228 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[October 1, 1897. 



method of decoration {sec Fig. 4). Finally, pottery ia 

 only represented by the so-called Samian or Aretine 

 fabrics, which do not come within the scope of our present 

 subject. 



We have treated the subject from the historical point of 

 view at considerable length, but it was necessary to do 

 this in order to throw light on the various phases through 

 which Greek vase painting passed to its final extinction. 

 We now turn to the discussion of the chief characteristics 

 of the vases of this period. 



There are certain common features which all may be 

 said to display. There is throughout a perpetual striving 



Fig. 2. — Krater (Mixing Bowl), of Apiilian fabric, made for use 

 in funeral ceremonies, with scene representing two mourners 

 bringing offerings to the tomb, in front of which is a statue of the 

 dead man. About 300 B.C. 



after effect rather than beauty, either in the actual size of 

 the vases — in largeness of style and bold drawing — or by 

 means of gaudy colouring, or, in the latest examples, by 

 variety and exaggeration of shape. Common to all alike 

 is the fondness for ornamental patterns, such as laurel or 

 ivy wreaths, mreander, and palmettes ; but every shape of 

 vase has its characteristic decoration. The shapes present 

 a very great variety compared with the last period ; the 

 most consistently popular is the bell- shaped krater (mixing 

 bowl) with small side handles. Another variety of the 

 krater is of great size, with very elaborate handles and a 

 profusion of decoration ; while another, which is pecuUar 



to Lucania, has four handles, two vertical and two hori- 

 zontal. Many of the amphora^ are also of gigantic size 

 and highly decorated. The Athenian kylix disappears 

 entirely and its place is taken by the phiale, a large 

 shallow bowl, which was probably intended for hanging 

 up against the wall, and found favour in the houses of the 

 rich as a means of internal decoration. We have two new 

 varieties of vases for holding sweetmeats, consisting of 

 jars and dishes with covers. The drinking vessels and 

 oil flasks show great variety of form, especially in the 

 later examples, one popular form being the rhyton, a 

 drinking-horn ending in the head of an animal. 



As regards the method of decoration, it is, generally 

 speaking, that of the last period, with red figures on black 

 ground ; but all ideas of simplicity and refinement are 

 lost, and the same tendency to exaggeration and showiuess 

 ia seen in the choice of colours as in the drawing. In 

 many vases, even of the better style, large masses of white 

 are laid on. Yellow is also largely used for enhancing 

 details, and purple is not uncommon. Occasionally attempts 

 are made at shading. TI13 figures on the reverse of vasea 

 with double subjects are always drawn and painted with 

 great carelessness, as if they were not intended to be much 

 seen. The drawing is entirely free, and, in fact, errs on 

 the other side, as it tends to become careless and faulty ; 

 the forms are soft, and the male figures often effeminate. 

 Extreme facility of hand has become the ruin of the artist. 

 Moreover, a love of the far-fetched betrays itself in variety 

 of posture and elaborate foreshortening ; while fanciful 

 and richly embroidered draperies recall theatrical costumes, 

 and must often have been copied from them. Frequent 

 attempts are made at perspective, but they are seldom 

 successful. As a rule, the artist is content to indicate 

 figures in the background by placing them on a higher 

 level, or only showing the upper half of them. Landscape 

 is represented by rocks and flowers scattered about, trees, 

 and buildings ; but in most cases the painter prefers merely 

 to give a clue to the scene by objects suspended in the 

 air. 



It is probable that the artists of this period were largely 

 influenced by the great (Ireek painters of the fifth and 

 fourth centuries. The efl'ect of many of the scenes on 

 the larger vases is distinctly pictorial, and the subjects in 

 many cases lead our thoughts directly back to themes 

 which we know to have been employed by Zeuxis and other 

 great masters. In the British Museum collection is a vase 

 with the subject of the infant Herakles strangling the 

 snakes, which corresponds closely with Pliny's description 

 of a picture of Zeuxis ; and another represents the death 

 of Hippolytos much as described by a writer named 

 PhUostratos in reference to a picture in a gallery at Naples. 

 Again, in the latest vases we are often reminded of the 

 fresco paintings characteristic of the Hellenistic age, of 

 which the wall decorations at Pompeii give us a very fair 

 idea. 



Another influence at work was that of the stage, in which 

 both tragedy and comedy play their part. The influence 

 of tragedy, as represented on the Greek stage, is seen not 

 only in the choice of subjects, but in the composition of 

 the scenes and the costumes of the figures. The archi- 

 tectural arrangements of some scenes, with a temple, altar, 

 or statue in the centre, the elaborately embroidered 

 draperies, and the abundance of dramatic action, can only 

 be due to the influence of the stage. It is to Euripides 

 that this is chiefly to be ascribed, as there appears to have 

 been a great revival of his plays about the beginning of the 

 third century in Magna Grrecia ; moreover, the tendency 

 of the age to passion and pathos, as seen in such sculptures 

 as the Laocoon group, would naturally find an echo in the 



