Pottery
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Pottery is one of the most important categories of archaeological evidence. Because ceramic vessels generally had a relatively short use-life while fulfilling a wide range of functions, they were produced in large quantities in antiquity. At the same time, preferences for vessel shapes and decorative styles changed frequently, allowing archaeologists to date pottery types comparatively precisely. Figuratively decorated vessels also provide valuable insights into the norms, values, and everyday life of ancient societies.
Black-Figure Technique The black-figure technique was developed in Corinth around 700 BC and adopted by Attic potters from approximately 630 BC onward, reaching its highest refinement in Athens. In this technique, figures and ornamental decoration were applied to the vessel surface using a fine clay slip. Details of faces, bodies, and garments were then incised into the surface before firing. Red-Figure Technique Around 530 BC, the red-figure technique was developed in Athens. In this method, the figures and ornaments were left in the natural red colour of the clay, while the background was covered with a clay slip. Details such as folds in garments were added with fine brushwork. After firing, the red figures stood out sharply against the black background. For a period, the red-figure and black-figure techniques existed side by side, but by the transition from the sixth to the fifth century BC, the red-figure technique had largely replaced the black-figure style. |
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White-Ground Technique The white-ground technique was developed around 530–520 BC and was employed alongside black-figure and red-figure vase painting. In this technique, vessels were coated with a characteristic white slip containing kaolinite. Figures were then outlined and painted onto the surface, while additional details, such as garments, were rendered using non-mineral pigments including red and blue. Because of the delicate nature of the surface and the limited durability of the pigments, white-ground vessels were unsuitable for everyday use. Instead, they were primarily employed as votive offerings and in funerary contexts. The scenes depicted on these vases frequently include representations of women’s daily life and funerary rituals. From around 430 BC onward, the technique was used predominantly for lekythoi and gradually fell out of use by about 400 BC.
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Black-Glazed Ware By the fourth century BC, the production of figuratively decorated pottery had ceased at most production centres. In its place, a new ceramic style became fashionable, characterised by vessels entirely covered in a black glaze. Decorative elements were now generally limited to painted ornamentation, such as vine scrolls and other floral motifs executed in red or white. Particularly notable examples of this type of black-glazed pottery are found in so-called “Gnathia ware,” named after the site of Egnazia in Apulia, where it was first identified. More rarely, these vessels also feature figural decoration. |
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Relief Pottery Toward the end of the third century BC, around 240 BC, a new manufacturing technique emerged that enabled the serial production of ceramic vessels and led to their rapid distribution throughout the Mediterranean world. This type of pottery, known as relief ware, was no longer produced on the potter’s wheel alone but instead manufactured using prefabricated moulds. The process began with the creation of a negative mould on the potter’s wheel, into which decorative motifs were impressed using stamps or punches. The mould was then fired. In a second step, clay was pressed into the fired mould so that the decoration appeared in relief on the finished vessel. Because the moulds could be reused repeatedly, this technique allowed for the rapid and efficient mass production of standardized vessels. Among the best-known Hellenistic examples of this type are the so-called “Megarian bowls,” hemispherical drinking vessels with a brown or black glaze and floral relief decoration. They take their name from Megara near Athens, one of the sites where such vessels were first identified. Other production centres were located in eastern Greece, the Black Sea region, and Asia Minor.
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Terra Sigillata In the Roman period, the production of mould-made vessels was further refined, and Roman terra sigillata became one of the major export wares of the ancient world. While still leather-hard, the vessels were coated with a liquid iron-rich clay slip and then fired at temperatures exceeding 900°C. Other decorative techniques included the application of relief appliqués, the use of the barbotine technique — in which thick clay slip was applied to create raised decoration on the vessel surface — as well as incised ornamentation. The production of Roman terra sigillata began around 40 BC in Arretium (modern Arezzo), drawing on the traditions of Hellenistic relief ware. By the second century AD, this pottery type had spread throughout the Mediterranean world and was also being produced in North Africa. In what is now Germany, important production centres were located at Trier (ancient Augusta Treverorum) and Rheinzabern (ancient Tabernae). |
