in a great measure they must have been regarded as part of the furniture of the tomb, without any special thought of their original significance.

Vases were also used for dedications in temples, and in some cases large deposits of fragments of pottery from such dedications have been discovered by excavators. Thus Naucratis, a Greek

city established in the Delta of Egypt, apparently in the seventh century B.C., has furnished a large number of fragments of pottery which were found in heaps close to the ruins of the Temples of Apollo and Aphroditè. Many of these fragments bear incised inscriptions recording the dedication of the vases of which they formed a part to those deities (see p. 208). So also excavations on

Fig. 80.-Lebes on stand.

Fig. 81.-Lebes.

the Acropolis of Athens and beside the great altar at Delphi have brought to light many remains of painted vases.

There is also evidence that painted vases were used in daily life, for the banquet, and other purposes, and no doubt many vases that have been preserved to us in the tombs were originally so used. one group of vases, we know that they were given as prizes to the victors in the Panathenaic games (see below, p. 224).

Of

The shapes of the vases vary considerably in the different periods of the art. Certain shapes that are familiar in the earliest stage disappear altogether, and are superseded by others of a more elegant form. On the whole, as the art progresses there is a

Fig. 82.-Stamnos.

Fig. 83.-Psycter.

tendency towards vases of a larger size, and more fanciful handles. The accompanying illustrations will serve to show the principal types and their technical names. The use of the technical names is convenient, since they give a more precise idea than the cor

responding English words. There is considerable doubt as to how an ancient Greek would have used some of the more unusual names, but a fair uniformity of practice has been established among archaeologists.

The Amphora (fig. 77) is a two-handled vase for storing liquids. (a) Earlier type. (b) Late Campanian Amphora.

The Hydria (fig. 78) is a pitcher for carrying water (cf. p. 220), and has three handles. (a) Earlier form. (b) Later form.

The Crater (fig. 79) is a wide-mouthed vessel in which wine and

008

water were mixed for immediate use. (a) The Crater with medallion handles (late Italian). (b) Bell-crater.

The Lebes (figs. 80, 81) is a bowl, often but not necessarily supported by a stand. The Stamnos (fig. 82) is a rather squat jar with two handles.

The Psycter* or wine-cooler (fig. 83) is a peculiar and rather rare form.

Among the smaller vases the most frequent shapes are :

Fig. 87.-Aryballos.

=

Fig. 88.-Alabastron.

Fig. 89.-Cantharos.

* Amphora, au¤opeús ἀμφι-φορεύς (φέρω), with two handles'; Hydria, iopía, water-pot' (dwp); Crater (kpaтhp), 'mixing-vessel' (кeрávννμι); Lebes, Xéẞns, caldron; Stamnos, orάuvos, a standing-vessel (root σTa-); Psycter, YUKTHP, Cooling-vessel (úxw); Oinochoè (oivoxón), wine-pourer (olvos, xéw); Kylix, Kúλ (Kvéw, to contain); Skyphos, σKúpоs, perhaps as last; Phialè Mesomphalos, φιάλη μεσόμφαλος, a cup with central navel (μέσος ὀμφαλός); Lekythos, Aryballos, Alabastron, Cantharos, Cotylè, words of doubtful origin.

The Oinochoè (figs. 84, 85), a jug for pouring wine.

The Lekythos (fig. 86a-c), a slimmer jug, with a narrow neck for pouring oil slowly. The form c is intermediate between the Lekythos and the Aryballos.

The Aryballos (fig. 87) is a small round-bellied jug, used for oil. The Alabastron (fig. 88) is a long narrow vase, with small ears, for holding ointment or perfume.

The Cantharos (fig. 89) is a drinking cup with a tall stem and

two high handles. The Kylix (fig. 90) is also a drinking cup, but wide and shallow. The Skyphos or Cotylè (fig. 91) is a deep bowl for drinking wine.

The Phialè Mesomphalos (fig. 92) is a shallow bowl with a central boss, used for making libations. The central boss enables the tips of the fingers to obtain a hold underneath the phialè.

The First Vase Room shows the beginnings of the potter's art in Crete, Cyprus, and other seats of early culture. The distinctive

Fig. 91. Skyphos.

Fig. 92.-Phialè Mesomphalos.

Hellenic myths and decorations are not yet developed. In the Second Vase Room several localities are seen separately developing styles of vase painting, Hellenic in character. Among them a single style obtains predominance in the sixth century B.C. This is the style of black figures on a red ground, which was mainly practised at Athens. About the end of the sixth century the black-figure style was in turn superseded by red figures on a dark ground. Vases in this style to the end of the fifth century, that is to say, of the finest period of Greek art, occupy the Third Vase Room. In the Fourth Vase Room we have the late and florid productions

of the Italian potters, who took up and practised the art when it had almost ceased to be one of the industries of Athens. At the end of the room a small space is devoted to the later Hellenistic and Roman wares, which succeeded Greek vase painting proper.

THE FIRST VASE ROOM.

SUBJECT:

GREEK POTTERY FROM PREHISTORIC
TIMES TO ABOUT 600 B.C.

Most of the vases exhibited in this room belong to that early period of Greece which is the field of archaeology rather than of authentic written history. They must in fact themselves supply the information by which their respective periods, and the relations of the various groups, are determined. While the development of Greek pottery is perfectly clear in its main outlines from the seventh century onwards, our information for the earlier periods rests mainly on excavations carried on during the last few years at Cnossos, Mycenae, Tiryns, Rhodes and elsewhere. There are still many gaps in the record, and many differences of opinion as to the interpretation of the evidence. It would be outside the scope of this guide to discuss the doubtful questions of chronology and succession of styles which a complete study of the contents of the First Vase Room would involve. It must suffice to point out the characteristic features of the various groups which compose the collection.

The general principle which has been followed in the arrangement of the room is that the East or left hand side of the room, as you enter from the Egyptian galleries, contains the Prehistoric, Cretan and Mycenaean wares. The West or right hand side of the room contains the families of Geometric pottery-and also the large sarcophagi, which are placed here on account of necessities of space.

Cases 1-4. Prehistoric ware.

In some of the northern islands of the Greek Archipelago, in the Cyclades, in Cyprus, and especially at Hissarlik, the supposed site of Troy, excavated by Dr. Henry Schliemann, a class of antiquities has been found under circumstances which point to a remote age. The pottery is hand-made, and of a very primitive decoration, consisting of lines incised in rough geometric patterns (fig. 93).

In Cases 1-4 is exhibited a series of objects, chiefly from tombs in Paros and Antiparos, which illustrate this primitive period. Besides the pottery, the objects which specially mark the period are the vases and rude human figures in marble. The knives and implements are usually of obsidian; bronze and silver are sparingly employed, principally for ornamentation.