The sophisticated world of Greek pottery

Experts from the University of Melbourne bring one of the most highly regarded collections of Greek vases to light


We can read these shapes like a vocabulary and associate them with particular activity or task. So organised and systematised was the corpus of the Greek pottery

Life in Ancient Greece was felt in the heart of Melbourne last Sunday as the University of Melbourne – in partnership with the Ian Potter Museum of Art – opened its doors and hosted a masterclass in Ancient Greek vases and artefacts.
Around 100 superb Greek vases, dating from the 13th to the 4th century BCE, that make up the University of Melbourne Classics and Archaeology Collection, are being used as a teaching collection.
The in-depth masterclass Looking at Greek vases, presented by the University of Melbourne experts Dr Andrew Jamieson and Dr Heather Jackson, has seen participants of the masterclass experience up-close the collection of classical antiquities. The masterclass was followed with the lecture The Living World of Greek Vases, by Associate Professor Parshia Lee-Stecum.
Dr Jamieson, a specialist in ancient ceramics and Dr Jackson, an expert in Greek vases, covered the importance of Greek pottery as artefacts that give us numerous information about life in Athens and other ancient cities.
In the presence of the precious vessels, including a hands-on session and a tour of the Classics and Archaeology gallery, the Ian Potter museum saw around 30 participants find answers to questions – how were ancient Greek vases manufactured? How do we interpret their decoration and mythical narratives from scenes of everyday life? How do we identify fake and forgeries, and separate the authentic samples?
In its collection, University of Melbourne treasures around 80 genuine Greek vases. According to Dr Jamieson, this significant collection of national importance rivals the National Gallery of Victoria collection of Greek vases in terms of its representative nature.
“Here we have 1000 years of Greek vase-painting represented. Starting from the Mycenaean period, going to Geometric, Orientalising, the period of Attic black figure and red figure vase painting.”
Most of the vases in the University collection originate in Attica, that was a primary producing vase centre in antiquity. Attic clay – characterised as an iron rich, high quality clay with minimum impurities, that was readily available within close proximity – was one of the main reasons why Athens become a pottery producing centre, leaving in its legacy Greek vases distinctive in the Mediterranean world. The clay vessels were copies of the gold and silver cups used by the wealthy, as the average household could only afford cheap and easily extracted clay.
“The different vases are representative of different chronological developments and periods, as well as of regional styles. So successful was the Greek vase painting tradition that the products themselves were exported throughout the Mediterranean world and Greek-established colonies as well. Specifically in South Italy, we see a transplantation of Greek vase painting tradition that lead to new developments and styles,” Dr Jamieson said in the masterclass, covering the technical developments of Greek pottery.
The significance of Greek vases is not only about the mastership of their making and decoration process. The vases moreover serve as a great source for providing insight into the daily lives of the Ancient Greeks. The rich, detailed and revealing pictorial representations on the vases also provided information of their religious beliefs and their mortuary practices. As pointed out by Dr Heather Jackson, all the one-piece Greek vases that remain in museums today were found in burial sites.
From the vases themselves it has been revealed that there were two particular areas of production. There were the potters – craftsman who made the vases – and painters. On some occasions, one person was responsible for both manufacturing and decoration of the vase. Their mastership provided them not only with economical goods, but also with great reputation in their society.
“On the surface we see people depicted making the vase, their pottery production centres, the apprentices involved in the pottery production industry. Essentially, in terms of ancient Greece and by the 5th century BCE, this was a male-dominated industry. It was an inherited industry where fathers passed the tradition down to their sons.”
The pottery making industry was of huge economic importance for the city of Athens. The development of Athens increased the demand for this distinctive pottery and it is estimated that by the 5th-4th century BCE, there were 100 vase painters active in Athens. This marked the emergence of a centralised pottery making industry and massive production, moving away from the localised seasonal activity.
Revealing information about the vessels was not only found in iconography but equally in the shape of vases, that tells us a great deal about their function. Some shapes were associated with the consumption of wine and water – kylix; others with more domestic or table-wear function; for cosmetic purposes – holy perfume and oil; for wedding rituals and funerary functions, as well as storage shapes and utilitarian shapes – as oil bottles or lekythos.
“We can read these shapes like a vocabulary and associate them with particular activity. So organised and systematised was the corpus of the Greek pottery. That gives us an insight into the sophisticated Greek pottery, technologically advanced – not just in production but also in how the vases were used. Ancient Greeks had great understanding of the vessels’ function.”
Decorating the vase was possibly the most important in terms of Greek vases. Fascinating potters’ skills were especially visible in the periods of Attic black-figure and red-figure vase painting, between the beginning of the 6th and the end of the 4th century BCE, through the firing process of oxidising and reducing the oxygen supply.
“The potters were extremely skilled, but we know that knowledge comes from a tradition of experimentation and thousands of years of two tone reducing and oxidising tradition. The Greeks understood the science very well,” Dr Jamieson said.
In her lecture, Dr Heather Jackson referred to the narratives of the vase iconography, as a rich resource for looking into the values of the Athenians of the time.
“In many occasions it’s hard to distinguish between the mythical narratives and real-life scenes represented on the vase surface. All these scenes conveyed a mass of meaning to the viewer – both mythical and real-life meaning, such as the scenes of departing warriors. Scenes of real life were also represented – athletes, music and entertainment, slavery, workshops, and many others,” Dr Jackson explained.
For Dr Jackson, Greek vases have a special importance, as these artefacts were the reason she decided to change her career path at the age of 52 – from a degree in classics to becoming an expert in Greek vases.
The teaching collection of Greek vases at the University of Melbourne, she says, is very important and she would like to see more individuals come and see it.
“The Greek vases are not on display all the time, but we can certainly get them out for schools and organised groups,” Dr Jackson told Neos Kosmos.
For more information and display times of the Greek vases, contact the Ian Potter Museum of Art on (03) 8344 5148.