The Dish Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 470-460 BCE. The name derives from the preference for decorating
stemmed dishes. Subjects are youths with lyres, a dancing girl, and a maenad. Findspots are Nola and Santa Maria di Capua.
The Painter of Acropolis 606 is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 570-560 BCE. The name derives from a dinos found
on the Athenian Acropolis (Athens, National Museum Acr. 606 [15116]; BAPD 300754) that displays warriors and battle. Shapes
include the column krater, neck amphora, amphora, dinos (lebes), and hydria. Findspots are in Athens and Attica, as well as
Odessa (Black Sea), Sicily, and Cyprus.
Geometric denotes Greek vases and other arts produced ca. 900-700 BCE. It thus falls between the so-called “Dark Ages” (ca.
1100-900 BCE), a time of limited production in figure-decorated vases, and the Orientalizing stylistic period (ca. 700-600
BCE). The Geometric is usually divided into the following phases: Protogeometric (ca. 1050/1000-900 BCE); Early (ca. 900-850
BCE); Middle (ca. 850-750 BCE); and Late (ca. 750-700 BCE). The term Geometric derives from a discernible development in the
techniques and appearance of pottery, sculpture, and architecture. Chief stylistic trends in vase-painting include the use
of horror vacui (“fear of empty space”), Greek key patterns and other geometric motifs, compass-drawn concentric circles and
semi-circles, and limited representation of figural forms. It applies to the decorated vases of Athens and Attica, and of
other regions of ancient Greece such as Crete, Euboea, Boeotia, Corinth and the Argolid, and East Greece. The main vase-painting
technique in Athens and Attica is silhouette, and in the Late Geometric silhouette is sometimes combined with cross-hatching
and outline. Major Athenian painters include the Dipylon Master and the Hirschfeld Painter, both of whom specialized in decorating
large vessels associated with funerary rites.
The Painter of London B76 is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 580-550 BCE. The name derives from hydria found at
Camiros, Rhodes (London, British Museum B76; BAPD 300790) showing Hector (inscribed) next to a frontal chariot. Other shapes
include the neck amphora, dinos (lebes), loutrophoros, belly amphora, and column krater. Subjects are Theseus and the Minotaur,
Trojan War, and the Kalydonian Boar Hunt. Findspots include Athens (Agora, Acropolis), Eleusis, Cyrene, Taranto, and Vulci.
The Cerameicus Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 600-570 BCE. The name derives from vases found in the
Athenian Kerameikos. Shapes include the lekanis, oinochoe, skyphos, and loutrophoros. The decoration focuses on animals with
the occasional human. Findspots include Athens, Attica, Samos, Naukratis, and Cumae (Italy).
The Painter of Athens 533 is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 575-555 BCE. The name derives from a cup found in
Athens (Athens, National Museum 533; BAPD 300611) showing males and animals. Shapes include the cup, lekythos, and Siana cup.
The painter may be the first to decorate the inside tondo of the cup. Subjects are dancers, warriors, and animals. Findspots
include Turkey (Miletus, Pitane, Gordion), Sicily, Marseilles, and Rhitsona.
Paseas (sometimes known as the Cerberus Painter) is an Athenian red-figure vase-painter active ca. 525-510 BCE, who also painted
in black-figure (see Paseas [Black-figure]) and usually painted on white-ground. The name derives from a black-figure pinax
(plaque) dedicated on the Athenian Acropolis (Athens, Akr. National Museum 1.2583; BAPD 301992), inscribed: “one of the paintings
of Paseas.” It belongs to a series of plaques dedicated to Athena that features the goddess. The painter’s red-figure work
consists mostly of cups and plates. Other red-figure shapes are the lekythos and alabastron. Findspots include sites in Etruria
and the Athenian Acropolis.
The Foundry Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 480-470 BCE. The name derives from a cup (Berlin, Antikensammlung
F2294; BAPD 204340) showing sculptors on the exterior and Hephaistos and Thetis on the interior (Arming of Achilles). The
cup is the main shape, and other shapes are the oinochoe and skyphos. Subjects include the symposion, athletes, horsemen,
centaurs, Theseus, and the Trojan War. Some findspots are Etruria (Cerveteri, Vulci, Tarquinia, Orvieto, Todi), Adria, sites
in southern Italy, and Tanagra.
The Cage Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 490-480 BCE. The name derives from a cup from Orvieto (London,
British Museum 1901.5-14.1; BAPD 203642) showing a boy holding a bird-cage. Shapes are the cup and pyxis. Subjects include
athletes, the symposion, men, and youths. Findspots are Orvieto, Tarquinia, and Chiusi.
The Argos Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 480-470 BCE. The name derives from a stamnos from Cerveteri
(Vienna, Kunsthistoriches Museum 3729; BAPD 202608) showing the Death of Argos. Shapes are the pelike and stamnos. Subjects
include Dionysos and followers, Triptolemos and Demeter, centaurs, athletes and musicians, and a man leading a camel. Other
findspots are Veii and Falerii.
The Dutuit Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 500-480 BCE. The name denotes the former owner of an oinochoe
from Nola (Paris, Petit Palais 315; BAPD 203153) showing Artemis with a fawn. Shapes are the amphora, oinochoe, lekythos,
and hydria. Scenes include Dionysos and followers, winged goddesses, Herakles, and Hephaistos and Thetis (Arms of Achilles).
Findspots are Vulci, Cerveteri, Nola, Sicily, and Olbia.
The Bonn Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 505-480 BCE. The name derives from a cup (Bonn, Akademisches
Kunstmuseum 1644; BAPD 203666) showing centaurs on the exterior and an archer on the interior. The primary shape is the cup.
Subjects include the symposion, warriors, Theseus, hunting, and satyrs. Findspots are Vulci, Taranto, Spina, Orvieto, and
possibly Chiusi.
The Painter of the Louvre F6 is an Athenian black-figure painter active in the mid-6th c. BCE and is classified as a “companion”
to Lydos. The name derives from a hydria (Pairs, Louvre F6; BAPD 300899) showing Dionysos with maenads and satyrs on the shoulder
and a duel on the body. Shapes include the column krater, belly amphora (Type B), and the shouldered hydria. Subjects are
gods, warriors, Herakles, centaurs, Theseus, and athletes. Known findspots are in Greece and Italy, as well as Berezan and
Cyrene.
The Syriskos Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter connected to the Syriskos Group, active ca. 470’s BCE and earlier,
who uses white-ground. The name (meaning “Little Syrian”) derives from the signature as potter (“epoiesen”) on an astragalos
(knucklebone-shaped vase) (Rome, Villa Giulia 866; BAPD 202749), showing Nike, Eros, and a lion. Shapes are the pelike, rhyton
in the shape of a ram’s head, kantharos in the shape of a woman’s head, amphora, krater, alabastron, psykter, hydria, and
lekythos. Subjects include Dionysos and followers, the symposion, warriors, athletes, and Theseus and the Minotaur. Some findspots
are the Athenian Acropolis, Tanagra, sites in Etruria (Vulci, Tarquinia, Cerveteri, Orvieto), southern Italy, Sicily, Naukratis,
and Ampurias (Spain).
The Pasiades Painter is an Athenian red-figure painter active ca. 520-500 BCE, associated with the Group of the Paidikos Alabastra.
The name derives from the potter (“epoiesen”) who signs as Pasiades on several examples. The name Pasiades inscribed as painter
(“egrapsen”) on a white lekythos from the Athenian Agora (Athens, Agora Museum AP 422; BAPD 200898) is not considered to be
the same artist as the Pasiades Painter. Subjects include Penthesilea, women, and maenads. Known findspots are Attica, Delphi,
and Marion (Cyprus).
Relief is a decorative technique applied in both Athenian black-figure (see Black-figure) and red-figure (see Red-figure)
vase-painting in which clay is added to the surface of the vase. Relief can be used to show details of hair in the form of
black glaze dots, or for jewelry, objects, and animal or human figures. For larger figures, the relief decoration is produced
by pressing soft clay into a mold, similar to plastic vases (see Plastic), and then affixed to the still-moist surface using
a slip. Examples of relief decoration also include applique heads on handle junctions and full figural scenes. Sometimes the
relief may be accentuated with added colors such as white and gold (see Added Color).
The Altenburg Class denotes a group of Athenian black-figure painters active late 6th to early 5th c. BCE who mostly decorate
the oinochoe. The name derives from an oinochoe from Vulci (Altenburg, Staatliches Lindenau-Museum 203A; BAPD 303211) showing
a seated winged female. Attributed to the class are the Painter of Munich 1760 and the Leagros Group. The Altenburg Painter,
a 6th c. BCE East Greek vase-painter of Fikellura style vessels, is not connected to this class. Scenes are Athena, Dionysos
and followers, and the Struggle for the Delphic Tripod. Aside from Vulci, findspots include other Etruscan sites.
The Oakeshott Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter of Little Master cups active in the second quarter of the 6th c.
BCE. The name derives from a cup, formerly in the Oakeshott collection (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum 1972.162; BAPD 350750), showing
animals. Shapes are band-cups and some lip-cups. One lip-cup (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts (69.1052; BAPD 210) features figure
decoration on the interior. Subjects are Dionysian, and findspots include Samos, Etruria, and Cyrene.
The Eucharides Painter is an Athenian black-figure painter active ca. 500-470 BCE, who also painted in red-figure (see Eucharides
Painter [Red-figure]). The name derives from the inscription “Eucharides kalos” (“Eucharides is beautiful”) on a red-figure
stamnos (Copenhagen, National Museum 124 BAPD 202230) showing youths, women, and Eros. Shapes are the Panathenaic amphora,
hydria, pelike, and neck amphora. Subjects include music, horse races, warriors, Ajax and Achilles, and daily life. Findspots
are Athens (Acropolis, Agora, Kerameikos), Vulci, Nola, Cumae, Samos, Corinth, Kerch, Locris (Greece), and Al Mina.
Meaning 'carry on both sides,' the amphora is made in all fabrics. It has two vertical handles, a wide body, and a narrower
neck. Some have a broad foot, some have lids and their size can vary. Used for both liquids and solids, the three main types
are: 1) Transport amphora -- a large coarse-ware shape with a long body, small toe and narrow mouth that can be stoppered.
2) Neck amphora -- there are many varieities in fine ware, all sharing an offset neck. In addition, there are specially named
variants, e.g. Nikosthenic, Nolan, Panathenaic, and pointed. 3) Belly amphora -- the body and neck form a continuous curve.
The forms of handles, mouth, and feet differ among the various types of amphorae.
Archaic denotes Greek vases and other arts produced from ca. 600-480 BCE. It thus falls between the Orientalizing (ca. 700-600
BCE) and Classical (ca. 480-323 BCE) stylistic periods. The Archaic is sometimes divided into Early and Late (or “Ripe”) phases
according to region, and its date range is sometimes pushed back to ca. 700 BCE based on certain archaeological factors. The
term applies to the decorated vases of Athens, Corinth, Laconia, Boeotia, and other regions of ancient Greece. The main vase-painting
technique in Athens is black-figure (invented in Corinth late 7th c. BCE), followed by red-figure (invented in Athens ca.
530-520 BCE). Major Athenian vase-painters from the time include Lydos, Amasis Painter, Exekias, Euphronios, Brygos Painter,
and Berlin Painter.
Based on Egyptian alabaster prototypes, this small vase for perfume or oil has a broad, flat mouth, narrow neck, a thin, bag-shaped
body (sometimes with lugs), and is usually footless. Used for women's toilet and for cult, its contents were extracted with
a dipstick.
The amphora Type A has a flaring lip with concave sides, flat flanged handles, a foot with the upper part stepped, and a lower
echinus or torus. An early amphora shape that was popular in the black-figure technique, it was produced from the early 6th
c. BCE to about 440 BCE.
The amphora Type C has a rounded lip and torus or echinus foot and its handles vary in shape. It was potted from the second
quarter of the 6th c. BCE in the black-figure technique (especially by the Affecter's workshop), and from ca. 520 BCE to 470
BCE in the red-figure technique.
The amphora Type B has a flaring lip with straight or slightly concave sides, an echinus foot, and cylindrical handles. It
is one of the oldest shapes, produced from the late 7th c. BCE until about 425 BCE.
The handles of the bail amphora reach over the mouth. This type of amphora was used for storing and carrying wine, oil, and
other commoditities, for serving wine at the table, and as an ash urn for the dead.
An amphora where the neck joins the body at sharp angles instead of a smooth curve. The neck and the body are offset, meaning
that the curve and shape changes radically where the neck meets the shoulder.
The Yale University Art Gallery is an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It houses a major encyclopedic collection of art
in several interconnected buildings on the campus of Yale University.
The bell-krater is an innovation belonging to the red-figure technique. The body rises from a low disk-foot or sometimes a
modified disk-foot into the hint of a stem before expanding into the shape of an inverted bell with a mildly flaring mouth
with a torus lip. It has sturdy, horizontal, cylindrical handles that are located high up on the body opposite one another
and are slightly upturned.
Originiating in the Protogeometric period, the shape is one of the four types in use at the time. The name is derived from
the location of its handles, which are placed on the shoulder of the vessel. The shoulder-handled amphora seems to have been
developed in Athens at the beginning of the Protogeometric period but only became popular at the end, when it sometimes replaced
the belly-handled amphora in female burials.
Aryballos is the conventional name for an ovoid or ball-shaped oil pot with one or two handles. Used by athletes, it can be
footed or footless. Some aryballoi are potted in the shape of a head, animal, or bird.
Meaning 'wine-skin,' the term askos is conventionally (and erroneously) used for a small, flat vase, with narrow sloping spout
and handle arching over body. A variant exists in the form of a double-askos.
A belly amphora has a continuous, smooth curve from lip to foot. These amphorae have been classified as Types A, B, and C,
based on differences in the shape of lips, feet, and handles.
The small version of the amphora, the amphoriskos is based on the pointed variant of the neck-amphora or transport amphora.
Used for perfumed oil, some carry stamped designs.
The pointed aryballos follows the Middle Protocorinthian ovoid aryballos. In form it is taller and more top-heavy than its
precursor, and it first appears in Late Protocorinthian before being replaced by a new, rounded aryballos.
The calyx-krater is one of the largest Attic vases, and is reminiscent of a bell-shaped flower. It is named for its convex
lower body that has the configuration of the calyx of a flower, while the flaring upper body is suggestive of the bell-shaped
corolla. It has large, robust, upturned handles situated opposite one another on the cul.The calyx-krater appears in Attic
black-figure after the middle of the 6th c. BCE and is a popular shape until the end of red-figure.
The kylix is a large cup used for drinking wine. It has a relatively shallow bowl, two horizontal handles, and usually, but
not necessarily, a high stem above the foot. There are many types of kylix cups such as Komast, Band, Lip, Siana, Type A,
and Type B.
Primarily a red-figure shape, the Type B cup comes in shortly after the invention of the technique and was never popular in
black-figure. The bowl of the cup passes directly into the stem without interruption, the shape of the foot is a torus, and
there is usually a small chamfer on its top surface near the edge.
The column-krater has an articulated neck, whose wide mouth culminates in a broad rim with an overhaning lip. It takes its
name from the two pairs of columnar handles; these attach to handle plates at their top and to the krater shoulder at their
base.
Type A is the preferred cup shape of black-figure vase painters from about 530 BCE. The cup has a deep bowl without an offset
lip, a low flaring foot with a pronounced concave edge, and usually a fillet between the thick stem and the bowl.
From the verb 'to pour,' the chous is a broad-bodied jug with a low handle and trefoil mouth. It was used in the Anthesteria
festival and as a measure fixed for participants in drinking bouts (3.28 liters). Small choes were used for children's day,
when 3-year-olds received them.
Named after a site on Rhodes where examples were found, Siana cups can be distinguished from Komast cups by their taller feet
and lips. They are decorated on the tondo (another difference from Komast cups) and there are two schemes for decorating the
exterior. The 'double-decker' type involves two friezes on each side, one on the lip (usually floral), and a figured scene
on the body. The 'overlap' type uses a single frieze on each side to cover the total height of the body and lip. Aspects of
the form and decoration of Siana cups appear to be indebted to East Greek models.
Named for the scholar who first studied them, Droop cups (pronounced 'Drope') derive their shape from Little Master cups.
They have concave black lips marked off more clearly from the body than the Little Master cups, a tall-stemmed foot with a
plain fillet and band (sometimes grooved) at the top, and a black toe. There is a broad black band within the hollow foot,
in the bowl a reserved band low in the lip, and sometimes a reserved center disc.
Related to the Little Master cups, Kassel cups have a rather flat, band-cup shape and are generally small. Both the lip and
body are usually covered with simple patterned bands. Tongues are common at the lip, as are rays above the foot, and some
Kassel cups have silhouette figures in the handle zone.
The term 'Little Master cup' is a translation of the German Kleinmeisterschale, alluding to the small scale of the decorative
elements. It has a high-stemmed foot and an offset concave lip. Examples are divided into two categories: lip-cups and band-cups.
The Type C cup has a rather shallow bowl and a plain or offset lip. The cup can be stemmed or stemless. The stem, when present,
is very short with a fillet at its base, and the foot is a thick torus. In the stemless versions, there is simply a fillet
between bowl and foot.
A variation of the Little Master cup, this shape is painted black save for a handle zone that contains a decorated frieze,
unlike lip-cups which are largely plain save for the line that divides the lip and the body.
The Chalcidising Cup is a type of cup produced in Athens ca. 520 BCE that copies a shape made in southern Italy. Most feature
eyes on the exterior, some with figures (satyrs, Dionysos, warriors), and a gorgoneion in the interior. Their painters are
not named. Findspots are in Etruria, the Black Sea, and Attica.
Covered cups are kylikes that are a type of 'trick vase,' that is, they have fixed lids and contain elaborate internal elements
designed to deceive or amuse an unwary user. Covered cups were produced in Athens for roughly a century beginning around 540
BCE.
A variation of the Little Master cup where the lip is more obviously offset than on a band-cup; the most obvious distinction
is in the scheme of decoration.
The term ‘exaleiptron’ comes from the word meaning ‘to anoint,’ and the shape is a low-lidded bowl with a wide shoulder and
high or low foot. It is thought to have held scented water for personal use, for religious ceremonies, and for the grave.
Authorities do not fully agree on the name of this vase and it is also called ‘plemochoё’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’ There
is a tendency to use the name ‘exaleiptron’ for the stemless version of the vase, in particular for the Corinthian examples,
and ‘plemochoё’ for the Athenian high-footed shape, which is also frequently provided with a lid.
The term refers to a long, semi-circular cover for the knee and thigh, over which wool was drawn to remove dirt. It is wider
at the open end where the thigh is thicker and closed at the narrow end to fit over the knee cap. The top of the epinetron
is covered with an incised scale pattern, which produced the necessary roughness when the wool was rubbed against it. The
shape is uncommon in black-figure.
The Type B exaleiptron is the later of the two types and is differentiated by its tall, medium-wide stem terminating in a
disc-like foot. Authorities do not fully agree on the name of this vase and it is also called ‘plemochoё’ and (incorrectly)
‘kothon.’ For further information on terminology, see 'exaleiptron.'
The term literally means 'a pouring on.' It is used for a one-handled jug with a long, narrow neck and a reel-shaped body.
This vase type is mainly a South Italian product.
The Type A exaleiptron is the earlier of the two types and is differentiated by its shorter, wider flaring foot. Authorities
do not fully agree on the name of this vase and it is also called ‘plemochoё’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’ For further information
on terminology, see 'exaleiptron.'
The plate is not a common shape in clay since it was more likely to have been made of wood. Figured plates (more commonly
black-figure) seem to have been made for religious dedications.
From the Greek word for 'beetle,' the term kantharos is now used conventionally for a drinking cup with two vertical, usually
high-swung, handles. The shape, most likley derived from metal vessels, is often shown in the hands of Dionysos, the god of
wine. The kantharos has various different forms.
Taking its name from the Greek 'hydor,' meaning 'water,' the hydria is a water-pot for the fountain. It has a capacious oval
body, two horizontal handles, and one vertical handle. This type of vase was manufactured in bronze, in coarseware, and in
fineware. See also kalpis.
An uncommon form of the kantharos. The elements of foot, lower and upper walls and rim are the same as for the moulded-rim
kantharos, but the single handle spans from the upper part of the lower wall to the bottom edge of the moulding. Lacking a
spur, the cup is narrower than typical kantharoi, and while it is sometimes ribbed it is never found with stamping.
A plate with a low foot, an overhanging rim, and a small depression in the centre of its floor for sauce. When figural, it
is usually decorated with fish.
A small, footed container with a flat top and a spout at its side, the feeder was used for providing drinks to small children
or invailds. It is also known as a bombylios.
The klepsydra, or water clock, was used to enforce time limits on speeches in Athenian law courts. The pots were filled to
a specific level, and as the water drained from a hole near the bottom, marked off the time limit. Approaching the end of
the limit, the stream would have diminished perceptibly as the pressure lessened and would have been apparent not only to
the orator but to its listeners.
The term kothon is used for a variety of different shapes. Some equate it (wrongly) with the exaleiptron, while others use
the word to refer to a deep one-handled drinking cup. The vessel is sometimes ribbed and was carried by soldiers and travellers.
The word kothon can also refer to the pilgrim flask shape.
Lekythos' is a general word used to denote an oil bottle. The term is now conventionally used for tall and squat shapes with
a foot, a single vertical handle, a narrow neck and a small mouth. Sometimes the basic form is fashioned into fancy shapes
such as an acorn or an almond, or into a human figure. Some carry appliqué designs.
The loutrophoros, meaning ‘carrying to the bath,’ was a vessel used for ritual cleaning. It is a tall version of the neck-amphora
with two very long vertical handles. A slightly different version imitates the hydria with two horizontal and one vertical
handle (‘loutrophoros-hydria’).
The name of this vessel comes from the word 'mastos' meaning 'breast,' since the shape of the cup resembles a woman's breast.
It is usually furnished with one vertical and one horizontal handle and is sometimes provided with a foot instead of a nipple.
Lekanis lids from the 6th through early 5th c. were convex and created an almost circular appearance with the lekanis itself.
For the rest of the 5th and into the 4th c., the lid became flatter, answering the parallel development of the bowl. The lid
generally has a central stem or knob for a handle.
Lids were associated with a variety of vase shapes. Vessels that generally had lids were the pyxis, lekanis, lebes gamikos,
and sometimes the amphora and oinochoe.
The lydion derives its name from the area of Lydia in Asia Minor. It is a fat, handleless perfume pot with an outturned flat
lip used for the Lydian bakkaris perfume.
The term 'oinochoe' means 'wine-pourer.' The wine jug is fashioned in many varieties (conical, concave, convex) but is usually
furnished with a single vertical handle. The mouth can be round, trefoil, or beak-shaped.
The beaked oinochoe is an oinochoe with a trefoil mouth, narrow neck and a body that consists of a little more than a broad
shoulder. In Early Protocorinthian, the neck becomes taller and the contour of the body is straightened until it approaches
a more or less shallow cone; this shape remains popular in Corinthian pottery until the early 6th c. BCE.
A minor Geometric shape, the conical oinochoe is small with a trefoil mouth, a narrow neck, and a body that consists of little
more than a broad shoulder. In Early Protocorinthian the body is straightened until it approaches a more or less shallow cone,
and the neck becomes taller; this conical oinochoe shape remains popular in Corinthian pottery until the early 6th c. BCE.
Miniature Panathenaic amphorae are ointment vessels with a similar shape to the regular-sized Panathenaic amphorae with small
handles and a narrow foot. They are usually decorated in black-figure and measure about 8 - 19 cm (about 3.1 - 7.5 in) high.
