
modelling—Moulded vases and relief-
decoration—Baking—Potteries and furnaces—Painted vases and
their classification—Black varnish—Methods of
painting—Instruments and colours employed—Status of potters
in antiquity 202–233
PART II
HISTORY OF GREEK VASE-PAINTING