---
title: Greek Pottery Graffito
author: Trustees of the British Museum
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1150/greek-pottery-graffito/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# Greek Pottery Graffito

_Authored by Trustees of the British Museum_

## Image File

[![Greek Pottery Graffito](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/1150.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/1150.jpg)

## Image Caption

The base of a cup which shows graffito - an incised [mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Mark/), usually in the form of letters or numbers but also sometimes words and phrases. When such marks are painted they are called dipinto. The marks may indicate prices, trademarks and ownership or have been used by potters to match vessels with lids after firing. They most often occur under the foot of [pottery](https://www.worldhistory.org/pottery/) vessels. This example is from Attica, c. 490-470 BCE. (British Museum, London).

## Bibliography

- [Maya Elston, Mary Louise Hart Andrew Clark. *Understanding Greek Vases\[Paperback\] \[2002\] 1 Ed. Andrew Clark, Maya Elston, Mary Louise..* J. Paul Getty Museum, 2013.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B00BVKSN34/)

## Cite This Work

### APA
Museum, T. o. t. B. (2013, April 23). Greek Pottery Graffito. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1150/greek-pottery-graffito/>
### Chicago
Museum, Trustees of the British. "Greek Pottery Graffito." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 23, 2013. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1150/greek-pottery-graffito/>.
### MLA
Museum, Trustees of the British. "Greek Pottery Graffito." *World History Encyclopedia*, 23 Apr 2013, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/1150/greek-pottery-graffito/>.

## License & Copyright

© Trustees of the [British Museum](http://www.britishmuseum.org/). Republished under the British Museum [Standard Terms of Use](http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use.aspx) for non-profit educational purposes. [Original image](http://www.britishmuseum.org/system_pages/beta_collection_introduction/beta_collection_object_details/beta_collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=454091&objectId=1335376&partId=1) by [**Trustees of the British Museum**](http://www.britishmuseum.org/system_pages/beta_collection_introduction/beta_collection_object_details/beta_collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=454091&objectId=1335376&partId=1). Submitted by [Mark Cartwright](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/markzcartwright/ "User Page: Mark Cartwright"), published on 23 April 2013. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.