This lekythos is an example of an ancient Greek vase decorated in the black-figure technique (2). The vase is made of a light red clay, with decorative elements, including the figural decoration, added in a black slip. Details of the figures are added by incision. ... The lip and mouth of the jar are covered in black slip.

How were Roman amphora made?

Roman amphorae were wheel-thrown terracotta containers. During the production process the body was made first and then left to dry partially. Then coils of clay were added to form the neck, the rim, and the handles. ... Amphorae often were marked with a variety of stamps, sgraffito, and inscriptions.

What is lekythos in art?

A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil. ... Lekythoi were especially associated with funerary rites, and with the white ground technique of vase painting, which was too fragile for most items in regular use.

Who made Oinochoe?

The shiny black glaze is the result of a technique invented by the Etruscans, a powerful ancient civilization in ancient Italy - near modern day Tuscany - with whom the Greeks regularly traded. The glossy black pottery later known as Bucchero ware was made from the 7th century to the late 5th century BC.

What is the white ground lekythos?

Intended as a grave gift, this Athenian white-ground lekythos depicts family members preparing to visit a loved one's grave. The woman holds a basket filled with standard funerary offerings: ribbons, wreaths, and aryballoi, a type of small oil vessel. The youth holds a pomegranate, a symbol of death.

Making Greek Vases

27 related questions found

What style is black figure ceramics?

Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic (Greek, μελανόμορφα, melanomorpha) is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, although there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BC.

How does white ground differ from red and black figure painting?

White-ground painting is less durable than black- or red-figure, which is why such vases were primarily used as votives and grave vessels.

When was oinochoe made?

Terracotta oinochoe (jug) mid-4th century B.C.

What is a oinochoe used for?

The Oinochoe was a small pitcher used for pouring wine from a krater into a drinking cup. The word oinochoe means “wine-pourer.”

How big is a lekythos?

46.4 cm (18 1/4 in.); diam. 13.4 cm (5 1/4 in.)

How do you pronounce lekythos?

noun, plural lek·y·thoi [lek-uh-thoi].

What was the lekythos vase used for quizlet?

lekythos: A type of Greek pottery used for storing oil, especially olive oil used for anointing the bodies of the dead. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel.

Why didn't amphora have flat bottoms?

The Ancient Greeks and Romans used amphorae for transport and storage of wine, oil, and fish sauce. Many amphorae were almost a metre tall and weighed over 50 kg when filled, but thanks to their pointed bottoms, they were still easy to handle. ...

Did Romans use barrels?

The adoption of barrels was rapid: the military campaigns that Julius Caesar started in Gaul wrapped up in 50 BC; by early the first century AD the Romans had widely adopted barrels.

Who drank wine in the Roman Empire?

By some estimates Rome's 1 million citizens and slaves drank an astonishing average of three liters of wine a day. Although most everyone drank wine diluted with water, people complained if they thought they were being shortchanged.

What is a Greek jug called?

oinochoe, also spelled oenochoe, wine jug from the classical period of Greek pottery. A graceful vessel with delicately curved handle and trefoil-shaped mouth, the oinochoe was revived during the Renaissance and again during the Neoclassical period of the 18th century.

Where was oinochoe found?

The originally Near Eastern motif of two goats flanking a tree of life also occurs on a celebrated Euboean geometric krater found on Cyprus (74.51. 965), which is on view in the early Greek galleries (The Belfer Court).

What is the red figure technique in art?

Red-figure Pottery is a style of Greek vase painting that was invented in Athens around 530 BCE. ... In red-figure pottery, the figures are created in the original red-orange of the clay. This allowed for greater detail than in black-figure pottery, for lines could be drawn onto the figures rather than scraped out.

What does amphora mean in English?

1 : an ancient Greek jar or vase with a large oval body, narrow cylindrical neck, and two handles that rise almost to the level of the mouth broadly : such a jar or vase used elsewhere in the ancient world. 2 : a 2-handled vessel shaped like an amphora.

What is amphora pottery?

amphora, ancient vessel form used as a storage jar and one of the principal vessel shapes in Greek pottery, a two-handled pot with a neck narrower than the body. ... Wide-mouthed, painted amphorae were used as decanters and were given as prizes. Amphora, a storage jar used in ancient Greece.

How many phases of firing did black-figure pottery require?

The firing process of both red- and black-figure vessels consisted of three stages. During the first, oxidizing stage, air was allowed into the kiln, turning the whole vase the color of the clay.

What is white-ground technique used for?

The white-ground technique developed in the region around Athens circa 500 BCE. It was used especially for vases with ritual and funerary functions, because the painted surface was fragile compared to the other main Greek vase-painting techniques, black-figure and red-figure.

What is the element of calyx krater?

The calyx krater has a wide foot, a short stem, and cupped body with two low rounded handles extending to the sides. The body of the vessel is wide and cylindrical with a slight flair at the top and a lip.