Ancient Greek and Chinese Ceramics :Ancient Greek and Chinese Ceramics Meet the Ackland works: Bucci Amphora Makron Kylix Heracles Amphora Squat Lekythos


Greek Vase Painting :Greek Vase Painting Key Techniques: Black-Figure Red-Figure Concepts: Shapes: related to function Subject Matter: often mythological, everyday life/special events such as competition or war Purpose: Major commercial product among the Greek city-states Funerary Prizes for competition


Greek Vase Shapes (related to function): :Greek Vase Shapes (related to function): In the Ackland Amphora: Bucci Amphora and Hercules Amphora; used to store wine, olive oil or grains; from the Greek amphoreus, meaning “carried on both sides” Kylix: Makron Kylix; used as a drinking cup Lekythos: Squat Lekythos; used to carry oils and perfumes


Styles of Greek Vase Painting :Styles of Greek Vase Painting Geometric: (9th-8th centuries BCE); earliest Greek vase painting style; use of rectilinear meander patterns framed by horizontal borders to give emphasis to the shape of the amphora; use of highly stylized two-dimensional images Greek, Boeotia Amphora, (Storage container), c. 850 BCE terracotta Musee de Louvre, Paris


Styles of Greek Vase Painting :Styles of Greek Vase Painting Orientalizing: (8th-7th centuries BCE) common motifs were mythological and non-mythological animals arranged in friezes across the belly of the vessel; also lotuses or palmettes scattered; humans rarely depicted. Greek, Corinth Oinochoe (Pitcher), 640-625 BCE terracotta, black-figure Art Institute of Chicago Offering Procession, Tomb of Ounsou, c. 1500 BCE wall painting Thebes, Egypt


Wine Mixing Bowl :Wine Mixing Bowl THE STORY: The bowl shows a single combat duelist scene on one side and a departure scene on the other. The Cavalcade Painter has concentrated his artistic efforts on the side depicting the duelists. Attention to detail is evident in the elaborate armor, intersecting spears, and decorative shields. The departure scene, however, reveals disproportionate horses and riders with little other elaboration. There is less focus on the animal frieze, an Orientalizing motif. Greek, Corinth terracotta, black-figure c. 575 BCE 66.11.1


Styles of Greek Vase Painting :Styles of Greek Vase Painting Black-figure: (about 630-480 BCE) synthesizes Geometric and Orientalizing styles; figures, more 3-dimensional, are placed in a central narrative; often mythological or battle scenes; geometric patterns function as bordering devices; rigid, profile stances of the figures; eyes shown frontally in profile heads; winding bands of floral and geometric designs. Sculpture of this period is called Archaic. The Ackland’s Bucci and Heracles Amphorae are in this style. Rycroft Painter, Greek Attic Amphora, 515-500 BCE terracotta, black figure National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid


Archaic Sculpture: Kouros and Kore :Archaic Sculpture: Kouros and Kore Kouros, 520 BCE from the tomb of Kroisos, Anavysos, Greece marble National Archaeological Museum, Athens Kore, c. 510 BCE from Chios marble Acropolis Museum, Athens


Bucci Amphora :Bucci Amphora THE SUBJECT: Side A: Delian Triad Apollo is shown in the center holding lyre, or kithara, with mother Leto, and sister, Artemis. The deer is a symbol of Artemis. Bucci Painter, attributed to Greek, Attic terracotta, black-figure c. 540-530 BCE 88.15 Side B: Departing Warrior The central warrior’s wife hands him his helmet decorated with wreaths and bids him farewell. A charioteer, wearing a characteristic long dress and brown animal skin, restrains four horses while awaiting departure.


Black-figure style: Comparison to a major work :Black-figure style: Comparison to a major work Bucci Amphora Exekias Achilles and Ajax Amphora, c. 530 BCE terracotta, black-figure Vatican Museums, Rome


Black-figure Vase Painting :Black-figure Vase Painting Technique invented around 700 BCE Figures silhouetted in black on the natural orange color of the clay Details incised with a sharp point before firing Touches of red and white paint added after firing: red for the figures' garments, and – a convention in Greek vase-painting from this period – white for the women's skin. Detail of Exekias Amphora Detail of Bucci Amphora


Heracles Amphora :Heracles Amphora THE STORY: Front: Heracles wrestles the Nemean lion as one of the twelve Labors that he performed. Heracles is with his charioteer Lolaos, left, and his patron goddess Athena, right. The lion, raised by the goddess Hera and dwelling in the Nemean hills, was invulnerable to metal weapons; thus Heracles is often shown strangling the lion, as here, or wielding a club. The story of Heracles and the Lion was the most popular Labor depicted in ancient Greek art, especially in the Archaic period. Back (seen here): Shows the departure of a warrior in a chariot pulled by two large horses and guided by the god Hermes. Greek, Attic terracotta, black-figure 520-510 BCE 59.16.1 Review of Key Terms: Black-figure style Amphora


Styles of Greek Vase Painting :Styles of Greek Vase Painting Red-Figure: c. 525-400 BCE; Athens was the major producer of pottery in this style: figures more naturalistic, slender, in subtler poses; experiments with new perspectives: frontal or rear views, foreshortening, and more dynamic compositions; drapery more natural, with more folds creating “depth;” special emphasis on symmetry, harmony, balance often they radiate a self-absorbed, divine serenity. Sculpture from this period is called Classical. The Ackland’s Squat Lekythos is in this style. Greek, Apulian Bell Krater terracotta, red-figure Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK


Squat Lekythos :Squat Lekythos THE SUBJECT: Seventeen women in the women's quarters are in various stages of readying themselves for an event. An indoor domestic setting is implied by the objects shown: mirror, scarf, and alabastron (a small perfume flask) "hanging" on the wall. Several women carry jewelry chests, and others hold mirrors, fillets, and scarves. Most wear a chiton, a garment with sleeves fastened over the arm, and only three wear a sleeveless peplos. Greek, Attic terracotta, red-figure c. 430-420 BCE 71.8.1


Red-Figure Style: Comparison to major works :Red-Figure Style: Comparison to major works Attributed to the Eretria PainterGreek, AthensMug With Bathing Athlete, c.430 - 420 BCE terracotta, red-figureJ. Paul Getty Trust, Malibu CA Squat Lekythos Euphonios (painter) and Euxitheos (potter), Greek, Athens Calyx Krater, Death of Sarpedon during the Trojan War, c. 515 BCE terracotta, red-figure Villa Giulia, Rome Equal importance of visual and functional values: Each composition is adapted to and complements the shape of the vase.


Red-Figure Vase Painting :Red-Figure Vase Painting Technique developed around 530 BCE Figures and objects are silhouetted against a black background created by using oxygen reduction method The background and details are “painted” on with a brush using slip, allowing more naturalistic figures and scenes (in contrast to the sharp geometric lines seen in black-figure vase painting)


Makron Kylix :Makron Kylix THE STORY: Reclining Drinker; Youth at a Drinking Party This wine cup (kylix) was likely prized in antiquity, as four lead-filled holes in the interior indicate an ancient repair. On the exterior: Beardless youths, some holding staffs, converse in pairs. Sponges and scrapers (strigils), used with oil by athletes to scrape themselves clean after physical training and sport, hang on the wall. Beneath one handle is a provision basket, beneath the other, a lyre. Hanging to the left of the lyre is a lyre case. Next to it is a string bag holding knucklebones for games. Makron was an Athenian red-figure vase painter who specialized in drinking cups and worked during the first quarter of the 5th century BCE. Makron, Greek, Attic terracotta, red-figure c. 500-475 BCE 62.14.2


Makron Kylix :Makron Kylix On the interior: A geometric meander pattern frames the center, in which a bearded man reclines on a couch. The scene is an event from a male drinking party (symposion). The man holds a cup similar to this one and prepares to flick the last drops of wine from his cup to a target in a game called kottabos. Makron, Greek, Attic terracotta, red-figure c. 500-475 BCE 62.14.2 Review of Key Terms: Red- figure style Lekythos Kylix


Comparison to a major work of Classical Sculpture :Comparison to a major work of Classical Sculpture Phidias, (supervised by) Greek, Athens Reclining Dionysus, c. 447-433 BCE from the Parthenon, east pediment marble British Museum, London, UK


Greek Vase Shapes (related to function): :Greek Vase Shapes (related to function): Used for storage and transport Given as a prize at athletic events Vessels used for mixing wine with water; named for shapes of handles Drinking cup Cosmetics container


Chinese Ceramics :Chinese Ceramics Chinese, Yangshao Culture, Gansu Water Jar, c. 2200 BCE painted earthenware 90.39 Chinese, Ma-Jia-Yao culture, Ganshu Storage Vessel, c. 3100-2700 BCE painted earthenware Minneapolis Institute of Arts


Chinese Ceramics :Chinese Ceramics SUBJECT: This jar, named for the shape of its lid, was placed in a tomb as a replica of a ritual bronze vessel for serving wine. Designs were molded into the wet clay mold, and details can be seen through the iridescent green glaze. The mountain landscape represents an important Daoist idea that mountains were the place to encounter the perfect beings and gods. Chinese, Han Dynasty (206-221)Hill Jar glazed earthenware with molded decoration 88.28ab


Comparison to another vessel :Comparison to another vessel What do these containers have in common? How are they different?