Understanding Ancient Greece Through Pottery
Made for the ages, Greek Pottery has been a important aspect of the world ’s understading of ancient Greece and its people. Ornate and designed to tell a story, Greek Vases and Greek Pottery are canvases that paint a portrait of the world of ancient Greece. So much ancient Greek art is gone forever, Greek pottery offers a glimpse into both the every day life and the mythology of ancient Greece.
Starting with the Minoan civilization that arose on the island of Crete, the culture made remarkable contributions to Greek society; especially, in the artisanship of vases and pottery. Minoan potters created pottery for gathering food and storage. What started as a simple, functional necessity became a means of expressing complex emotions and feelings, with the potter looking to nature to influence the designs that beautified the piece creating art from what was once only a tool.
Painted with grass and flowers, and ocean scenery and wildlife, the Minoan ’s set precedent for future designs.~[As time [progressed|passed]|As time wore on], [the Minoans|Minoans] improved the design of the vases, with shapes made to suit different purposes. For example, the Amphora vase is a [swollen|wide-bodied] vase with a [large|wide|wide open] mouth and [[two|two opposing] handles|two handles that face each other]. It was used to [carry|transport] and store [liquids such as oil or wine|oil, wine and other liquids]. Decorated with grass and flowers, and ocean scenery and wildlife, the Minoan ’s set precedent for future designs.
During the Protogeometrical Period, Greek vases were adorned with simplistic designs that consisted mainly of patterns of of circles. The emphasis on geometry followed with new motifs, building upon the latter with wavy lines and triangles. In the middle of the 11th Century, the first depictions of human figures were seen adorning the Greek vase, and by the end of the period, mythological figures were central to the decorate elements of Greek pottery.
Trade links between Syria and the Aegan World started the Orientalizing Style. The popularity of human depictions settled during this period, and the artisan used the Greek vases for depicting lions, griffins and sphinx with lotuses as accents.
Through the Corinthian [invention|creation], the Greek black-figure [technique|process], artists used [iron-rich|iron-enriched] clay that [turned|became] reddish-orange [after firing|at high temperatures]. They then sketched the design [as an|in] outline, and filled [it|it in] with clay. The [Greek Pottery|Greek vases] would be [fired in a kiln|kiln fired] at a temperature of [nearly 800 degrees|around 800 degress] Celsius. [After oxidation, the pottery|The pottery] would turn a reddish-orange color. Next, the temperature was [raised to 950 degrees Celsius|raised another 150 degrees], and the [piece|vase] would turn black. Finally, the kiln vents were opened to [allow the oxygen to flow|let in oxygen], and the pottery would [turn back|return] to the reddish-orange color, but [the paint layer remained black|the layer that was painted would keep it's black finish].
The Corinthian used these vases to [depict|show images of] animal friezes. It was the Athenian painters who [developed|introduced] a narrative method, depicting [battle scenes, mythology and legends|mythological scenes of battle, gods and heroes].
[Replacing|Following] the black-figure method, the red-figure method was [developed|introduced] in Athens. [Simply|At its core], the process is [exactly the opposite|the direct opposite] of the black-figure method. [Depictions|Scenes] were applied to the Greek vases, but to unfired pieces after they were dried. The Athenians [drew outlines|carved images] on the pottery or vase with a blunt [scrapper|tool]. It was [erased|removed] during [firing|the kiln process], but after the contours remained and were filled with a [glossy clay slip|glossy clay mixture].
The Greek [innovation|methods] for creating pottery resulted in Greek vases [that not only inspire potters and artists, but|whose designs endure even today and] left the world with a path to the past. Today, many homes display a Greek vase copy or reproduction, extending the appreciation and life of this beautiful art form.
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Tags: greek art, greek history, greek pottery, greek vase, greek vase copy, greek vases
