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EPOCHS 
 
 PAINTED VASES: 
 
 AN INTRODUCTION TO THEIR STUDY. 
 
 HODDER M. WESTROPP, ESQ. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 WALTON AND MABERLY, 
 
 UPP£U GOWER STIIEET, AXD I^'Y LAKE, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
 
 1856. ::...,, 
 
t 
 
 f\0 
 
 LONDON. 
 
 PSINTUI) BV WERTHKIMKR AVI> CO.. 
 
 CIRCUS PLACK, flNSBUKV. 
 
TO 
 
 JOHN GIBSON, Esq. 
 
 THIS SHOUT TRExiTlSE 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY 
 
 DEDICATED. 
 
 395638 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2008 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/epochsofpaintedvOOwestrich 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 Painted Vases may be considered as the most curious, the most 
 graceful, and the most instructive remains that have come down 
 to us from ancient times. The beauty of the forms, the fineness 
 of the material, the perfection of the varnish, the variety of the 
 subjects, and their interest in an historical point of view, give 
 painted vases a very important place among the productions of the 
 arts of the ancients. Painted vases have been collected with great 
 eagerness ever since they have been known, and the most remark- 
 able have been engraved by celebrated artists, and explained by 
 profound archaeologists. Modern art and archaeology have obtained 
 from them beautiful models and important information. They 
 were known for the first time in the seventeenth century; La- 
 chausse published some of them in his Museum Romanum, in 
 1690 ; Beger and Montfaucon imitated his example ; Dempster 
 subsequently wrote on them more fully; Gori, Buonarotti, and 
 Caylus, added some general observations to those of Dempster; 
 Winckelman could not omit them in his immortal work on the 
 history of Ancient Art, and modified, by the accuracy of his 
 observation, the theories of his predecessors. Lastly, the beautiful 
 collection of Sir William Hamilton, published by Hancarville in 
 1766, brought them more fully into public notice; Passeri still 
 
2 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 supported after him the Italian opinion in regard to the origin of 
 these vases; Tischbein, Boettiger, and Millin, declared themselves 
 of the same opinion as Winckelman; and the study of these 
 beautiful objects confirms it at the present day in every respect. 
 
 Painted vases received at first the denomination of Etruscan 
 Vases; Dempster, a great abetter of what was called Etrusco- 
 mania, gave them this denomination, and Tuscan antiquaries have 
 defended it as a title of glory for their country. The impartial 
 comparison of remains of antiquity had not as yet established 
 any fundamental distinction between the Etruscan style properly 
 so called, and the ancient Greek style. Every composition 
 characterised by the stifi'ness of the features, the straight folds 
 of the drapery, and long braided hair, was attributed to the 
 Etruscans. Painted vases which presented these characteristics 
 were therefore attributed to them, and in spite of the evidence 
 of the subjects borrowed from the mythic ideas of the Greeks, 
 in spite of the inscriptions, all Greek, which were read on them, 
 general opinion, too readily followed, recognised in them every 
 thing that could explain the manners, customs, creed, and even 
 the history of the Etruscans. It was further generally believed 
 that these vases had issued from the manufactures of Arezzo, 
 because Martial praises the potteries of that town; and, that 
 those which were found in Campania, Puglia, and even in Sicily, 
 had been carried there by the Etruscans themselves. This theory 
 could not be maintained even after a slight examination, espe- 
 cially as painted vases have been found at Athens, Megara, Milo, 
 in Aulis, in Tauris, at Corfu, and in the Isles of Greece. The 
 greater number, indeed, are found even at the present day in 
 Magna Graecia, Nola, Capua, Paestum, and in Sicily, but they 
 are found in every country where Greek domination prevailed. 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 3 
 
 The extent of tlie domination of the Tyrrhenians in Italy, was 
 not sufficiently extensive to attribute to them all the painted 
 vases. Eucheir and Eugrammus came^ according to Pliny, into 
 Etruria, and taught there the plastic arts, but this does not prove 
 that they invented there the art of making painted vases, for these 
 two artists who worked in clay, being from Corinth, might have 
 brought this art from Greece. Everything leads us to conclude 
 that we must attribute their origin to Greece. In their forms, 
 they bear a great resemblance to the vases which we see on 
 the medals and some of the sculpture of the Greeks, the style 
 of the figures which ornament them, entirely corresponds with 
 that of the figures of the ancient Greek style; lastly, the myths 
 which arc represented on them, the inscriptions in Greek charac- 
 ters which frequently accompany the figures, are sufficient to 
 establish this opinion. But we must acknowledge that Greek 
 myths are always expressed with peculiar circumstances, which 
 probably are derived from the alterations which Greek traditions 
 had experienced in ancient Italy. 
 
 The variety of opinions with regard to the origin of these vases, 
 has produced a similar diversity with regard to their denomination. 
 To that of Etruscan Vases succeeded that of Greek Vases, still too 
 general j Visconti wished to name them Graeco-Italian ; Arditi, 
 Italo-Greek; Lanzi, Campanian, Sicilian, Athenian, according as 
 they were found in Campania, Sicily, or at Athens ; Quatremere 
 de Quincy, Ceramo-graphic Vases (of painted clay) ; and Millin, 
 Painted Vases in general, adding the name of the place where they 
 were discovered. We may, however, be able to class them more 
 systematically, on considering, in the first place, that painted vases 
 form a class apart among the remains of antiquity; secondly, 
 that it is recognised at the present day, that the Etruscans 
 
4 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 mauufactured them also^ as well as the Greeks ; thirdly, that the 
 subject itself of the painting is the most certain type of their 
 origin, especially with regard to Etruscan vases, for we cannot 
 suppose that the Greeks, who cultivated the arts after the 
 Etruscans, would have painted on the vases the myths, creed, 
 and the history of Etruria, though the Etruscans might have 
 done so for the Greeks : lastly, that vases which bear subjects 
 purely Greek are found in many countries, and in different places, 
 without, however, their bearing any local characteristic, all belong- 
 ing alike to Greek art, and without any other distinction than that 
 which results from the style itself, according to the greater or less 
 antiquity of the execution. We may, therefore, adopt the general 
 denomination of Painted Vases, distinguished into Etruscan, for 
 those which are the work of that people, and into Greek for those, 
 in far greater number, which can have no other origin ; while 
 these can be classed according to their relative antiquity, proved 
 by the style of the figures, the characters, the form and the 
 orthography of the inscriptions when they accompany the painting. 
 We adopt this division which appears to us as the most simple and 
 most natural, which can be equally applied to the painted vases of 
 every other country, if any should happen to be discovered. 
 
 We shall further observe on this subject, that there is no 
 passage of any ancient author which could serve to throw any 
 light on the uncertainty produced by the various opinions 
 published with regard to painted vases : nothing relative to 
 them has been hitherto found in Greek or Latin writers; and 
 this singularity, when we consider the beauty, the variety, and 
 the number of these remains of antiquity, has been very justly 
 remarked. 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 ETRUSCAN PAINTED VASES. 
 
 Vases, the Etruscan origin of which cannot be disputed, have 
 been found at Volterra, Tarquinii, Perugia, Orvieto, Viterbo, 
 Acquapendente, CornetOj and other towns of ancient Etruria. 
 The clay of which they are made, is of a pale or reddish yellow, 
 the varnish is dull, the workmanship rather rude, the ornaments 
 are devoid of taste and elegance, and the style of the figures 
 possesses all those characteristics already assigned to that of the 
 Etruscans. The figures are drawn in black on the natural colour 
 of the clay: sometimes a little red is introduced on the black 
 ground of the drapery. It is by the subject chiefly that the 
 Etruscan vases are distinguished from the Greek vases. On the 
 former, the figures are in the costume peculiar to ancient Italy ; 
 the men and the heroes are represented with their beards and hair 
 very thick ; the gods and genii have large wings ; we may also 
 observe divinities, religious customs, attributes, manners, arms 
 and symbols, different from those of Greece. If an inscription in 
 Etruscan characters traced invariably from right to left, accom- 
 panies the painting, certainty with regard to their origin may be 
 considered as complete. It is true that the greater number of the 
 letters of the ancient Greek alphabet are of the same form as 
 those of the Etruscan alphabet ; but there are in the latter some 
 particular characters which will prevent any confusion. We must 
 also observe, that Etruscan painted vases are very rare, and are 
 but few in number, compared with those for which we are 
 indebted to the arts of Greece. Dennis, in his work on Etruria, 
 gives a specimen of a vase of undoubted Etruscan manufacture, as 
 it bears an Etruscan subject and an Etruscan inscription. It is 
 
b EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 an amphora, with a Bacchic dance on one side ; on the other 
 side, the parting of Admetus and Alcestis, whose names are 
 attached, between the figures of Charun and another demon. Of 
 late years, vases are found in great numbers in Etruria, more 
 particularly at Vulci ; but most of these painted vases are imita- 
 tions of those of Athens. 
 
 GREEK PAINTED VASES. 
 
 They are made of a very fine and light clay; their exterior 
 coating is composed of a particular kind of clay, which seems to 
 be a kind of yellow or red ochre, reduced to a very fine paste, 
 mixed with some glutinous or oily substance, and laid on with a 
 brush j the parts which are painted black have all the brilliancy of 
 enamel. The colours being laid on in a diff'erent manner in the 
 earlier and later vases, has caused them to be distinguished into 
 two general classes. In the earlier the ground is yellow or red, 
 and the figures are traced on it in black, so as to form kinds of 
 silhouettes. These are called the black or archaic vases, they are 
 generally in an ancient style ; their subjects belong to the most 
 ancient mythological traditions, and their inscriptions to the most 
 ancient forms of the Greek alphabet, written from right to left, or 
 in boustrophedon. The drapery, the accessories, the harness of 
 the horses, and the wheels of the chariots, are touched with white. 
 At a later period, the whole vase was painted black with the ex- 
 ception of the figures which were then of the colour of the clay 
 of the vase ; the contours of the figures, the hair, drapery, etc., 
 
EPOCHS OE PAINTED VASES. 7 
 
 being previously traced in black. There, are then, two general 
 classes of Greek Vases, distinguished by the figures which are black 
 or yellow. They are in general remarkable for the beauty and 
 elegance of their forms. There is a great variety in their sizes ; 
 there are some several feet high and broad in proportion, there 
 are others not higher than an inch. The subject is on one side 
 of the vase; sometimes it occupies the entire circumference, but 
 more generally it is one side alone (called in Italy the parte nobile) , 
 and then there is on the reverse some insignificant subject, 
 generally two or three of old men leaning on a stick, instructing 
 a young man, or presenting him with some instrument or utensil ; 
 a bacchanalian scene is sometimes represented on the reverse. 
 Some vases have been found with two subjects on the sides of the 
 vase. On some of the finest vases, the subject goes round the 
 entire circumference of the vase. On the foot, neck and other 
 parts are the usual Greek ornaments, the Vitruvian scroll, the 
 Meander, Palmetto,"^ the honeysuckle. A garland sometimes 
 adorns the neck, or in its stead a woman's head issuing from a 
 flower. These ornaments are in general treated with the greatest 
 taste and elegance. Besides the obvious difl'erence in the style^f 
 the vases, there is a remarkable difference in the execution of the 
 paintings. They are not all of the highest merit, but the boldness 
 of the outlines is generally remarkable on them. They could be 
 executed only with the greatest rapidity, the clay absorbing the 
 colours very quickly, so that if a line was interrupted, the joining 
 would be perceptible. Some thought that the figures were executed 
 by the means of patterns cut out, which being laid on the vase, 
 preserved on the black ground the principal masses in yellow, 
 which were finished afterwards with a brush. But this opinion 
 
 * See Plate IX, 
 
8 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES- 
 
 of Sir William Hamilton has been abandoned by himself, par- 
 ticularly since the traces of a point have been recognised, with 
 which the artist had at first sketched on the soft clay the principal 
 outlines, which he finished afterwards with a brush dipped in the 
 black pigment, without, however, strictly following the lines traced 
 by the point. The traces of the point are rarely observed ; all 
 depended on the skill and talent of the artists. They must have 
 been very numerous, as these vases are found in such numbers, 
 and the greater number may be considered as models for the ex- 
 cellence of their design and the taste of their composition. Not 
 unfrequently, the artists, by whom the designs have been painted, 
 have placed their names on them ; the principal names known, are 
 those of Lasimon, Taleides, Asteas and Calliphon. Taleides is 
 the most ancient ; his designs evince the infancy of art, those of 
 the other artists display greater progress in the art ; the name can 
 be recognised from the words EIIOIEI or ETIOIEHEN, and 
 EFPAWE, made or painted, which follow them immediately; the 
 two former being imited with the name of the potter, and the 
 latter with the name of the painter. Other inscriptions are some- 
 times found on vases, which enhance their value greatly. They 
 are generally the names of gods, heroes, and other mythological 
 personages, which are represented in the paintings. These inscrip- 
 tions are of great interest for two reasons ; in the first place, from 
 the form of the letters and the order according to which they are 
 traced, the greater or less antiquity of the vase can be recognised^ 
 these inscriptions necessarily following all the changes of the 
 Greek alphabet : care must be taken to examine whether the 
 inscription goes from right to left, whether the long vowels H fl, 
 the double letters W S are replaced by the silent vowels, or single 
 letters: these are in general signs of relative antiquity which 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 9 
 
 prove that of the vase itself; secondly, because the names in- 
 variably explain the subject of the painting, and even indicate by 
 a name hitherto unknown, either some personage who sometimes 
 bore another name, or a person whose real name was unknown, in 
 fine, some mythic beings of whom ancient writers give us no in- 
 formation. The information derived from vases is of great import- 
 ance for the study of Greek mythology, viewed in its diflFerent epochs, 
 and for the interpretation and understanding of ancient tragic or 
 lyric poets. Moral or historical inscriptions, in prose and in verse, 
 have been also found on vases. The letters of these inscriptions 
 are capital or cursive ; they are very delicately traced, and often 
 require a great deal of attention to perceive. They are traced on 
 black or white with a brush, sometimes they are incised with a 
 very sharp point. The word KAAOS is very frequently found on 
 vases which bear inscriptions, almost always accompanied by a 
 proper name.* It seems to be nothing more than an epithet, 
 expressive of admiration, applied to the most remarkable and 
 conspicuous personage represented on the vase, as on a vase in the 
 Vatican Museum we see a painting representing Priam, Hector, 
 and Andromache, with their names over each ; over Hector is the 
 inscription EKTcop Kd\o<;, "Hector is noble.^f In the form 
 Ka\oK(vya6o<i, it signified brave and beautiful, the very acme of 
 praise given to a person. On some which had been gifts to some 
 " beautiful youths," we find the inscription rj o ttui^ Ka\o<}. On 
 others, salutatory expressions are sometimes found, such as 
 
 * Some suppose that the painter wrote it at first on executing the vase, 
 and that afterwards the name of the person who was to possess it was added 
 to it, for many vases are found on which no name follows this Greek word, 
 which means "beautiful." 
 
 t Similar inscriptions are to be found on vases in the British Museum, 
 
 c 
 
10 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 XAIPE ST,'' Hail to thee" ; or, HOSON AEHOTE ET^PON, 
 *' Happy as possible.'^ 
 
 The subjects represented on painted vases, although of infinite 
 variety, may be reduced to three classes,* which include them all : 
 
 * Millingen divides them into the following seven classes, according to 
 their subjects : — 
 
 1. Those subjects which refer to the Divinities, their wars with the giants, 
 their amours, the sacrifices which are offered to them. 
 
 2. Those relative to the Heroic Times. This class, the most numerous, 
 as well as the most interesting, embraces all the mythological period, from 
 the arrival of Cadmus to the return of Ulysses to Ithaca ; it includes the 
 Heracleid, the Theseid, the two wars of Thebes, that of the Amazons, the 
 expedition of the Ai'gonauts, and the war of Troy. 
 
 3. The Dionysiac subjects : Bacchus — the Satyrs, the Sileni, the Nymphs, 
 and his other attendants. Dionysiac festivals and processions, with the 
 dances and amusements which accompanied them. As these festivals were 
 the most celebrated and the most popular, the ancients were naturally anxious 
 to multiply representations of them, 
 
 4. Subjects of Civil Life, such as marriages, amorous scenes, repasts, sacri- 
 fices, hunts, military dances, warriors setting out for the war, or returning 
 victorious to their country. This class is of the greatest use in giving infor- 
 mation with regard to the manners, customs, and dresses of the ancients. 
 
 5. Those which represent Funereal Ceremonies. On these we see depicted 
 the representations of tombs, around which the relations and friends of the 
 deceased bring offerings and libations ; among the ofierings we sometimes ob- 
 serve objects symbolical of initiation into the mysteries. This class, a very nu- 
 merous one, seems to have been particularly destined to be placed in the tombs. 
 
 6. Subjects relating to the Gymnasia ; ephebi occupied in different exer- 
 cises, who are conversing with one another, or with the gymnast. As vases 
 were frequently given as prizes to the conquerors in the games, it has been 
 supposed that those on which similar subjects are represented were destined 
 for that purpose. 
 
 7. Subjects which have reference to the Mysteries, and which represent 
 ceremonies preparatory to the initiations. Similar subjects are only to be 
 met with on vases of the period of the decline of art, and which are found in 
 that part of Italy formerly occupied by the Lucani, Bruttii, and the Samnites 
 where Greek ideas and customs were corrupted by the mixture of those of 
 these barbarous nations. 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 11 
 
 — 1. Mythological subjects; 2. Heroic subjects; 3. Historical 
 subjects. The Mythological subjects relate to the history of all the 
 gods, and their adventures in human form are reproduced on them 
 in a thousand shapes. It requires a deep and intimate know- 
 ledge of Greek mythology, in order to explain the diflPerent 
 subjects. The greater part of the paintings of the vases are rela- 
 tive to Bacchus, his festivals and mysteries. On them we see 
 depicted his birth, childhood^ education, all his exploits, his 
 banquets, and his games; his habitual companions, his religious 
 ceremonies, the larapadopliorse brandishing the long torches, the 
 dendrophorse raising branches of trees, adorned with garlands and 
 tablets; the initiated preparing for the mysteries; lastly, the 
 ceremonies peculiar to those great institutions, and the circum- 
 stances relative to their dogmas and their aim. 
 
 The Heroical subjects, which are far more numerous than the 
 mythological, represent the deeds of the heroes of ancient Greece : 
 Hercules, Bellerophon, Cadmus, Perseus and Andromeda, Actaeon, 
 Danaus, Medea,^ the Centaurs, the Amazons, etc. ; the myth of 
 Theseus was also the constant theme of the artist. 
 
 The Historical subjects begin with the war of Troy. Painters, 
 as well as poets, found in this event a vast field to exercise their 
 talents and their imagination. The principal actors in this memo- 
 rable drama appear on the vases. The principal scenes of the 
 Trojan war are depicted; but we must remark, that the historical 
 subjects do not extend to a later period than that of the Heraclidse. 
 We may consider, as belonging to the class of historical vases, 
 those vrith paintings relative to public and private customs ; those 
 representing games, repasts, scenic representations of combats of 
 animals, hunting and funereal subjects. Millingen remarks that 
 the subjects of the paintings vary according to the period and the 
 
12 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 places in which they have been executed; on the most ancient 
 vases Dionysiac scenes are frequently seen. As, originally, the 
 greater number were destined to contain wine, they were adorned 
 with analogous subjects. Those of the beautiful period of the art, 
 especially of the manufacture of Nola, a town in which Greek insti- 
 tutions were observed with extreme care, present the ancient tra- 
 ditions of mythological episodes in all their purity. Those of a 
 later period represent subjects taken from the tragic writers. 
 Lastly, on those of the decline we see depicted the new ceremonies 
 and superstitions which were mingled with the ancient and simple 
 religion of the Greek. Painted vases are, therefore, of the greatest 
 interest for the study of the manners and customs of ancient 
 Greece, and of those which the Romans adopted from her in 
 imitation. 
 
 We must introduce an important remark here, relative to the 
 variety of mythological, heroical, and even historical subjects. 
 These subjects, especially the first and second, seem to form a 
 mythology and heroic history distinct from those of the Greek 
 poets and prose writers. We find on the vases, persons not men- 
 tioned in ancient writers ; entire scenes, also, which cannot be 
 explained by any written tradition, or which are represented with 
 circumstances which history has not handed down to us. We 
 must further remark, that the mythology of the poets is not 
 always in harmony with that of the prose writers ; and among the 
 poets themselves, that of the lyric writers is frequently different 
 from that of the tragic poets. Traditions must have changed; 
 and, perhaps, at the period of the great writers of Greece, there 
 was established, amidst this confusion, a kind of eclecticism, which 
 left the poet, the mythograph, etc., the Hberty of choosing among 
 those traditions whatever suited best the aim and nature of the 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 13 
 
 poem, or whatever appeared most likely. Painted vases, especially 
 the most ancient, which arc anterior to these writers, give us in- 
 formation which we do not receive from ancient writers : this gives 
 to their study a great degree of importance and interest : further, 
 they represent, in the most authentic manner, the genuine history 
 of art among the Greeks from its origin until it reached perfection. 
 "' As to the uses of these vases, there have been a variety of 
 opinions; but a careful examination of a great number of vases 
 would lead us to suppose that many were, doubtless, articles of 
 household furniture, for use and adornmenc, such as the larger 
 vases, destined, by their size, weight, and form, to remain in the 
 same place, while others, of different sizes and shapes, were made 
 to hold wine and other liquids, unguents, and perfumes. It is 
 evident that they were more for ornament than use, and that they 
 were considered as objects of art, for the paintings seem to havie 
 been executed by the best artists of the period. Those with 
 Panathenaic subjects were probably given, full of oil, as prizes at 
 the national games. Others may have been given at the palaestric 
 festivals, or as nuptial presents, or as pledges of love and friend- 
 ship ; and these are marked by some appropriate inscription. We 
 find that they were also used in the ceremonies of the Mysteries, 
 for we see their forms represented on the vases themselves : 
 Bacchus frequently holds a cantharus. Satyrs carry a diota. A 
 few seem to have been expressly for sepulchral purposes. Some 
 have supposed that these vases were intejaded to hold the ashes of 
 the dead; but this could not have been their use, for they are 
 only found in tombs in which the bodies have been buried without 
 being burnt. The piety of the relations adorned the tomb of the 
 deceased With those vases, together with his armour and jewellery, 
 which they had prized most in life, which were associated with 
 
14 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 their habits, or recalled circumstances the memory of which they 
 cherished."^ This custom has handed them down to our times. 
 The custom is supposed to have ceased when Roman sovereignty 
 was established throughout Italy and Sicily. The Romans,, burn- 
 ing their dead, and never adopting the custom of burying vases in 
 tombs, by their influence must have brought them into disuse, 
 and, consequently, their manufacture ceased. Kramer thinks that 
 there are no painted vases of a later date than the Second Punic 
 War. 
 
 It is very remarkable, that no ancient author, not even Pliny, 
 has noticed painted vases, although they seem to have been in such 
 general use : nor is there any passage known expressly relative 
 to these vases. Suetonius, indeed, tells us that the colonies es- 
 tablished at Capua by Julius Csesar, destroyed, when building 
 country houses, the most ancient tombs, especially as they found 
 in them ancient vases (aliquantum vasculorum operis antiqui referie- 
 bant). In the opinion of Boettiger, vascula can only be applied 
 
 * That it was the custom in ancient times to place in tombs the vases that 
 were dear to the deceased, we find from the following passage of Vitruvius : — 
 "Virgo civis Corinthia jam matura nuptiis, implicita morbo decessit : post 
 sepulturam ejus, quibus ea viva poculis delectabatur, nutrix coUecta et com- 
 posita in calatho pertulit ad monumentum et in summo coUocavit ; et uti ea 
 permauerent diutius sub divo, tegula texit." — Vitkdvius, lib. iv., cap. 1. In a 
 passage of an ancient author, quoted by Athenaeus, lib. xi., cap. 1, we find a 
 similar custom mentioned : — NeKvy ;^a/xat(rTpc«)rors fin tivos tvpfirjs (rTt/3aSov, 
 TrpotOrjKfv avTois daXfiav re to TTorepia re (TTf(f)avovf reiriKpaaiv edrjKev. " The 
 corpse being stretched on the ground, and placed on a thick bed of leaves, 
 they placed near it meats, drinking cups, and they placed a chaplet on its 
 head." In the early periods of Chinese history a similar custom seems to 
 have prevailed of interring with the dead, vases, which reposed with them for 
 ages. These vases were conferred as marks of honour by the prince, and 
 other illustrious personages, for services rendered to the state. — Vide Thorns 
 on Ancient Chinese Vases of the Bhang Dynasty, from 1743 to 1496, B.c. 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 15 
 
 to vases of bronze ; however, as Suetonius speaks of the tombs of 
 Capua in particular, and as there are still painted vases found 
 there, and that no bronze vases are ever found in the tombs, it is 
 very likely that the phrase of Suetonius can be applied to the 
 painted vases which are still found there in such numbers. The 
 Romans might then have known them ; and this opinion seems to 
 be justified by the following observation. The Greeks of Italy 
 buried their dead without burning them ; for this reason, human 
 ashes have never been found in vases in Greek tombs, the vases 
 were placed by the side of the corpse stretched out on the ground. 
 However, some vases have been discovered full of ashes and half- 
 burnt bones ; and, as it was the custom of the Romans to burn the 
 dead, it has been inferred that the vase at first deposited empty in 
 a Greek tomb, had been taken out of it, and that afterwards it 
 was used as a cinerary urn for a Roman. These substitutions were 
 not rare in ancient times ; there is, in the museum of the Louvre, 
 a vase in Oriental alabaster, executed in Egypt, which bears the 
 name of Xerxes in hieroglyphic and cuneiform characters, which 
 was at a later period employed as a cinerary urn for a member of 
 the Roman family Claudia, as the Latin inscription shews engraved 
 on the side of the vase, the other side bearing the Egyptian and 
 Persian inscription. 
 
 We could not but feel astonished at the perfect preservation of 
 such fragile objects, did we not know that they were found in 
 tombs. The tombs in which they are found, are placed near the 
 walls, but outside the town, at a slight depth, except those of 
 Nola, where the eruptions of Vesuvius have considerably raised 
 the soil, since the period when the tombs were made, so that some 
 of the tombs of Nola are about twenty-one feet under ground. 
 The common tombs are built of brick or of rough stones, and are 
 
16 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 exactly of sufficient size to contain a corpse and five or six vases ; 
 a small one is placed near the head, and the others between the 
 legs of the body, or they are ranged on each side, frequently on 
 the left side alone. The number and beauty of the vases vary 
 probably according to the rank and fortune of the owner of the 
 tomb. The tombs of the first class are larger, and have been 
 built with large cut stones, and rarely connected with cement; 
 the walls inside are coated with stucco, and adorned with paint- 
 ings j these tombs resemble a small chamber ; the corpse is laid 
 out in the middle, the vases are placed round it, frequently some 
 others are hung up to the walls on nails of bronze."^ The number 
 of vases is always greater in these tombs ; they are also of a more 
 elegant form. Several other articles are sometimes found in the 
 tombs, such as gold and silver fibulae, swords, spears, armour, and 
 several ornaments. The objects buried with the corpse generally 
 bespeak the tastes and occupation of the deceased. Warriors are 
 found with their armour, women with ornaments for the toilet, 
 priests with their sacerdotal ornaments, as in the tomb at Cervetri. 
 When the vases are taken out of the excavations, they are covered 
 with a coating of whitish earth, something like tartar, and of a 
 calcareous nature ; it disappears on the application of aqua fortis. 
 This operation ought to be done with great caution ; for though 
 the aqua fortis does not injure the black varnish, it might destroy 
 some of the other colors. Some of these vases are as well pre- 
 served as if they had just issued from the hands of the potter, 
 others have been greatly injured by the earthy salts with which 
 they have come in contact ; many are found broken, these have 
 been put together and restored with great skill. But this work of 
 restoration, especially if the artist adds any details which are not 
 
 * See Plate I. 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 17 
 
 visible on the original, might alter or metamorphose a subject, 
 and the archaeologist ought to set little value on these modern 
 additions, in the study of a painted vase. 
 
 The first manufactories of these vases are supposed to have been 
 established not far from the shores of the sea, as in Sicily, Cala- 
 bria, Campania, and Etruria. The vases of more ancient style, 
 with black figures, are more frequently found at these places. At 
 a later period, manufactories were established more in the interior 
 of the country, on plains and on hills, as at St. Agata de Goti, in 
 la Puglia, in Basilicata, and near Naples. Among judges, the vases 
 most to be preferred are those which are of the manufacture of 
 Locri in Calabria, of Agrigentum in Sicily ; those of Cuma, of 
 Capua, and of Nola in Campania ; and those of Vulci and Canino 
 in the Roman States. In those places, where manufactories were 
 established at a later period, many excellent vases with beautiful 
 compositions have been frequently found, but not in that simple 
 and elegant style which was peculiar to the Greeks. Several 
 imitations have been made of ancient vases, either through a love 
 of art or for the purpose of deceit, the first may be considered 
 praiseworthy, as it has contributed considerably to bring to per- 
 fection modern pottery ; the second, as highly censurable, for even 
 experienced connoisseurs have been deceived. Pietro Fondi, who 
 had established his manufactories at Venice and at Corfu, was 
 remarkable for his success in this kind of deceit. The family 
 Vasari, at Arezzo, manufactured vases of this kind; there are 
 several of them in the gallery at Florence. Of this kind of de- 
 ception there are several kinds. Sometimes the vase is ancient 
 but the painting is modern, frequently details and inscriptions are 
 added to the ancient painting ; but the difference of the style of 
 drawing, the multiplicity of details, the nails indicated on the 
 
18 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 haucls and feet, betray the fraud, as well as the coarseness of the 
 earth which makes the vases heavier, and the metallic lustre of 
 the varnish. The test which the colours of the false vases are made 
 to undergo is also decisive ; if colours mixed with water or alcohol 
 have been employed, it is sufficient to pass a little water or spirits 
 of wine over them to make them disappear ; the ancient colours 
 having been baked with the vases resist this test. In modern 
 times, imitations have been made by the celebrated Wedgwood, 
 remarkable alike for their elegance and taste. 
 
 Several collections have been formed of these vases. The 
 British Museum contains the finest collections, purchased by 
 government from Sir William Hamilton and others. The Museum 
 at Naples, and the Gregorian Museum in the Vatican, also con- 
 tain many beautiful specimens from Magna Graecia and Etruria. 
 Several amateurs have also formed collections in England, France 
 and Italy. We may mention those of Rogers, Hope, Sir Harry 
 Englefield, in England; those of the Due de Blacas, the Comte 
 Pourtales, in France ; and that of the Marquis Campana, in Rome. 
 Some of these collections have been published, such as the first 
 collection of Sir William Hamilton, explained by d'Hancarville ; 
 the second by Tischbein. Several works have also been published, 
 giving detailed accounts of painted vases in general; we shall 
 only give the principal : — 
 
 Passer! , " Picturae Etruscorum inVasculis," Rome, 1767, 3 vols, 
 fol. ; " Collection of Engravings from Ancient Vases, in the 
 possession of Sir William Hamilton," by Tischbein, Naples 1798 — 
 1803, 4 vols. C. Bottiger, '' Griechische Vasengemalde," Weimar, 
 1 797, 1800 ; " Peintures de Vases Antiques," A. Millin, public par 
 Dubois Maisonneuve, Paris, 1808,2 vols., fol.; Millingen, "Peintures 
 de Vases Grecques,'^ Rome, 1813, fol. ; Panofka, " Raccolta di 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 19 
 
 Vasi Scelti," Rome, 1826 ; Dubois Maisonneuve, " Introduction a 
 I'Etude de Vases Antiques/' Paris^ 1817, fol. ; Gerhard, " Berlins 
 Antike Bildwerke"; and Kramer's work, " Ueber den Styl und die 
 Herkunft der vermahlten Griecli.," Berlin, 1827. 8vo. 
 
 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 We shall now give descriptions of these painted vases according to 
 their several styles or epochs, illustrations of which we have given 
 at the end of the volume. 
 
 E-ARLY OR Egyptian.* 
 
 The ground is of a pale yellow, on which the figures are painted 
 in black or brown. These consist chiefly of animals, such as lions, 
 rams, stags, swans, cocks, sphinxes, and other chimaeras, arranged 
 in several bands round the vase. Borders of flowers also, and 
 other ornaments, run round them. Human figures are rarely 
 met with. This style has been termed Egyptian, in consequence 
 of its obvious resemblance to that rigid style of art peculiar to 
 Egypt. The inner outlines of the figures are traced in the clay 
 with a pointed instrument. In consequence of these vases ex- 
 hibiting animals not natives of Italy, and as the clay of which they 
 are made has been in vain sought for in Italy, some have been led 
 to infer that the vases of this epoch found in Italy have been 
 imported by the Greeks. The date generally assigned to them is 
 between b.c. 660 and 520. 
 
 * Specimens of this style we give in Plate II. 
 
20 EPOCHS OV PAINTED VASES. 
 
 Archaic Greek.* 
 
 In this style, the figures are black on a red ground. The design is 
 stiff, hard, and severe ; yet at times there is a degree of spirit evinced, 
 evidently indicating a progress in the development of the art. 
 The scenes represented, are taken from the Hellenic Mythology. 
 The class of subjects is, however, numerous, for we find some of 
 Dionysiac character. Another is Panathenaic, of which there is a 
 remarkable specimen, representing Minerva brandishing her lance, 
 which, from the inscription it bears, is supposed to have been given 
 as a prize in the public games. They are generally supposed to 
 have been made previous to the year b.c. 430. 
 
 Severe or Transitional.! 
 
 In the vases of this class, the figures are red on a black ground. 
 White is seldom used. Although the colour of these vases and 
 their figures present a striking contrast to those of the first two 
 classes, yet the character of their designs vanishes and gives way 
 to the beautiful, so that they might be ranked in the fourth class. 
 The harshness and violence of movement so striking in the archaic 
 vases gradually disappear, and make way for a calm and severe 
 dignity. The artists, however, did not yet work with perfect 
 freedom, and the designs are rather stiff'. The subjects repre- 
 sented, are the same as those on the vases of the second class. 
 The forms of the vases have something more elegant than those of 
 the second class, although they present great variations in style 
 and size. They occur most frequently in Etruria and at Nola; 
 
 * See Plate III. f A specimen of this style we give in Plate IV. 
 
EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 21 
 
 they contain inscriptions in characters of a middle kind between 
 the archaic mode of Avriting and the later one. The period com- 
 monly assigned to works of this class, is from b.c. 460 to 420. 
 
 The Beautiful, or Greek.* 
 
 This style is the more perfect development of the former, all 
 severity and conventionality which distinguishes the earlier styles, 
 having entirely disappeared. The distinguishing characteristics of 
 this style are elegance of form, fineness of material, brilliancy of 
 varnish and exquisite beauty of design. The predominating 
 subjects are Greek myths, or representations of Greek manners ; 
 but scenes connected with the worship of Demeter and Dionysos 
 are of frequent occurrence. The most common form of the vases 
 of this kind, is that of the slender amphora, the round hydria, 
 and the crater. Vases of this style appear to belong to the period 
 beginning with the year b.c. 400. They are seldom found in 
 Etruria, and the most frequently in Nola, Sicily and Attica. 
 
 Decadence. t 
 This class of vases is rarely found in Etruria, but abundant in 
 the Greek colonies of Italy, especially in the districts of Puglia 
 and Basilicata. Like the last class, it has yellow figures on a 
 black ground, but differs widely in style. The vases are often of 
 enormous size, and exaggerated proportions. The multitude of 
 figures introduced, the complexity of the composition, the in- 
 feriority and carelessness of the design, the flourish and lavishment 
 of decoration, in a word, the absence of that chasteness and purity 
 
 * See Plate V. t See Plate VI. 
 
22 EPOCHS OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 which gave the perfect style its chief charm, indicate these vases 
 to belongs if not always to the period of Decadence, at least to the 
 verge of it. 
 
 At a later period,''^ we may remark a still greater deterioration 
 in the arts of design, while more capricious forms were invented. 
 "We must also remark the latest period of the artf; for at that 
 epoch several imitations of the vases of earlier epochs were made. 
 Among these, we frequently find imitations of the first epoch, but 
 the clay is coarse, and difierent from that of the genuine. We 
 also find imitations of the second and third epochs; but their 
 forms are ill-proportioned, and destitute of taste. 
 
 * See Plate VII. t See Plate VIII. 
 
SHAPES OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 We first give Mr. Dennis' arrangement, after the nomenclature of 
 Gerhard, of these vases in classes, according to the purposes they 
 served. We then give a list of their several shapes, with the names 
 by which they are known in England, and also with the names 
 they are given in Italian Museums : — 
 
 Class I. — Vases for holding wine, oil, or water — amphora, 
 
 pelice, stamnos. 
 II. — Vases for carrying water — hydria, calpis. 
 III. — Vases for mixing wine and water — crater, celebe, 
 
 oxybaphon. 
 IV. — Vases for pouring wine, etc., jugs — oenochoe, olpe, 
 
 prochous. 
 V. — Vases for drinking- cups and goblets — cantharus, 
 
 cyathus, carchesion, holcion, scyphus, cylix, le- 
 
 paste, phiale, ceras, rhyton. 
 VI. — Vases for ointments or perfumes — lecythus, alabas- 
 
 tron, ascos, bombylios, aryballos, cotyliscos. 
 
 English Nomenclatuee. Italian Nomenclature. 
 
 1 Amphora with handles, with cir- OUa co manichi a girelle. 
 
 cular ornaments. 
 
 2 Amphora. OUa spherica con bocca sporta e 
 
 manichi a girelle. 
 
 3 Amphora with handles, as volutes, OUa con manichi a volnte. 
 
24 
 
 SHAPES OF PAINTED VASES. 
 
 English Nomenclature. 
 
 4 Amphora with handles, with faces 
 
 on them. 
 
 5 Pelice. 
 
 6 Amphora. 
 
 7 Amphora with arched handles. 
 
 8 Thymaterion. 
 
 9 Olpe. 
 
 10 Crater. 
 
 11 Oxybaphon. 
 
 12 Oenochoe. 
 
 13 Stamnos. 
 
 14 Hydria. 
 
 15 Calpis. 
 
 16 Vase with twisted handles. 
 
 17 Celebe. 
 
 18 Situla. 
 
 19 Likanis. 
 
 20 Thymaterion. 
 
 21 Pyxis. 
 
 22 Cyhx. 
 
 23 Lepaste. 
 
 24 Pinax. 
 
 25 Cantharus. 
 26 
 
 27 Alabastron, or unguent-pot. 
 
 28 Ehyton. 
 
 29 Prochous. 
 
 30 Bombylios. 
 
 31 Ai'yballos. 
 
 32 Cymbe. 
 
 33 Lecythus. 
 
 34 Cyathus. 
 
 35 Holcion. 
 
 36 Scyphus. 
 
 37 Ascos. 
 
 38 Vase with cover. 
 
 Italian Nomenclature. 
 OUa CO manichi a mascheroni. 
 
 Idria. 
 
 Langella. 
 
 Langella con manico iuarcato. 
 
 Ingensiere, or candelabrum. 
 
 Urceolo. 
 
 Calice. 
 
 Campana. 
 
 Prefericolo o Nasiterno. 
 
 OUa. 
 
 OUa o vaso vinario. 
 
 OUa o canopo. 
 
 OUa CO manichi anuodati. 
 
 OUa CO manichi a colonnette. 
 
 OUa a secchia. 
 
 Patera col coverchio. 
 
 Turibolo. 
 
 Tazza con manichi. 
 
 Patera. 
 
 Patera. 
 
 Piatto. 
 
 Tazza co manichi inarcati. 
 
 Salsiera. 
 
 Prefericolo o unguentario. 
 
 Kiton. 
 
 Prefericolo a becco. 
 
 Balsamario, 
 
 Balsamario con manico. 
 
 Balsamario senza manico. 
 
 Lagrimale. 
 
 ScudeUa. 
 
 Bicchiere. 
 
 Tazza con manichi orizzontali. 
 
 Unguentario. 
 
 Urna col coverchio. 
 
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