Protogeometric – Athens from 1050 – 900 BC
 Shapes (derive from Mycenean): amphora, krater, oinochoe (for pouring), and cups
 Groups of concentric circles or semicircles, cross-hatched triangles, panels, and
zigzags
 Symmetrical design in order to emphasize form
Protogeometric barrel pot http://www.ceramicstudies.me.uk/frame1tu6.html
Geometric – Athens from 950 – 800 BC
 Design: maeander, cross-hatched or wavy lozenges, squares, triangles
 Whole surface painted. Some parts left dark, or continuous geometric design over
the whole pot
Attic geometric jug, late 9th cent. BC http://www.ceramicstudies.me.uk/frame1tu6.html
Protocorithian 750 – 625 BC
 Shapes: aryballos (perfume), olpe (jug), oinochoe, and kotyle (cup)
 Characterized by oriental designs: flowers, plants, animals, rosettes
 Corinthians were first to use black figure
Protocorinthian olpe, Chigi Vase. 650 BC
http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/images/pottery/painters/keypieces/tiver
ios/4-p56-medium.jpg
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Chigi olpe – 10.25 in. tall, three registers of figures
divided by black lines
Scenes: humans, hounds, and hares in lower
register; above a chariot, horsemen, and a lion
hunt; bicorporate sphinx; the Judgment of Paris;
and a formation of hoplites (providing information
about military history)
Colors: yellow, red, and white
Question of authenticity
Corinthian 625 – 525
 Orientalizing animals and mythical beasts, but enlarged and less carefully drawn
 Splinter rosettes rather than dot rosettes
Corinthian cup, late 7th cent. BC http://www.ceramicstudies.me.uk/frame1tu6.html
Protoattic
 Orientalizing period in Athens
 Not as popular as Corinthian
 Painted scenes are much larger than in Protocorinthian style, continues
monumental scale of Attic Geometric tradition
 Focus more on human figures than on animals
 Interest in mythology
Late Protoattic/early black-figure amphora, the Nessos amphora. 625 – 600 BC
http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/images/pottery/painters/keypieces/tiverios/6-p64medium.jpg
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Nessos amphora – Athenian owl, various birds, geese, dolphins,
and winged gorgons (posture is knielauf – they appear in fast
motion)
On the top, Herakles fights Nessos, a centaur who tried to
violate his wife (mythological influence)
Attic Black-figure around 560 - 530
 Design: animal friezes from Corinthian vocabulary, floral and palmette designs of
Oriental origin, and mythological stories
 Design done on a small scale
 Black figure drawn against an orange/red ground
 Scenes of myth, aristocratic conduct, everyday life, social commentary, athletics
Black-figure amphora by Exekias: Achilles killing Penthesilea. C. 540-530
BC
http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/132/flashcards/188132/jpg/
greek_achilles_killing_penthesilea1322672626102.jpg
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Exekias amphora: representation of emotional
states – emotional intensity as Achilles and
Penthesilea lock eyes at the moment of her death
Crispness of detail; black figures on a red/orange
ground
Attic Red-figure c. 530 BC
 Figure remains the red color of the clay, and the background becomes black
 Allowed for much more detail than black-figure – inner details were drawn, allowing
for a realistic representation of anatomy and garments in motion, three-quarter
views, and a heightened sense of mood and emotion
Red figure Kylix by Gorgos: (interior) half-kneeling youth with staff and hare; (exterior) Achilles fights Memnon.
c. 500-490 BC  pg. 203 of Pedley
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Profile and three-quarter views; heavily detailed
Scenes depicted were those popular at the time: heroic tale on one side, a
generalized Dionysic scene of merriment, and a scene of everyday life (yet with an
erotic undertone – hare as a lover’s gift)
White-ground early 5th cent. BC
 Outline drawing rather than black figure
 White ground is fragile, therefore used for pots that weren’t handled a lot such as
lekythoi (tall flasks for holding oil that were placed in graves)
 More color used: red, black, and brown for contours; green, blue, and purple for
drapery
 Broken contour lines to suggest volume
 Lekythoi generally show scenes appropriate for a funerary context: departures,
tombs, and visitor
Attic white-ground lekythos: seated woman in front of a tomb. c. 410-400 BC.
http://classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/665/flashcards/776665/jpg/8.491322694360528.jpg