The history of Greek vases : potters, painters, pictures / John Boardman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Boardman, John, 1927-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vases, Greek.

Physical Description:

320 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Thames & Hudson, 2001.

Summary:

Greek pottery has long fascinated scholars and historians of art. It provides a continuous commentary on all other Greek arts, even sculpture, and the scenes figured on the vases can prove to be as subtle and informative as the great works of Greek literature.

In no other art of antiquity do we come closer to the visual experience of the ancient Greeks, or are we able to observe so clearly their views on life, myth, and even politics. The stylistic history of Greek vases has been demonstrated in other Thames & Hudson titles by John Boardman; the subject "is a central one to classical archaeology and art, and dare not be ignored by students of any other ancient medium, or indeed of any other classical discipline."

Here he sketches that history but goes on to explore many other matters that make the study so fruitful. He describes the processes of identifying artists, the methods of making and decorating the vases and the problems in doing so, the life of the potter and conduct of the potters' quarter in Greek towns, and the way in which the wares traded far beyond the borders of the Greek world, from Morocco to Persia, from Russia to the Sudan. Their functions in life, cult, and as messengers of style and subject are also explained. Boardman shows how Greek artists exercised a style of narrative in art that was long influential in the West, and how their pictures reflected not simply on story-telling but on the politics and social order of the day.

Contents:

Chapter 1 A History of Greek Vases 11

Chapter 2 Connoisseurship 128

Chapter 3 Potters and Painters 139

Chapter 4 Trade 153

Chapter 5 Pictures and Painters I 168

Chapter 6 Pictures and Painters II 189

Chapter 7 Greek Vases in Use 244

Chapter 8 Pottery and other Arts 269.

Notes:

"358 illustrations."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0500237808

OCLC:

59538579