Ancient Greek pottery is one of thereliable 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 domestic scenes, archaeologists find in all places where this ancient people lived and traded. Greek antique vases that have come down to our day date back to different eras. From the time of the Minotaur (2.5 thousand years BC) to the Christian era.
The first thing that comes to mind whenthe mention of the phrase "Greek vase" - amphora. At the same time, it is overlooked that amphoras are far from the only finds that go to the seekers during excavations. Inventive Greeks came up with their own names for each everyday item that came out of the hands of skilled potters of Athens and Sparta.
Manufacturing technology
Такое разнообразие керамики обусловлено pottery production technology in ancient Greece. A Greek vase from Corinth, Crete or Athens has a very special qualitative composition of clay. Ceramics Attiki made of reddish material. In Corinth, pottery took clay with a yellow tint. A lower Italy left a legacy of ceramics made of brown material.
The ancient Greeks decorated with paintings almost alltypes of ceramic dishes. Due to the strong roasting, any Greek vase became resistant to the damaging effects of the environment, therefore it retained the freshness of colors for several thousand years. The shards, found by modern researchers, convey from the depth of ages the names of vazopistsev, potters and owners of these products.
Archaeologists distinguish between vessels usedmen and women. The Greek ceramics of the male world serve for amusements, feasts, and drinking wines. Ceramics of the female world is designed for housekeeping. There was also 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 earthen vessels were in demand among the Mediterranean peoples, and the trade in pottery brought good profits.
First painting
The first Greek vases date back to sunset.Mycenaean culture. Painting on pottery on the mainland of Greece is characterized by a simple pattern - simple geometric figures on a uniform light background. Later, the drawings became more complicated, and stylized images of people and animals of black were added, occasionally in red. By the end of VII century BC. e. the geometric style disappears, it is replaced by a new technology of painting ceramics, which means new colorful drawings on vases and jugs.
Black Figure
By the middle of the 7th century, the center of potterybecomes Corinth. Mythical heroes and figure ornaments appear on the vases. The strong influence of Eastern traditions with their griffins, sphinxes and cheetahs is transferred to the surface of Greek vases. The technology of making black-figure painting suggested a three-time firing. Firing gave the vase a red background, and the glossy clay with which it was painted on the walls of the vessel made the images black.
In the heyday of black-figured ceramicsGreek vase decorated with scenes of everyday life, images of battles and feasts. To emphasize the white skin of women, began to use the appropriate color. In the sixth century BC. e. the popularity of black-figure murals subsides, and the first place goes a Greek vase, painted in red-figure style.
Red-figure vase painting
The first who guessed to paint blackthe background, and not the figures on the Greek vase, was the vodotpeder Andokid. The development of the art of painting pottery and new technologies made it possible to transfer a huge number of scenes to the surface of clay products.
White painting
For certain types of earthen vessels, such asalabastrony and lecify, applied a special kind of painting. On a white background, various figures were painted in black or red. Due to the comparative complexity of making white painting, shards of such products are rarely seen by archaeologists.
In pursuit of perfection of forms and murals ancientGreek vase is presented to modern researchers as one of the most amazing and unique works of art. A huge number of products made of stone, clay, metal and bone are represented in museums and collections of private collectors. A wide variety of forms and brightly painted items allow endless admiring of ancient vessels.
