抖阴旅行射

Many artistic changes took place in the Greek world during the Hellenistic period, defined as the three centuries between the death of the Macedonian king Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. and the听听in听31 B.C.E., when the Roman general Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony) was defeated听by his rival Octavian, who later became known as Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. After the death of Alexander the Great, 听was divided into several independent kingdoms ruled by his top generals, allowing for the greater mingling of cultures and an increased demand for art to decorate royal palaces and important cities. Greek art evolved to reflect the changing world of the Hellenistic period, exploring drama, realism, emotion, and decorative effects (1).听

The most important changes in the pottery of Greece during the Hellenistic period involved a desire to emulate the luxury of the new ruling class, a trend toward , and a contrasting tendency toward simpler decoration. The red-figure technique of vase painting听of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E. largely gave way to new techniques and styles, such as mould-made relief pottery, exemplified by a 3rd or 2nd century B.C.E. bowl in the 抖阴旅行射 Art Museum's collection. These mould-made vessels may have been intended to imitate metal vessels used by the elite (2). Though not pottery, an especially elaborate type of tableware known as the Gold Glass bowl (also called the Gold Sandwich bowl) is worthy of mention in this context because it exemplifies a type of vessel that contemporary pottery styles may have been intended to imitate. These bowls, including an , were made by pressing a thin layer of gold leaf between two glass bowls that were made to fit together exactly. The gold leaf was intricately cut and carefully placed to produce exquisite products (3). The floral designs typical of these bowls may have influenced not just mould-made pottery, but also contemporary听metal relief bowls (4).听

Painted pottery continued to be produced and became popular. These vessels were often much more vibrantly colored than the older red-figure style from which they derived. Along with bold new colors, pottery itself became more daring: applied decorations like statuettes and other three-dimensional additions either enhanced or replaced painting on some vases. These vessels are often found in burials and may have been made specifically for that purpose (5).听

Less colorful pottery was produced, as well, much of which appears to imitate contemporary metal vessels. One common type of pottery is called 听and was produced in Athens.This was a more simply decorated style, with light painting on a dark surface (6). A new vessel shape called the lagynos became popular. This shape, exemplified by听, had a tall neck and a single handle for pouring. Lagynoi were usually decorated simply but in a dark-on-light color scheme, which is different from West Slope Ware vessels (7). The lagynos, too, may have been an imitation of metalwork (8).听

The new shapes and styles found in Hellenistic pottery imitated the opulent materials of the new kings and queens, especially metal, in obvious and effective ways. A new desire for ornate, almost fantastic decoration echoed the 听(9). Like all art, Hellenistic pottery is a reflection of its time, an invaluable resource for attempting to understand ancient life.

Footnotes

1. On Hellenistic art, see J.J. Pollitt,听Art in the Hellenistic Age听(Cambridge University Press, 1986); John G. Pedley,听Greek Art and Archaeology听(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993): 7-13.
2. See Pollitt,听Art in the Hellenistic Age: 256; Pedley,听Greek Art and Archaeology:听360; William R. Biers,听The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction听(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1980): 314-5; J.W. Hayes, "Fine Wares in the Hellenistic World." in听eds.听Tom听Rasmussen and Nigel听Spivey,听Looking at Greek Vases听(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991): 183-202.
3. On these bowls, see Pollitt,听Art in the Hellenistic Age; Pedley,听Greek Art and Archaeology:听360.
4. For the influence of metal and glass bowls on Hellenistic relief pottery see Susan I. Rotroff,听Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Moldmade Bowls, The Athenian Agora Vol. XXII听(Princeton NJ: The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1982): 6-9
5. Pedley,听Greek Art and Archaeology:听265.
6. See Biers,听The Archaeology of Greece:听314.
7. Biers 1980,听The Archaeology of Greece: 314; Pedley,听Greek Art and Archaeology:听364-5.
8. Hayes, "Fine Wares in the Hellenistic World":听188-9.
9. On the Hellenistic interest in theatricality, see Pollitt,听Art in the Hellenistic Age:听4-7; for a Hellenistic bowl with a depiction of a theatre mask, see Pedley,听Greek Art and Archaeology:听364, fig.10.60.