Greek pottery was both decorative and practical. How so?

The Greeks were dedicated flaunts for vessels that could hold wine. In fact, they were unhindering flaunts in general. It is easy to say that the pottery in Greece was practical, but for what ends? The practicality of these vessels were measured more than by how much wine or oil they could contain, but how elaborate and awe inspiring they were. You see, the practicality of pottery was based predominantly in its capacity toward conspicuous consumption. The Greeks who commissioned these works of art wanted others in the community to know that they were citizens with means. And so, with solidifying their place in social hierarchy, they could then drink their wine and bathe in their oil in reassurance.

If conspicuous consumption is the “why” of these vessels, the “how” was the means; the artistic and social language these vessels used to display the pedigree of the commissioner was through romanticism of the past as well as Elitist conventions brought on from the East.

In action, pottery was used primarily for use in symposion culture- drinking parties inspired by Eastern civilization.

The amphora was the primary vessel for storage. Kraters were for mixing wine and water. Psykters were for cooling wine. Hydrias were for carrying water; sometimes also used as an urn. Olpes were for storing wine. The kantharos, kylix, and rhytons were for drinking wine. Lekythos and oinchoe for pouring olive oil or wine. (Slide show)

There were many variations of the vase used in Greek culture, each unique shape was assigned a specialized task. However, there was one that held more meaning than the others, especially in death. These large funerary amphora were often used as grave markers. Men were designated neck handled amphora while women were designated body handled amphora.

The decorative conventions from 900 toward 700 BCE were dominated by linear motif.As time flows on, we can see a transition from geometric to black figure technique. Through trade, Eastern floral ornamentation is incorporated, and wild goat style spreads early on. By the seventh century, pottery painters preferred large motifs and moved away from linear decoration for a focus in pictorial narrative.

Black-figure technique was created with protocorinthian and eventually proattic style. Incision of color such as yellow, purple and white slip offered more freedom in color whereas a format shift to registers incentivized use of time in their narratives and hierarchy of priorities. The evolution to this style called for silhouettes of figures to be spread against unpainted clay. Details were then incised using a sharp tool adding color and line. The result was an emulation of Eastern metal working, so that cheap pottery might resemble imported metalware.

During this period we can trace a resurgence of celebration for the human form, figures become more fluid and lively, with a focus of sheer visual complexity being an end to itself.

#History