The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic period. As Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest expression" in the 5th and 6th centuries BC, yet it has been possible to date vases thanks to the variation in a form’s shape over time, a fact particularly useful when dating unpainted or plain black-gloss ware.
A Nolan amphora, a type with a longer and narrower neck than usual, from NolaAttic komast cup, a variety of kylix, LouvreDiagram of the parts of a typical Athenian vase, in this case a volute krater
The task of naming Greek vase shapes is by no means a straightforward one (by convention the term "vase" has a very broad meaning in the field, covering anything that is a vessel of some sort). The endeavour by archaeologists to match vase forms with those names that have come down to us from Greek literature began with Theodor Panofka’s 1829 book Recherches sur les veritables noms des vases grecs, whose confident assertion that he had rediscovered the ancient nomenclature was quickly disputed by Gerhard and Letronne.
A few surviving vases were labelled with their names in antiquity; these included a hydria depicted on the François Vase and a kylix that declares, “I am the decorated kylix of lovely Phito” (BM, B450). Vases in use are sometimes depicted in paintings on vases, which can help scholars interpret written descriptions. Much of our written information about Greek pots come from such late writers as Athenaios and Pollux and other lexicographers who described vases unknown to them, and their accounts are often contradictory or confused. With those caveats, the names of Greek vases are fairly well settled, even if such names are a matter of convention rather than historical fact.
The following vases are mostly Attic, from the 5th and 6th centuries, and follow the Beazley naming convention. Many shapes derive from metal vessels, especially in silver, which survive in far smaller numbers. Some pottery vases were probably intended as cheaper substitutes for these, either for use or to be placed as grave goods. Some terms, especially among the types of kylix or drinking cup, combine a shape and a type or location of decoration, as in the band cup, eye cup and others. Some terms are defined by function as much as shape, such as the aryballos, which later potters turned into all sorts of fancy novelty shapes.
In addition, various standard types might be used as external grave-markers (in extra-large versions, sometimes in stone), funerary urns containing ashes, or as grave goods. Several types of vase, especially the taller ones, could be made in "plastic" forms (also called "figure vases" or "relief vases") where the body was shaped sculpturally (somewhat in the manner of the modern Toby jug), typically to form a human head.
Gisela M. A. Richter, Marjorie J. Milne, Shapes and Names of Athenian Vases, Metropolitan Museum of art, New York, 1935.
Further readingedit
Von Bothmer, Dietrich (1987). Greek vase painting. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN0870990845.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ancient Greek pottery by shape.
Beazley Archive
January 01, 1970
typology, greek, vase, shapes, pottery, ancient, greece, long, history, form, greek, vase, shapes, continuous, evolution, from, minoan, pottery, down, hellenistic, period, gisela, richter, puts, forms, these, vases, find, their, happiest, expression, centuries. The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic period As Gisela Richter puts it the forms of these vases find their happiest expression in the 5th and 6th centuries BC yet it has been possible to date vases thanks to the variation in a form s shape over time a fact particularly useful when dating unpainted or plain black gloss ware A Nolan amphora a type with a longer and narrower neck than usual from Nola Attic komast cup a variety of kylix Louvre Diagram of the parts of a typical Athenian vase in this case a volute krater The task of naming Greek vase shapes is by no means a straightforward one by convention the term vase has a very broad meaning in the field covering anything that is a vessel of some sort The endeavour by archaeologists to match vase forms with those names that have come down to us from Greek literature began with Theodor Panofka s 1829 book Recherches sur les veritables noms des vases grecs whose confident assertion that he had rediscovered the ancient nomenclature was quickly disputed by Gerhard and Letronne A few surviving vases were labelled with their names in antiquity these included a hydria depicted on the Francois Vase and a kylix that declares I am the decorated kylix of lovely Phito BM B450 Vases in use are sometimes depicted in paintings on vases which can help scholars interpret written descriptions Much of our written information about Greek pots come from such late writers as Athenaios and Pollux and other lexicographers who described vases unknown to them and their accounts are often contradictory or confused With those caveats the names of Greek vases are fairly well settled even if such names are a matter of convention rather than historical fact The following vases are mostly Attic from the 5th and 6th centuries and follow the Beazley naming convention Many shapes derive from metal vessels especially in silver which survive in far smaller numbers Some pottery vases were probably intended as cheaper substitutes for these either for use or to be placed as grave goods Some terms especially among the types of kylix or drinking cup combine a shape and a type or location of decoration as in the band cup eye cup and others Some terms are defined by function as much as shape such as the aryballos which later potters turned into all sorts of fancy novelty shapes Contents 1 Overview 2 Vase shapes 3 Styles of lips and feet 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksOverview editMain article Pottery of ancient Greece Further information Ancient Greek vase painting Greek pottery may be divided into four broad categories given here with common types 1 storage and transport vessels including the amphora pithos pelike hydria stamnos pyxis mixing vessels mainly for symposia or male drinking parties including the krater dinos and kyathos jugs and cups several types of kylix also just called cups kantharos phiale skyphos rhyton mastos and jug types oinochoe and loutrophoros vases for oils perfumes and cosmetics including the large lekythos and the small aryballos alabastron and askos In addition various standard types might be used as external grave markers in extra large versions sometimes in stone funerary urns containing ashes or as grave goods Several types of vase especially the taller ones could be made in plastic forms also called figure vases or relief vases where the body was shaped sculpturally somewhat in the manner of the modern Toby jug typically to form a human head Vase shapes editStorage nbsp Amphora type A c 520 BC nbsp Amphora type B nbsp Amphora type C nbsp Neck amphora c 520 BC nbsp Belly amphora with hardly a distinct neck nbsp Ovoid neck amphora nbsp Nikosthenic amphora c 530 BC nbsp Nolan amphora nbsp Panathenaic amphora always large nbsp Pseudo panathenaic amphora c 500 BC nbsp Pointed amphora nbsp Transport amphorae nbsp Hydria black figure type nbsp Hydria red figure type or Kalpis nbsp Lebes Gamikos for weddings c 340 BC nbsp Pelike nbsp Pithos nbsp Stamnos c 480 470 BC Mixing nbsp Dinos nbsp Bell krater c 330 BC nbsp Calyx krater c 510 BC nbsp Column krater nbsp Volute krater nbsp Kyathos nbsp Psykter Cups nbsp Kantharos type A nbsp Kantharos type B nbsp Kylix type A nbsp Kylix type B nbsp Band cup with the main painting in a band low on the body All these cups are covered by kylix nbsp Droop cup nbsp Eye cup painted with eyes nbsp Kassel cup nbsp Komast cup Athenian black figure with short stem angled offset lip 2 nbsp Lakonian cup nbsp Lip cup with the main painting just below the lip the stem and footr are lost in this example nbsp Siana cup Similar to Komast with slightly longer stem and painted on the inside 3 nbsp Merrythought cup with distinctive wishbone handles nbsp Mastos breast shaped cup with pointed nipple base handles optional nbsp Mastoid cup like a mastos but with flat base and often handles nbsp Phiale nbsp Rhyton c 430 BCE nbsp Skyphos c 740 BC nbsp Glaux skyphos nbsp Hermogenes skyphos Jugs nbsp Oenochoe Shape 1 nbsp Oinochoe Shape 2 nbsp Oinochoe Shape 3 nbsp Oinochoe Shape 7 nbsp Olpe Small oil and perfume nbsp Alabastron small holders for oil or perfume nbsp Amphoriskos nbsp Pyriform Aryballos nbsp Globular aryballos nbsp Fancy aryballos in the form of three cockle shells 6th century BC nbsp Acorn lekythos nbsp Deianeira lekythos c 550 BC nbsp Shoulder or secondary lekythos c 500 BC nbsp Standard or cylinder lekythos c 490 BCE nbsp Squat lekythos nbsp Loutrophoros nbsp Huge Loutrophoros 330 BC Other nbsp Askos nbsp Epichysis nbsp Exaleiptron nbsp Kernos nbsp Kothon nbsp Lagynos nbsp Lekane nbsp Lekanis nbsp Lydion nbsp Nestoris Trozella nbsp Pinax plaque nbsp Phormiskos here a terracotta model nbsp Plate nbsp Fish Plate nbsp Plemochoe nbsp Pyxis c 470 BC nbsp Pointed pyxis nbsp Strainer vaseStyles of lips and feet editLip styles nbsp Flaring lip nbsp Inverted Echinus lip nbsp Lip in several degrees nbsp Torus lip Foot styles nbsp Disk foot nbsp Echinus footSee also editAncient Greek art Black figure pottery Red figure pottery Greek terracotta figurines List of Greek Vase PaintersNotes edit Woodford 12 14 Shapes see menu at left Beazley Archive Oxford Beazley Cups Beazley CupsReferences editGisela M A Richter Marjorie J Milne Shapes and Names of Athenian Vases Metropolitan Museum of art New York 1935 Further reading editVon Bothmer Dietrich 1987 Greek vase painting New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art ISBN 0870990845 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ancient Greek pottery by shape Beazley Archive Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Typology of Greek vase shapes amp oldid 1147278238, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
