[1] Reichhold’s theory in his Skizzenbuch griechischer Meister (1919), p. 12, that the word ?p???se? (“made it”) in a signature refers to the draughtsman of the sketch for the decoration, while its executor signed ???a?e? (“painted it”), since the actual making of the vase “required no artistic skill and could be left to every apprentice,” only shows his exclusive preoccupation with the drawings on the vases, in the copying of which he so much excelled.

[2] For any one who wishes to study this subject at greater length, Charles F. Binns’s work on the Potter’s Craft is strongly recommended (second edition, 1922).

[3] Figs. 1, 2, 6-13, 14, 21-23, 27, 39, 41.

[4] Figs. 3, 4, 35, 36, 40, 42, 50, 51, 52.

[5] In commercial potteries where a larger output and coarser wares are produced wedging en gros becomes necessary. In modern Greece it is done by treading the clay with bare feet.

[6] Sometimes a wooden scraper is held on the outside to obtain a smoother surface; especially in cases when the later process of turning is dispensed with.

[7] The jigger is the technical word for the wheel on which shapes are moulded with the aid of a jolly or profile; but it can be used for other purposes. The difference between an ordinary wheel and a jigger is that in the former the speed is changeable, in the latter fixed.

[8] Cf. e.g. Walters, Ancient Pottery, vol. I, p. 208; Herford, Greek Vase Painting, p. 9; etc., etc.

[9] Cf. Jay Hambidge, Dynamic Symmetry, the Greek Vase, and L. D. Caskey, Geometry of Greek Vases.

[10] Cf. e.g. in the Metropolitan Museum Nos. 08.258.21 and 12.236, where the joint is visible underneath the clay ridge.

[11] Cf. also especially Metropolitan Museum Nos. G. R. 534, 09.221.47, 09.221.48, 06.1021.168, G. R. 581, 18.145.28, etc.

[12] Cf. Buschor, MÜnchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, 1919, I/II, pp. 1 ff.

[13] Cf. American Journal of Archaeology, XII, second series, 1908, p. 421.

[14] “Twice fired” technically means, as already explained (p. 35), once for biscuit, another time for glaze; the glazing itself may have necessitated several firings, but the piece would still be spoken of as twice fired.

[15] Cf. e.g. Walters, op. cit., pp. 221, 222, and Herford, op. cit., pp. 13, 14. Reichhold, op. cit., p. 152, felt convinced there was only one firing.

[16] Occasionally a toothed instrument seems to have been used; as on the pyxis, No. 06.1117, in the Metropolitan Museum.

[17] Archaeologists’ accounts are very misleading here, for some even assume that vases are in leather-hard condition after the first firing. (Cf. Herford, Handbook of Greek Vase Painting, p. 12.)

[18] E. Pottier has come to the same conclusion; cf. his Catalogue of the Louvre Vases, III, p. 674.

[19] The clay of Reichhold’s pot, which he says could be dropped on the floor without appreciable damage (FurtwÄngler und Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I, p. 152), must have been very tough indeed. Potters I have asked have never encountered clay quite as tough as that. The leather-hard vases I have handled were fit only for the dust bin when they fell on the floor—a not unusual event when learning to turn.

[20] I wish here to acknowledge the great kindness of A. J. B. Wace, director of the British School of Athens, who went to much trouble in sending me this clay. The clay sent is that used by the Athenian potters today. It is a mixed clay, composed of red earth from Chalandri and white earth from Koukouvaones.

[21] Cf. also Nos. 06.1021.114, 07.286.78, 17.230.13 in the Metropolitan Museum, and other instances quoted by Reichhold in FurtwÄngler u. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I, p. 152. If, as Reichhold assumes, the vases were actually placed in the kiln leather hard, they must have been allowed to dry for some days in the kiln before firing; otherwise they would have cracked.

[22] Cf. also FurtwÄngler u. Reichhold, loc. cit.

[23] This is Mr. Binns’s explanation.

[24] Five are listed by Hartwig, Jahrbuch des deutschen arch. Instituts, XIV, 1899, p. 164, note 21, one in Athens, one in SÈvres, one in WÜrzburg, one in Berlin, one in Bonn. A sixth piece is a fragmentary kylix in the Metropolitan Museum, No. 11.212.9, and a seventh one, the cover of a toilet box, in the British Museum, Room of Greek and Roman Life, No. 426.

[25] An interesting parallel is furnished by Chinese porcelain for which, Mr. Bosch Reitz tells me, there is clear evidence that it is once fired.

[26] It is sometimes assumed that the accessory colors—purple and white—were not fired and that this is the reason why they are less well preserved and dull instead of shiny like the black glaze. That they were fired is shown by the discoloration of the black glaze beneath the white or purple. They are neither shiny nor durable for the simple reason that they are not a glaze but earth colors.

[27] Cf. e.g. No. 06.1021.114, in the Metropolitan Museum.

[28] Cf. e.g. Nos. G. R. 530, 06.1021.82, 06.1021.114, etc., in the Metropolitan Museum, and No. 379 (Salle G) as a conspicuous example in the Louvre.

[29] Cf. e.g. Nos. 07.286.47, 07.286.81, and C. R. 541 in the Metropolitan Museum.

[30] Cf. e.g. Reichhold in FurtwÄngler u. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I, p. 153.

[31] This is Mr. Binns’s explanation. He does not consider that the accidental piling together of glowing coals could account for the carefully designed effects in the Vasiliki ware; so that Mr. Seager’s ingenious theory (cf. Hawes, etc., Gournia, p. 50) would have to be given up.

[32] Cf. e.g. 11.212.7, 12.336.1, G. R. 54, G. R. 1229, 06.1021.120, 06.1021.191, 12.229.15, etc., in the Metropolitan Museum.

[33] This explanation is also that offered by Reichhold in FurtwÄngler u. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I, p. 153. It is to this same cause that I should be inclined to attribute Reichhold’s “Lagerringe,” round red spots or black spots surrounded by red rings (op. cit., p. 154). Supports such as he describes which came into direct contact with the glaze are inconceivable; the glaze would have stuck to them and serious injury resulted. Furthermore, Athenian vases must have been placed in the kiln standing on their feet, and for this purpose the under surfaces of the feet are left unglazed so as to prevent the glaze from sticking. If placed in the positions Reichhold suggests, the vases would have been apt to warp, and no potter would run such risks.

[34] Cf. SalvÉtat in Brongniart, TraitÉ des arts cÉramiques, I, p. 550; and Tonks, Black Glaze on Greek Vases, American Journal of Archaeology, XII, second series, 1908, pp. 420 ff. Mr. Binns in a series of experiments has come to the same conclusion.

[35] Cf. American Journal of Archaeology, XII, second series, 1908, pp. 423 f.

[36] Mr. Binns’s experiments are as yet unpublished.

[37] Under Mr. Binns’s direction I tried gum arabic, honey, water glass, glue, white of egg, glycerine, and oil as binders, but none gave complete satisfaction.

[38] H. B. Walters in his Ancient Pottery, I, p. 212, says that the glaze runs best on a surface already baked. As a matter of fact, to make glaze run at all on the baked surface, the biscuit has to be soaked in water.

[39] Reichhold in FurtwÄngler u. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I, p. 152, forgets this when he argues that since the decorations were applied on leather-hard clay they must have been executed within a few days.

[40] Some archaeologists even claim that they have noticed hairs of brushes in the glaze. It is, however, impossible that these are hairs from the brushes with which the glaze was painted, as they would have burned up in the fire to which the glaze was subjected.

[41] Cf. e.g. the discussions by Hartwig, Jahrbuch d. Instituts, XIV, 1899, pp. 147 ff.; Reichhold, in FurtwÄngler u. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I, Text, pp. 148 and 230; Tonks, American Journal of Archaeology, XII, second series, 1908, p. 425; Walters, Ancient Pottery, I, pp. 227 ff.

[42] For full quotations of these statements cf. pp. 97, 98.

[43] Cf. John, Malerei der Alten, p. 173.

[44] Cf. e.g. vol. I, pp. 140, 145.

[45] Cf. e.g. Pottier, Catalogue des vases antiques du Louvre, III, p. 682.

[46] Cf. e.g. Walters, Ancient Pottery, I, p. 218.

[47] Cf. e.g. in the Museum fÜr Kleinkunst, Munich, the kylix with Dionysos by Exekias, No. 2044, and the Euphronios kylix, No. 2620. These give us an excellent idea of the original appearance of Athenian vases.

[48] Cf. especially in the British Museum, E178, E149, E282, E382; and in the Metropolitan Museum, G. R. 604, 07.286.73, 07.286.74, 06.1021.108, 12.236.2, 07.286.65, G. R. 589, 06.1021.121, G. R. 573, 17.230.13, where extensive traces can still be seen.

[49] Cf. e.g. in the British Museum, B.439, B.516, B.592, B.446; Metropolitan Museum, 06.1021.56, G. R. 555.

[50] Cf. e.g. British Museum, E.74, E.72, E.307, E.382, E.149, E.333.

[51] Such red spots must not be confused with those caused by excess of oxidation in the firing (cf. pp. 44 ff.).

[52] Imported Athenian clay (cf. p. 40) fired to the temperature to which the ancient Greeks fired their pottery was so light and characterless in color that some process to deepen the hue would appear almost imperative.

[53] Many modern imitations of kylikes lack just this feature, which makes drinking out of them a very different story.

[54] Cf. Antike DenkmÄler, II, pl. 8; Journal of Hellenic Studies, XII, 1891, pl. XX, and XXXII, 1912, pl. VII; FurtwÄngler u. Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, I, pls. 19 and 24, III, text, p. 19, fig. 7; Notor, La femme dans l’antiquitÉ, p. 253; Wiener VorlegeblÄtter, 1889, pl. XII (on Ficoroni cista); Hartwig, Griechische Meisterschalen, pl. LXVII, 3a and 4, pl. LXIX, 2a-c; Daremberg et Saglio, Dictionnaire IV, part 2, p. 1160, fig. 6252; etc.

[55] Cf. e.g. Metropolitan Museum, Nos. 15.160.2-3, 19.39.20.

[56] It is interesting to compare in this connection the satyr heads on shields, perhaps intended to frighten the enemy (cf. Gerhard, Auserlesene Vasenbilder, pl. CLXXXVIII; Micali, Storia degli antichi popoli italiani III, p. 63, pl. 41, 1-3).

[57] Cf. e.g. Zahn, Berichte der sÄchsischen Gesellschaft, 1854, p. 40, note 46; British Museum, Guide to Greek and Roman Life (2d edition), 1920, p. 181, fig. 217 (No. 1905.6-13.1); DÉchelette, Les vases cÉramiques ornÉs de la Gaule romaine, II, 1904, p. 338.

[58] Nowadays plaster or wood is the usual material for such wheel-heads.

[59] Cf. e.g. Fabroni, Storia degli antichi vasi fittili aretini, 1841, pl. III, 9, 10; V, 7, 8, 9; p. 64, and Daremberg et Saglio, Dictionnaire, under figlinum, p. 1122, fig. 3036.

[60] Cf. e.g. Nos. 15.163.1, 17.120.250 in the Metropolitan Museum.

[61] Cf. e.g. Iliad, XVIII, 599-601, quoted below.

[62] Cf. Reisner, Naga-ed-DÊr, I, p. 133.

[63] This information I owe to Mr. Binns.

[64] Cf. G. P. Stevens in Fowler-Wheeler, Greek Archaeology, p. 102.

[65] See especially Pottier, Catalogue des Vases au MusÉe du Louvre, III, pp. 690 ff.

[66] There is no reason to assume, as has been done by Walters, History of Ancient Pottery, I, pp. 132 and others, that these lekythoi are the beautiful white lekythoi in our collections; it is more likely that they are the very roughly painted little jugs found in large quantities in tombs, but rarely placed with selected museum examples.