History of Ancient Pottery 10

History of Ancient Pottery 10

M. Tyszkiewicz, the great collector, in his entertaining

_Souvenirs_,[68] gives some interesting illustrations of the methods of

Italian forgers of vases, of which he had frequent experience. “The

Neapolitans,” he says, “excel above all others in this industry; and it

is in ancient Capua, now Sta. Maria di Capua Vetere, that the best

_ateliers_ for the manufacture of painted vases are situated.” But

“even the famous connoisseur Raimondi, who was considered the master of

his art at Sta. Maria—even he could never invent altogether the

decoration of a vase so as to make it pass for an antique. Only if this

talented artist could get just a few fragments of a fine vase, he was

clever enough to be able, by the aid of illustrations of vases in

museums or in private collections, to reconstruct the whole subject. He

replaced the missing parts, and threw such an air of uniformity over

the vase that it was almost impossible to tell what was modern. But if

you tried to wash a vase faked up in this manner, in pure alcohol

chemically rectified, you would find that the modern portions would

vanish, while the ancient paintings would remain. Neither Raimondi nor

any one else could ever manage to discover the secret of the ancient

potters—how to obtain the background of a brilliant black colour,

improperly known as the _varnish of Nola_. To disguise their failure in

this respect, the forgers are obliged, when the vase is entirely

reconstructed and repainted, to cover it all over with a varnish of

their own invention; but the surface of this varnish, although

brilliant, lacks the freshness and brightness of that used by the

ancients. Relatively this surface appears dull, and vanishes the moment

it is washed with alcohol.”

 

At Athens also, says M. Tyszkiewicz, laboratories have been established

for making vases, of which he was acquainted with three. These forgers

excel in turning out the white-ground vases, which, even when antique,

cannot resist the action of alcohol. For the same reason they apply

gilding to their black-and-red vases, because this also yields to its

action. The large prices fetched by the white vases (see below) have

stimulated their activity in this direction, and their efforts have not

been without artistic merit, though failing in technique.[69]

 

On the subject of forgeries in relation to Greek vases the literature

is very scanty; but reference may be made to Prof. Furtwaengler’s

_Neuere Fälschungen von Antiken_, which raises some very interesting

questions in regard to forgeries, though his conclusions may sometimes

be thought rather arbitrary.

 

Of the prices paid for painted vases in ancient times, no positive

mention occurs in classical authorities, yet it is most probable that

vases of the best class, the products of eminent painters, obtained

considerable prices. For works of inferior merit only small sums were

paid, as will be seen by referring to the account of the inscriptions

which were incised underneath their feet, and gave their contemporary

value (Chapter XVII.). In modern times we have no information about the

prices paid for these works of art till about seventy years ago, when

they began to realise considerable sums. In this country the

collections of Mr. Towneley, Sir W. Hamilton, Lord Elgin, and Mr. Payne

Knight all contained painted vases; but as they included other objects,

it is difficult to determine the value placed on the vases. The sum of

£8,400 was paid for the vases of the Hamilton collection, one of the

most remarkable of the time, and consisting of many beautiful specimens

from Southern Italy. The great discoveries of the Prince of Canino in

1827, and the subsequent sale of numerous vases, gave them, however, a

definite market value, to which the sale of the collection of Baron

Durand, which consisted almost entirely of vases, affords some clue.

His collection sold in 1836 for 313,160 francs, or about £12,524. The

most valuable specimen in the collection was the vase representing the

death of Kroisos (Fig. 132), which was purchased for the Louvre at the

price of 6,600 francs, or £264. The cup with the subject of Arkesilaos

(p. 342) brought 1,050 francs, or £42. Another magnificent vase, now in

the Louvre, with the subject of the youthful Herakles strangling the

serpents,[70] was only secured for France after reaching the price of

6,000 francs, or £240; another, with the subject of Herakles,

Deianeira, and Hyllos,[71] was purchased for the sum of 3,550 francs,

or £142. A krater, with the subject of Akamas and Demophon bringing

back Aithra, was obtained by Magnoncourt for 4,250 francs, or £170.[72]

An amphora of the maker Exekias (B 210) was bought by the British

Museum for £142. The inferior vases of course realised much smaller

sums, varying from a few francs to a few pounds; but high prices

continued to be obtained, and the sale by the Prince of Canino in 1837

of some of his finest vases contributed to enrich the museums of

Europe, although, as many of the vases were bought in, it does not

afford a good criterion as to price. An oinochoë with Apollo and the

Muses, and a hydria, with the same subject, were bought in for 2,000

francs, or £80 each. A kylix, with a love scene, and another with Priam

redeeming Hektor’s corpse,[73] brought 6,600 francs, or £264. An

amphora with the subject of Dionysos, and the Euphronios cup with

Herakles and Geryon (Plate XXXVIII.), sold for 8,000 francs, or £320

each. A vase with the subject of Theseus seizing Korone (Chap. XIV.),

another by Euthymides with the arming of Paris, and a third with Peleus

and Thetis, sold for 6,000 francs, or £240. The collector Steuart was

offered 7,500 francs, or £300, for a large krater, found in Southern

Italy, ornamented with the subject of Kadmos and the dragon; £120 was

paid by the British Museum for a fine krater ornamented with the

exploits of Achilles[74]; £100 for an amphora of Apulian style, with

the subject of Pelops and Oinomaos at the altar of the Olympian

Zeus.[75] For another vase, with the name of Mousaios, £120 was paid,

and £100 for the well-known Athenian prize vase excavated by

Burgon.[76] At Mr. Beckford’s sale the Duke of Hamilton gave £200 for a

lekythos representing a procession of Persians, which is now in the

British Museum (E 695). At Naples the passion for possessing fine vases

outstripped these prices; 2,400 ducats, or £500, was given for a vase

with gilded figures discovered at Capua. Still more incredible, early

in the nineteenth century, 8,000 ducats, or £1,500, was paid to

Vivenzio for the vase now in the Naples Museum representing the sack of

Troy; 6,000 ducats, or £1,000, for one with a Dionysiac feast; and

4,000 ducats, or £800, for the grand vase with the battle of the

Amazons, published by Schulz.[77] Another vase, for which the sum of

£1,000 was paid, was the so-called Capo di Monte Vase, purchased by Mr.

Edwards, at Naples.[78] For the large colossal vases of Southern Italy

from £300 to £500 has been given, according to their condition and

style. But such sums will not be hereafter realised, now that their

place in the estimation of the connoisseur has been rightly taken by

the fine red-figured or white ground vases, which, owing to the

stringency of modern laws, seldom now find their way into the market.

The vases with white grounds and polychrome figures have also been

always much sought after, and have realised large prices, the

best-preserved examples fetching as much as £70 or £100.[79] Generally

the highest prices have been paid for artistic merit, but these have

been surpassed in the case of some vases of high literary or historical

value. As a general rule vases with inscriptions have always been most

sought after, especially when the inscriptions are the signatures of

the names of potters or artists, or names of historical interest. The

inferior kinds have fetched prices much more moderate, the kylikes

averaging from £5 to £10, the amphorae from £10 to £20, the hydriae

about the same; the kraters from £5 to £20, according to their general

excellence, the oinochoae about £5, and other shapes from a few

shillings to a few pounds. The charming glaze and shapes of the vases

discovered at Nola have often obtained good prices from amateurs. Those

of Greece Proper have also fetched higher prices than those of Italy,

on account of the interest attached to the place of their discovery.[80]

 

* * * * *

 

We propose now to give a survey of the principal localities in which

the fictile products of the Greeks have been discovered, and the

excavations which have taken place on these sites. It need hardly be

said, however, that it is quite impossible to detail all the places

where specimens of common pottery have been found.

 

[Illustration: FIG. 5. MAP OF GREECE.]

 

I. GREECE

 

We naturally begin with Greece, following the geographical order

observed by Jahn,[81] as the mainland and centre of Hellenic

civilisation; and since Athens was not only the principal, for many

years the only, centre of the manufacture of Greek vases, but has also

been the most prolific source of recent discoveries, it is to Athens

that we first turn our attention.

 

=Athens= was duly celebrated in ancient times as the chief home of the

ceramic industry.[82] The clay of Cape Kolias is eulogised by Suidas

for its excellent qualities, and the extent of the Κεραμεικός, or

potters’ quarter, is still visible beyond the Dipylon gate. One of the

earliest painted vases found on Attic soil was the famous Panathenaic

amphora discovered by Burgon in 1813 outside the Acharnian gate, and

now in the British Museum.[83] The tomb in which it was found also

contained remains of burnt bones, a lekythos, and other small vases.

The subjects are: on one side Athena brandishing a spear, with the

inscription [ΤΟΝ] [ΑΘΕΝΕΘΕΝ] [ΑΘΛΟΝ] [ΕΜΙ], “I am a prize from the

games at Athens”; on the other, a man driving a _biga_, or two-horse

chariot. The date is usually considered to be about 560 B.C. It was

rightly identified by the early writers as one of the prize-vases

described by Pindar in the passage we have quoted elsewhere (p. 132),

and was the means of identifying many other vases similarly painted and

inscribed, but found on other sites, as belonging to the same class. A

considerable number of vases found on Greek soil, mostly at Athens,

were published by Stackelberg in 1837,[84] but little was done for many

years in the way of systematic excavation. The National Museum was

opened shortly after the declaration of Greek independence, and

assisted by royal benefactions. The law forbidding the export of

antiquities has now been in force for many years, but unfortunately has

had a bad as well as a good effect, in that the vendors of

surreptitious finds are wont to give imaginary accounts of the

circumstances of their discoveries, in order to screen themselves.

 

To give anything like a description of the vases found at Athens would

be useless here, where so many classes are illustrated by the finds; it

may, however, be worth while to note a few of the most typically

Athenian groups of pottery. (1) Earliest in date are the Dipylon vases,

which were found outside the gate of that name, and have from their

conspicuous character given a name to a whole class. They are, however,

fully treated of in Chapter VII. (2) The numerous fragments of vases

found on the Acropolis, which can all be dated anterior to 480 B.C.,

include many exceedingly beautiful and unique specimens of the

transitional period of vase-painting, some having black, some red

figures.[85] Although in few cases anything more than fragments have

been preserved, yet these fragments are enough to show that the

originals were masterpieces surpassing even the finest examples from

the Italian cemeteries. They will, it is to be hoped, shortly be made

known to the world by means of an exhaustive catalogue. (3) The white

lekythi, discussed at length elsewhere (Chapter XI.), besides forming a

class by themselves, are specially remarkable as being almost peculiar

to Athens. It is not, however, certain that they were not made also at

Eretria, where many fine ones have been found of late years; but

otherwise none have been found outside Attica, with the exception of a

few importations to Cyprus, Locri in Italy, or Sicily. (4) A group of

late R.F. vases of the “fine” style, mostly of small size and sometimes

with polychrome decoration. The drawing is free and graceful, but tends

to carelessness; the subjects are drawn chiefly from the life of women

and children. Some of the smaller specimens were no doubt actually

children’s playthings.

 

Elsewhere in Attica vases have not been numerous. _Eleusis_ has yielded

some interesting fragments,[86] including a plaque of about 400 B.C.,

with an interesting representation of the local deities, found in 1895;

at _Marathon_ the grave of the fallen warriors has been recently

explored, and was found to contain both B.F. and R.F. vases, but none

of particular merit.[87] The find was, however, important, as

illustrating Greek methods of burial. The tombs of _Phaleron_ are

important, as having yielded a special class of early vases which are

known by the name of the site.[88] These Phaleron vases combine in an

interesting manner the characteristics of the Geometrical and Rhodian

or Oriental styles, being akin to the so-called Proto-Corinthian. The

beehive tombs at _Menidi_ and _Spata_ and other tombs at _Haliki_, near

Marathon, have yielded Mycenaean pottery of the usual types, and an

instructive find of early Geometrical pottery has been made at

_Aphidna_.[89] There are vases in the museums of Athens and Berlin of

various dates, to which the following provenances are assigned: Alike,

Alopeke, Hymettos,[90] Kephissia, Cape Kolias,[91] Pikrodaphni,[92]

Peiraeus,[93] Sunium,[94] Thorikos,[95] Trakhones,[96] Vari,[97]

Velanideza, and Vourva, the two latter near Marathon.[98] _Megara_[99]

has produced little beyond specimens of a class of late bowls with

designs in relief, sometimes known as “Megarian bowls,” but more

probably of Boeotian origin (see p. 53).

 

=Corinth=, as a centre of the manufacture of vases, occupied in early

times a position in Greece only second to Athens. Down to the first

half of the sixth century it actually seems to have held the

pre-eminence; but after the rise of Athens it sank altogether into

obscurity, and ceased to produce any pottery at all after about 520

B.C. But we know from Strabo[100] that the fame of Corinthian wares

still existed in Roman times, for in the days of Julius Caesar the

tombs of the new Colonia Julia were ransacked for the vases which were

the admiration of the rich nobles of Rome. The __EXPRESSION__ used by

Strabo, ὀστράκινα τορεύματα, seems to imply that these were probably

specimens of the later relief-ware which did not become popular in

Greece before the fourth century, but then gradually ousted the painted

fabrics.

 

Corinth, like Athens, claimed the invention of pottery and of the

wheel; it was also one of the supposed centres of the origin of

painting in Greece. We read, moreover, that when Demaratos fled thence

to Italy he took with him two artists named Eucheir and Eugrammos, who

doubtless helped to develop the art of vase-making in Etruria. The

vases found here are nearly all of the early archaic and B.F. periods,

from the so-called Proto-Corinthian wares down to ordinary B.F.

fabrics. The Mycenaean and Geometrical styles are practically

unrepresented, but occasional finds have been made of Attic B.F. and

R.F. vases. With these exceptions all were actually made at Corinth, as

is shown in many cases by the inscriptions in the local alphabet

painted upon the vases.

 

The earliest discovery, and in some respects one of the most

remarkable, was the vase known as the Dodwell pyxis (see p. 315), which

was acquired by that traveller in 1805, and is now at Munich. In 1835 a

large number of vases were found by peasants at Chiliomodi, the ancient

_Tenea_,[101] one of which represented Herakles and the Centaur Nessos;

most of these are now at Athens. In 1843 Ross[102] records the

discovery of over a thousand at various sites, on the Isthmus and at or

near Tenea, and ever since that time tomb-digging has been carried on

without intermission. The best collections of Corinthian vases are

those at Athens, Berlin, and the British Museum. But the most

noteworthy find at Corinth has been that of the series of plaques

(πίνακες) or votive tablets discovered at Penteskouphia in 1879, most

of which are now at Berlin. They are all of votive character, and come

from the rubbish-heap of a temple of Poseidon; most of them are painted

with figures of and inscribed with dedications to that deity, and they

belong to the late seventh or early sixth century B.C.[103] The British

Museum possesses a R.F. “pelike” from _Solygea_, near Corinth, and

isolated finds are also recorded from _Sikyon_.[104]

 

Turning to the adjoining state of Argolis, we find three sites of

special importance in early times—Mycenae, Tiryns, and Argos. Of these

the two former had ceased to have any importance in historic times, but

this is amply compensated for by the wonderful discoveries of the

Mycenaean period.[105] At _Mycenae_ large quantities of painted pottery

were found in the six shaft-tombs in the Agora, five of which were

excavated by Dr. Schliemann; outside the Acropolis, and possibly

belonging to a later period, was found the remarkable vase with figures

of warriors marching.[106] The finds at _Tiryns_ were chiefly

fragmentary, but at _Nauplia_, where considerable quantities were

found, there were some fragments with painted designs of chariots like

the vases from Cyprus (p. 246).[107] Mycenaean pottery has also been

found at _Asine_,[108] and the site of the Heraion at _Argos_, recently

excavated by the American School, has yielded an exhaustive series of

fragments of pottery, representative of nearly every known fabric from

Mycenaean times down to the best Greek period. They have not as yet

been published, but may be expected to yield important results. Other

occasional finds are reported from Argos, including a curious archaic

vase with a representation of Herakles and Kerberos.[109] At _Kleonae_,

on the northern frontier of the state, was found a Corinthian vase

signed by Timonidas, and there are vases from _Hermione_ in the museum

at Athens.[110]

 

In the rest of the Peloponnese finds of painted vases have been

exceedingly rare. The Berlin Museum possesses a B.F. vase found at

_Megalopolis_,[111] and isolated finds are also recorded from _Magoula_

in Laconia and _Amyklae_ near Sparta.[112] At _Olympia_ painted vases

were very rare, but several different fabrics from the Proto-Corinthian

downwards are represented by fragments.[113]

 

In Central and Northern Greece the only fruitful region has been

=Boeotia=, particularly its capital, _Thebes_. This city, like Corinth,

has principally yielded early vases. As has been shown elsewhere (pp.

286, 300), Boeotia was the home of more than one indigenous fabric,

notably the local variety of Geometrical ware, partly parallel with

that of Athens and other sites, partly a degenerate variety with local

peculiarities, forming a transition to the Phaleron and

Proto-Corinthian fabrics. The last-named have frequently been found at

Thebes, notably the Macmillan lekythos in the British Museum. Signed

vases of local fabric, with the names of Gamedes, Menaidas, and

Theozotos, are in the British Museum and in the Louvre. On the site of

the Temple of the Kabeiri, near Thebes, a remarkable series of late

B.F. pottery came to light, evidently a local fabric, with dedicatory

inscriptions and subjects of a grotesque or caricatured nature.[114]

They are quite peculiar to the site, and seem to have had a close

connection with its religious rites. Besides many examples of the

Geometrical and Corinthian fabrics, there have been found at Thebes

several specimens of the so-called Megarian bowls with reliefs, of the

second century B.C.; the proportion to other sites is such that Thebes

has been thought to be the centre of the fabric. Another local fabric

is that produced by _Tanagra_ about the end of the fifth century B.C.,

consisting of small cups, toilet-boxes, etc., with somewhat naïve

outlined designs.[115] The vase-finds here have served as evidence for

the dating of the terracotta statuettes, with which no painted fabrics

were found, but only ribbed or moulded black-glaze wares,

characteristic of the fourth and third centuries B.C.[116] Where

painted vases have been found, the accompanying statuettes were all of

an archaic or even primitive type.[117]

 

In excavations at _Orchomenos_ in 1893[118] the French School unearthed

large numbers of fragments, Mycenaean, Boeotian Geometrical,

Proto-Corinthian, Corinthian, and Attic black-figured; Mycenaean vases

have been found at _Lebadea_, and Thespiae, Thisbe, and Akraiphiae are

also mentioned as sites where painted vases have been found.[119] Very

few sites in Northern Greece have yielded finds of pottery, but the

Athens Museum contains R.F. vases from _Lokris_, _Phokis_, and

_Lamia_[120] on the Malian Gulf, and finds are also recorded from

Anthedon,[121] Atalante,[122] Exarchos, and Galaxidi in Lokris, from

Elateia,[123] Abae,[124] and Daulis in Phokis, and from Thessaly.

Fragments of painted pottery were seen by early travellers at

_Delphi_.[125] At _Daulis_ the pottery was of Mycenaean character,[126]

as also that from the beehive-tombs of Volo in Thessaly and its

neighbourhood. A recent excavation at _Dimini_ is reported to have

yielded very early painted vases of a quite new, probably local ware,

with affinities to the Cycladic types of Thera and elsewhere.[127]

 

Turning now to the Greek islands, we find somewhat more extensive and

interesting results. Little indeed has been found in the Ionian Islands

of the western coast,[128] even in _Corfu_, which as a rule has been

fruitful in works of art. The only vases worth mentioning from that

island are those found in the cemetery of Kastrades, in the tomb of

Menekrates.[129] The contents of this tomb, which are all of an early

and somewhat mixed character, are now in the British Museum; they can

be dated from the inscription on the tomb about 600 B.C. Travelling

round by the south of the Peloponnese, we come to _Kythera_, which has

yielded a cup (now in the British Museum) remarkable for its

inscription, ἡμικοτύλιον; it is illustrated below, p. 135.

_Salamis_[130] again has produced little, but some interesting pottery

of a transitional character from Mycenaean to Geometrical has been

found.[131]

 

=Aegina= appears to have been a pottery centre in early times, and

recent discoveries are adding to our knowledge of its fabrics. Among

the older finds from this island are a fine early oinochoe in the

British Museum (from the Castellani collection), formerly supposed to

be from Thera,[132] and several very fine red-figured and white-ground

vases, notably the elegant R.F. astragalos or knucklebone-shaped vase

in the British Museum, with its figures of dancers; a white Athenian

lekythos, with the subject of Charon,[133] and two beautiful vases now

in the Munich Museum (208, 209), with polychrome designs on a white

ground.[134] In 1892–93 the British Museum acquired a series of

Mycenaean, Corinthian, and Attic vases from a find on this island,[135]

and other examples of Corinthian and Attic vases are recorded.[136] In

1894 excavations were made on the site of the so-called temple of

Aphrodite, and yielded a number of early vases chiefly Mycenaean,

Geometrical of the Athenian type, and a large series of

Proto-Corinthian wares, some of unusual size.[137] Some of this pottery

may possibly be of local fabric. More recently the excavations on the

site of the great Doric temple (now shown to be dedicated to the

goddess Aphaia) have yielded an extensive series of fragments of

different dates.[138] Aegina was always celebrated in antiquity for its

artistic achievements, and that it was a centre for pottery is

indicated by an anonymous comic writer, who addresses the island as

“rocky echo, vendor of pots” (χυτρόπωλις).[139]

 

=Euboea= possessed two important art-centres in Chalkis and Eretria. It

is true that no vases have actually been found at Chalkis, but the

existence of early B.F. vases with inscriptions in the local dialect

amply testifies