Ancient Greek ceramics is one of the most reliable sources of information about the history and life of Ancient Greece. Its inhabitants widely used metal and clay products in everyday life. Shards and fragments decorated with various mythological and everyday scenes, archaeologists find in all the places where this ancient people lived and traded. Greek antique vases that have survived to this day date from different eras. From the time of the Minotaur (2.5 thousand years BC) to the Christian era.
The first thing that comes to mind when mentioning the phrase "Greek vase" is an amphora. At the same time, it is overlooked that amphorae are far from the only finds that go to the searchers during excavations. Inventive Greeks came up with their own names for each everyday item that came out of the hands of the skilled potters of Athens and Sparta.
Manufacturing technology
Such a variety of ceramics is due to the technology of production of pottery in ancient Greece. Greek vase from Corinth, Crete or Athens has a very special quality clay composition. Attica's ceramics were made of reddish material. In Corinth, clay with a yellow tint was taken for pottery. And lower Italy inherited ceramics made of brown material.
The ancient Greeks decorated almost all types of ceramic dishes with paintings. Due to the strong firing, any Greek vase became resistant to the damaging effects of the environment, so it retained the freshness of the colors for several thousand years. The shards found by modern scholars have been carrying the names of vase painters, potters, and owners of these products from time immemorial.
Archaeologists distinguish between vessels used by men and women. Greek ceramics of the male world is used for entertainment, feasts, wine drinking. Pottery of the female world is designed for housekeeping. There was still a group of products intended for storage and trade. The remains of large containers adapted for storing spices, flour, wine, olive oil, archaeologists find in all places where the ancient Greeks lived and traded. Bright, beautifully painted clay vessels were in demand among the Mediterranean peoples, and trade in pottery brought a good profit.
First painting
The first Greek vases date from the sunset of Mycenaean culture. Painting on pottery of mainland Greece is characterized by a simple pattern - simple geometric shapes on a uniform light background. Later the drawings became more complicated, stylized images of people and animals of black, sometimes red, were added. By the end of the VII century BC. e. the geometric style is disappearing, it is being replaced by a new technology for painting ceramics, which means new colorful drawings on vases and jugs.
Black-figure vase
By the middle of the 7th century, Corinth became the center of pottery. On vases appear mythical heroes and figured ornaments. The strong influence of Eastern traditions with their griffins, sphinxes and cheetahs is transferred to the surface of Greek vases. The manufacturing technology of the black-figure painting suggested a three-time firing. Firing gave the vase a red background, and the glossy clay that was painted on the walls of the vessel made the images black.
During the heyday of black-figure ceramics, the Greek vase is decorated with everyday scenes, images of battles and feasts. To emphasize the white skin of women, they began to use the appropriate color. In the sixth century BC e. the popularity of black-figure painting falls, and the Greek vase painted in red-figure style comes first.
Red figure vase
The first who guessed to paint the background in black , and not the figures in a Greek vase, was the vase painter Andokid. The development of the art of painting pottery and new technologies made it possible to transfer a huge number of subjects to the surface of clay products.
The new center of vase painting has become Southern Italy. Along with the already known genre, military scenes and mythological legends, the surface of Greek vases is decorated with female profiles, everyday sketches, landscapes and architectural structures. Bilingual vases appear, which are decorated with two
types of painting at the same time.
White painting
For certain types of clay vessels, such as alabastrons and lekifs, a special type of painting was used. On a white background, various shapes were applied in black or red. Due to the comparative complexity of making white paintings, shards of such products are rarely found by archaeologists.
In pursuit of the perfection of forms and murals, an ancient Greek vase is presented to modern scholars as one of the most amazing and unique works of art. A huge number of stone, clay, metal and bone products are presented in museums and collections of private collectors. And a wide variety of shapes and bright painting of products allow you to endlessly admire the ancient vessels.