Study Guide: Reading Greek Vases

Technique

Greek vases were invariably made out of local clays, which were often red in color.
Pots were molded on a wheel, sometimes in sections.
Handles were molded separately and fixed last before decoration took place.
Smaller pots were also turned on a lathe to refine thickness and shape.
After the pot was made, it was ready to be decorated. It was then fired in a kiln.

Black-figure vases invented around 700 BCE in Corinth consisted of the addition of an extra layer of clay (a ‘slip’) with added soda or potash. The pot was then fired in the kiln. When the temperature reached around 800 degrees Celsius, the vents to the kiln were closed, and the red iron oxide in the slip changed to black iron oxide. Essentially a smooth glass-like film formed as the clay melted at higher temperatures. While the body of the vase returned to its original red color, the slip turned into a lustrous black paint.
The black-figure vase painter then used incising tools to scratch away the black paint. This technique created details on the silhouetted figures, set against the red clay of the body of the vase.
Sometimes white and purple enhancements created through pigment and clay mixes were added.

In red-figure vases the scheme was reversed. These red-figure vases started around 530 BCE in Athens.
A preliminary sketch was made in the clay with a blunt tool. The figures were then drawn in outline, first with a narrow line, then with a broader stripe.
The figures remained in the color of the clay against the painted black slip.
The contours and inner lines were drawn in glaze with a brush to articulate the figures. They often stood out in slight relief.
To differentiate the less significant lines from the more important, the former were drawn in diluted glaze, and the resultant golden brown color contrasted effectively with the full black of the contours.
The use of the brush allowed greater figures to be rendered with greater sensitivity, precision, and delineation.

The white-ground technique was developed late in the 6th century BCE.
A slip of calcareous clay (a clay heavy in calcium carbonate) was applied to the vase and subsequently painted.
In a later development a white wash was applied to the clothing or flesh of the figures being represented.
Due to the granular nature of the slip, it would often rub off and the colors would fade.
Because of its temporary nature, the white-ground technique was typically reserved for funerary lekythoi, which were not on public display.