Chapter XVII

.). In modern times we have no information about the prices paid for these works of art till about seventy years ago, when they began to realise considerable sums. In this country the collections of Mr. Towneley, Sir W. Hamilton, Lord Elgin, and Mr. Payne Knight all contained painted vases; but as they included other objects, it is difficult to determine the value placed on the vases. The sum of £8,400 was paid for the vases of the Hamilton collection, one of the most remarkable of the time, and consisting of many beautiful specimens from Southern Italy. The great discoveries of the Prince of Canino in 1827, and the subsequent sale of numerous vases, gave them, however, a definite market value, to which the sale of the collection of Baron Durand, which consisted almost entirely of vases, affords some clue. His collection sold in 1836 for 313,160 francs, or about £12,524. The most valuable specimen in the collection was the vase representing the death of Kroisos (Fig. 132), which was purchased for the Louvre at the price of 6,600 francs, or £264. The cup with the subject of Arkesilaos (p. 342) brought 1,050 francs, or £42. Another magnificent vase, now in the Louvre, with the subject of the youthful Herakles strangling the serpents,[70] was only secured for France after reaching the price of 6,000 francs, or £240; another, with the subject of Herakles, Deianeira, and Hyllos,[71] was purchased for the sum of 3,550 francs, or £142. A krater, with the subject of Akamas and Demophon bringing back Aithra, was obtained by Magnoncourt for 4,250 francs, or £170.[72] An amphora of the maker Exekias (B 210) was bought by the British Museum for £142. The inferior vases of course realised much smaller sums, varying from a few francs to a few pounds; but high prices continued to be obtained, and the sale by the Prince of Canino in 1837 of some of his finest vases contributed to enrich the museums of Europe, although, as many of the vases were bought in, it does not afford a good criterion as to price. An oinochoë with Apollo and the Muses, and a hydria, with the same subject, were bought in for 2,000 francs, or £80 each. A kylix, with a love scene, and another with Priam redeeming Hektor’s corpse,[73] brought 6,600 francs, or £264. An amphora with the subject of Dionysos, and the Euphronios cup with Herakles and Geryon (Plate XXXVIII.), sold for 8,000 francs, or £320 each. A vase with the subject of Theseus seizing Korone (Chap. XIV.), another by Euthymides with the arming of Paris, and a third with Peleus and Thetis, sold for 6,000 francs, or £240. The collector Steuart was offered 7,500 francs, or £300, for a large krater, found in Southern Italy, ornamented with the subject of Kadmos and the dragon; £120 was paid by the British Museum for a fine krater ornamented with the exploits of Achilles[74]; £100 for an amphora of Apulian style, with the subject of Pelops and Oinomaos at the altar of the Olympian Zeus.[75] For another vase, with the name of Mousaios, £120 was paid, and £100 for the well-known Athenian prize vase excavated by Burgon.[76] At Mr. Beckford’s sale the Duke of Hamilton gave £200 for a lekythos representing a procession of Persians, which is now in the British Museum (E 695). At Naples the passion for possessing fine vases outstripped these prices; 2,400 ducats, or £500, was given for a vase with gilded figures discovered at Capua. Still more incredible, early in the nineteenth century, 8,000 ducats, or £1,500, was paid to Vivenzio for the vase now in the Naples Museum representing the sack of Troy; 6,000 ducats, or £1,000, for one with a Dionysiac feast; and 4,000 ducats, or £800, for the grand vase with the battle of the Amazons, published by Schulz.[77] Another vase, for which the sum of £1,000 was paid, was the so-called Capo di Monte Vase, purchased by Mr. Edwards, at Naples.[78] For the large colossal vases of Southern Italy from £300 to £500 has been given, according to their condition and style. But such sums will not be hereafter realised, now that their place in the estimation of the connoisseur has been rightly taken by the fine red-figured or white ground vases, which, owing to the stringency of modern laws, seldom now find their way into the market. The vases with white grounds and polychrome figures have also been always much sought after, and have realised large prices, the best-preserved examples fetching as much as £70 or £100.[79] Generally the highest prices have been paid for artistic merit, but these have been surpassed in the case of some vases of high literary or historical value. As a general rule vases with inscriptions have always been most sought after, especially when the inscriptions are the signatures of the names of potters or artists, or names of historical interest. The inferior kinds have fetched prices much more moderate, the kylikes averaging from £5 to £10, the amphorae from £10 to £20, the hydriae about the same; the kraters from £5 to £20, according to their general excellence, the oinochoae about £5, and other shapes from a few shillings to a few pounds. The charming glaze and shapes of the vases discovered at Nola have often obtained good prices from amateurs. Those of Greece Proper have also fetched higher prices than those of Italy, on account of the interest attached to the place of their discovery.[80]

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We propose now to give a survey of the principal localities in which the fictile products of the Greeks have been discovered, and the excavations which have taken place on these sites. It need hardly be said, however, that it is quite impossible to detail all the places where specimens of common pottery have been found.

[Illustration: FIG. 5. MAP OF GREECE.]

I. GREECE

We naturally begin with Greece, following the geographical order observed by Jahn,[81] as the mainland and centre of Hellenic civilisation; and since Athens was not only the principal, for many years the only, centre of the manufacture of Greek vases, but has also been the most prolific source of recent discoveries, it is to Athens that we first turn our attention.

=Athens= was duly celebrated in ancient times as the chief home of the ceramic industry.[82] The clay of Cape Kolias is eulogised by Suidas for its excellent qualities, and the extent of the Κεραμεικός, or potters’ quarter, is still visible beyond the Dipylon gate. One of the earliest painted vases found on Attic soil was the famous Panathenaic amphora discovered by Burgon in 1813 outside the Acharnian gate, and now in the British Museum.[83] The tomb in which it was found also contained remains of burnt bones, a lekythos, and other small vases. The subjects are: on one side Athena brandishing a spear, with the inscription [ΤΟΝ] [ΑΘΕΝΕΘΕΝ] [ΑΘΛΟΝ] [ΕΜΙ], “I am a prize from the games at Athens”; on the other, a man driving a _biga_, or two-horse chariot. The date is usually considered to be about 560 B.C. It was rightly identified by the early writers as one of the prize-vases described by Pindar in the passage we have quoted elsewhere (p. 132), and was the means of identifying many other vases similarly painted and inscribed, but found on other sites, as belonging to the same class. A considerable number of vases found on Greek soil, mostly at Athens, were published by Stackelberg in 1837,[84] but little was done for many years in the way of systematic excavation. The National Museum was opened shortly after the declaration of Greek independence, and assisted by royal benefactions. The law forbidding the export of antiquities has now been in force for many years, but unfortunately has had a bad as well as a good effect, in that the vendors of surreptitious finds are wont to give imaginary accounts of the circumstances of their discoveries, in order to screen themselves.

To give anything like a description of the vases found at Athens would be useless here, where so many classes are illustrated by the finds; it may, however, be worth while to note a few of the most typically Athenian groups of pottery. (1) Earliest in date are the Dipylon vases, which were found outside the gate of that name, and have from their conspicuous character given a name to a whole class. They are, however, fully treated of in