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Ancient Greek Pottery
Greek pottery has four main types: Geometric, Corinthian, Athenian Black-figure, and Athenian red-figure pottery. Pottery vessels were made for everyday use such as the two-handled amphora for storage, the single-stem kylix cup for drinking...
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The Mask of Warka
The mask of Warka, the first almost complete and life-size depiction of the human face in history, with respect to its anatomical details. It is made of marble and is about 20 cm tall. The eyes may have been inlaid with shells and lapis lazuli...
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Greek Vase Painters & Potters
We know the names of some potters and painters of Greek vases because they signed their work. Generally a painter signed his name followed by some form of the verb 'painted', while a potter (or perhaps the painter writing for him) signed...
Definition
Mesopotamian Art and Architecture - The Birth of Art and Architecture in the Ancient World
Ancient Mesopotamian art and architectural works are among the oldest in the world, dating back over 7,000 years. The works first appear in northern Mesopotamia prior to the Ubaid period (circa 6500-4000 BCE) and then developed in the south...
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François Vase
The François Vase is named after Alessandro François who found the vase in Chiusi in Etruria (central Italy) in 1845 CE. This Athenian volute-krater dates from c. 570-565 BCE and is signed by the potter Ergotimos and the painter Kleitias...
Definition
Ancient Celtic Pottery
The pottery of the ancient Celts, although produced over great distances in space and time, shares several common features no matter where it was made, illustrating that there was contact between people living as far apart as Brittany and...
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A Visual Glossary of Greek Pottery
Alabastron (pl. alabastra) - a small jar for storing perfumes, named after the material (alabaster) the first examples were made from. They were often carried by a string looped around the neck of the vessel. Amphora (pl. amphorae) - one...
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Ajax and Achilles, Francois Vase
A detail from the handle of one of the finest surviving examples of Attic black-figure pottery, the Francois Vase (570-565 BCE) depicting Ajax carrying the body of Achilles during the Trojan War. (Archaeological Museum, Florence)
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Gilded Silver Vase from Italy
Silver vase, partly gilded, with an ivy wreath and a vine scroll; the handles also have vines. Roman period, c. 10-80 CE. Made in Italy. (The British Museum, London).
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Pandora Vase
Red-figure calyx-krater (mixing jar), c. 460-450 BCE, painted in Attica, Greece, and found in Altamura, Italy, attributed to The Niobid Painter. The Pandora Vase is named after the top frieze of side A, which shows the creation of Pandora...