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Between the beginning of the sixth and the end of the fourth century B.C., black- and red-figure techniques were used in Athens to decorate fine pottery, while simpler, undecorated wares fulfilled everyday household purposes. With both techniques, the potter first shaped the vessel on a wheel.
These precious pictorial artifacts can tell us much about the culture of ancient Greece. The seven vase paintings collected here provide valuable information on everything from battle techniques to ancient literacy and sexual relationships.
Wheel-made pottery dates back to roughly 2500 BC. Before this, the coil method of building the walls of the pot was employed. Most Greek vases were wheel-made, though as with the Rhyton mould-made pieces (so-called "plastic" pieces) are also found and decorative elements either hand-formed or by mould were added to thrown pots. More complex ...
Greek pottery, the clay vessels of the ancient Greeks, important for their beauty of form and decoration and for their demonstration of changes in Greek pictorial art. Such vessels as the krater and kylix were used to store and drink wine, while such smaller pots as the lekythos were used to contain perfumes and oils.
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.
Greek pottery has four main types: Geometric, Corinthian, Athenian Black-figure, and Athenian red-figure pottery. Pottery vessels were made for everyday use such as the two-handled amphora for storage, the single-stem kylix cup for drinking wine, and the three-handled hydra for holding water.
Take a closer look at the beautifully preserved designs on red-figure and black-figure pottery in the Greek vases gallery.
Made of terracotta (fired clay), ancient Greek pots and cups, or “vases” as they are normally called, were fashioned into a variety of shapes and sizes (see above), and very often a vessel’s form correlates with its intended function.
Clay, cheap and plentiful in many parts of ancient Greece, was the basic raw material for most containers. At most times the wealthy would have drunk from gold and silver cups, but practically all households would have been well supplied with a range of clay vessels, both coarse and fine.
Used for the storage and shipment of grains, wine, and other goods, as well as in the all-male Greek drinking party, known as the symposium, ancient Greek vases were decorated with a variety of subjects ranging from scenes of everyday life to the tales of heroes and gods.