Part 26

The colors being laid on in a different 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 draperies, 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 exception of the figures, which were then of the color of the clay of the vase; the contours of the figures, the hair, drapery, etc., 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; some being several feet high, and broad in proportion; others being 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 on one side alone, and then there is on the reverse some insignificant subject, generally two or three 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 difference in the style of 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 colors 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 of Sir William Hamilton has been abandoned by himself, particularly since the traces of a point have been recognized, with which the artist had at first sketched on the soft clay the principal outlines, which he afterwards finished 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 excellence 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 Clitias, Doris who painted the celebrated Francois vase, Asteas, and Epictetos. Clitias 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 recognized from the word _painted_, which follows it immediately. Some vases have the potter's name inscribed on them.

One of the earliest makers was Taleides. Nearly fifty names of potters have been found, but they only occur on choice specimens of art. On many vases the name of the artist appears along with that of the potter, which much enhances the value of the vase. On the celebrated Francois vase appear the name of the artist Clitias, and the name of the potter Ergotimos. Some potters, such as Amasis and Euphronius, painted as well as made vases. Other inscriptions are sometimes 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 inscriptions 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 lesser antiquity of the vase can be recognized, 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, the double letters are replaced by the silent vowels, or single letters; these are in general signs of relative antiquity which prove that of the vase itself; secondly, because the names invariably 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 being of whom ancient writers give us no information.

The information derived from vases is of great importance for the study of Greek mythology viewed in its different epochs, and for the interpretation and understanding of ancient tragic or lyric poets. Moral or historical inscriptions, in prose and in verse, have also been 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 in black or white with a brush, sometimes they are incised with a very sharp point.

On some which had been gifts to some "beautiful youths," we find the inscription, "the handsome boy," and also the form, "the handsome Onetorides," "the handsome Stroibos." One youth is called "the most handsome Hippocritus." The names of females, whether brides, beauties, or hetairæ, are found accompanied with the expression, "the lovely Oenanthe," "the fair Rodon." On others, salutatory expressions are sometimes found, such as "Hail to thee;" "Happy as possible."

The subjects represented on painted vases, although of infinite variety, may be reduced to three classes, which include them all: 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 knowledge of Greek mythology, in order to explain the different subjects. One of the oldest and most popular subjects in Greece was the Gigantomachia, which is found represented as a whole upon many vases, while others contain individual incidents from it.

Among the Olympic deities represented, Zeus takes a prominent part. The father of the gods, the great thunderer, seldom appears alone, but is chiefly seen in scenes from the Heracleid and the Trojan war. On the black vases, and on those of the finest style with red figures, his amorous adventures are also frequently depicted. The goddess Hera rarely appears.

Athene, the great female deity of the Ionic race, plays an important

## part in many scenes. As Pallas Athene she frequently appears;

generally on foot, but sometimes in her quadriga. Poseidon, the sea god, appears as a subordinate in many scenes, and as a protagonist in others. Apollo, Artemis, Hephæstos, Ares, Aphrodite, and Hermes, frequently appear in various scenes in the vases. The greater part of the paintings of the vases are relative to Dionysus, 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 lampadephori brandishing the long torches, the dendrophori 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 circumstances relative to their dogmas and their aim. The inferior deities also appear on the vases.

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 memorable 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 Heracleidæ.

Among the incidents represented are the opening scenes of the Iliad, the quarrel of Agamemnon and Achilles, Briseis led away by the heralds, Paris and Helen, the death of Patroclus, the grief of Achilles, the arming of Achilles, the death of Hector, Priam entreating for the corpse of Hector, the terrible scene of the last night of Troy. Many subjects from the Odyssey also occur. Incidents from the Greek drama are of common occurrence, such as the death of Agamemnon, Orestes and Pylades meeting Electra, the death of Clytemnestra, the Furies pursuing Orestes.

[Illustration: VASE REPRESENTING TROJAN WAR (_Found at Pompeii._)]

We may consider, as belonging to the class of historical vases, those with paintings relative to public and private customs; those representing games, repasts, scenic representations of combats of animals, hunting and funeral subjects.

Millingen remarks that the subjects of the paintings vary according to the period and the 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 institutions were observed with extreme care, present the ancient traditions 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.

[Illustration: VASE. (_Found at Pompeii._)]

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 adornment, 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 have been executed by the best artists of the period. They were chiefly employed for entertainments, and the banquets of the wealthy. They are seen in use in scenes painted on the vases themselves. Many, especially those of the later style, were solely used for decorative purposes, as is evident from the fact of one side only being executed with care, while the other has been neglected, both in the drawing and in the subject. Those with Panathenaic subjects were probably given full of oil, as prizes at the national games. These were called _Athla_. Certain vases bearing the inscription, "From Athens," or "Prize from Athens," seem to have been given to the victors in the pentathlon, or courses of athletic exercises in the Panathenæa. Others may have been given at the palæstric festivals, or as nuptial presents, or as pledges of love and friendship; 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 intended 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 armor and jewelry, which they had prized most in life, which were associated with their habits, or recalled circumstances the memory of which they cherished.

We could not but feel astonished at the perfect preservation of such fragile objects, did we not know that they were found in tombs. Those 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.

In Greece, the graves are generally small, being designed for single corpses, which accounts for the comparatively small size of the vases discovered in that country. At Athens the earlier graves are sunk deepest in the soil, and those at Corinth, especially such as contain the early Corinthian vases, are found by boring to a depth of several feet beneath the surface.

[Illustration: A GREEK SACRIFICE.]

The early tombs of Civita Vecchia, and Cære, or Cervetri, in Italy, are tunneled in the earth; and those at Vulci, and in the Etruscan territory, from which the finest and largest vases have been extracted, are chambers hewn in the rocks. In southern Italy, especially in Campania, the common tombs are constructed of rude stones or tiles, and are 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 paintings; 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 fibulæ, swords, spears, armor, and several ornaments. The objects buried with the corpse generally bespeak the tastes and occupation of the deceased. Warriors are found with their armor, 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.

[Illustration: 2000 YEARS OLD.]

Some of these vases are as well preserved as if they had just been 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 visible on the original, might alter or metamorphose a subject, and the archæologist ought to set little value on these modern additions, in the study of a painted vase.

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 contain many beautiful specimens from Magna Græcia and Etruria. The British Museum has about 2,600 vases of all kinds. The Museum at Naples contains about 2,100, and the Gregorian Museum at Rome about 1,000. Several amateurs have also formed collections in England, France, and Italy. We may mention those of Roger, Hope, Sir Harry Englefield, in England; those of the Duc de Blacas, the Comte Pourtales, in France; and that of the Marquis Campana, in Rome. The total number of vases in public and private collections probably amounts to 15,000 of all kinds. 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.

[Illustration: FOUND AT HILDESHEIM.]

We have mentioned before the luxurious custom, common amongst the Romans after the conquest of Greece and Asia, of having their utensils of the table, and even of the kitchen, made of solid silver. Valuable plate was of common occurrence in the houses of the rich. According to Pliny, common soldiers had the handles of their swords and their belts studded with silver; the baths of women were covered with the same valuable material, which was even used for the common implements of kitchen and scullery. Large manufactories of silver utensils were started, in which each part of the work was assigned to a special artificer; here the orders of the silver-merchants were executed. Amongst the special workmen of these manufactories were the modelers, founders, turners or polishers, chiselers, the workmen who attached the bas-reliefs to the surface of the vessel, and the gilders. Many valuable vessels have been recovered in the present century; others (for instance, several hundred silver vessels found near the old Falerii) have tracelessly disappeared. Amongst the discoveries which happily have escaped the hands of the melter, we mention the treasure of more than one hundred silver vessels, weighing together about 50 pounds, found by Berney in Normandy (1830). According to their inscriptions, these vessels belonged to the treasury of a temple of Mercury; they are at present in the late imperial library at Paris. In the south of Russia the excavations carried on in 1831, 1862, and 1863, amongst the graves of the kings of the Bosphoric empire, have yielded an astonishing number of gold and silver vessels and ornaments belonging to the third century of our era. At Pompeii fourteen silver vases were discovered in 1835; at Cære (1836) a number of silver vases (now in the Museo Gregoriano) were found in a grave. One of the most interesting discoveries was made near Hildesheim, 7th October, 1868, consisting of seventy-four eating and drinking vessels, mostly well preserved; not to speak of numerous fragments which seem to prove that only part of the original treasure has been recovered; the weight of all the vessels (now in the Antiquarium of the Royal Museum, Berlin) amounts to 107,144 lbs., some over 53 tons, of silver. The style and technical finish of the vases prove them to have been manufactured in Rome; the form of the letters of the inscriptions found on twenty-four vessels indicates the first half of the first century after Christ. The surfaces of many of them are covered with alto-relievos of beaten silver--a circumstance which traces back their origin to imperial times, distinguishing them, at the same time, from the bas-relief ornamentations of the acme of Greek art. The gilding of the draperies and weapons, and the silver color of the naked parts, in imitation, as it were, of the gold-and-ivory statues of Greek art, also indicate Roman workmanship. The annexed cuts show some of the finest pieces of this treasure. The composition of the figures on the surface of the vase in cut on page 340 shows true artistic genius; naked children are balancing themselves on water-plants growing in winding curves from a pair of griffins; some of the children attack crabs and eels with harpoons, while others drag the killed animals from the water. The graceful groups on the drinking-vessels in the above cuts are mostly taken from the Bacchic cycle of myths.

[Illustration: FOUND AT HILDESHEIM. (_Of the first century_)]

[Illustration: VASE OF THE FIRST CENTURY.]

[Illustration: VASE OF THE FIRST CENTURY.]

Besides vessels of precious metals and stones, those of glass were in favorite use among the Romans. The manufactory of glass, originating in Sidon, had reached its climax of perfection, both with regard to color and form, in Alexandria about the time of the Ptolemies. Many of these Alexandrine glasses have been preserved to us, and their beauty fully explains their superiority in the opinion of the ancients to those manufactured in Italy. Here also, after the discovery of excellent sand at Cumæ and Linternum, glass works had been established. Most of our museums possess some specimens of antique glass manufacture, in the shape of balsam or medicine bottles of white or colored glass. We also possess goblets and drinking-bottles of various shapes and sizes, made of white or common green glass; they generally taper toward the bottom, and frequently show grooves or raised points on their outer surfaces, so as to prevent the glass from slipping from the hand; urns, oinochoai, and dishes of various sizes made of glass, are of frequent occurrence. Some of these are dark blue or green, others party-colored with stripes winding round them in zigzag or in spiral lines, reminding one of mosaic patterns. Pieces of glittering glass, being most likely fragments of so-called _allassontes versicolores_ (not to be mistaken for originally white glass which has been discolored by exposure to the weather), are not unfrequently found. We propose to name in the following pages a few of the more important specimens of antique glass-fabrication. One of the first amongst these is the vessel known as the Barberini or Portland Vase, which was found in the sixteenth century in the sarcophagus of the so-called tomb of Severus Alexander and of his mother Julia Mammæa. It was kept in the Barberini Palace for several centuries, till it was purchased by the Duke of Portland, after whose death it was placed in the British Museum. After having been broken by the hand of a barbarian, it has fortunately been restored satisfactorily. Many reproductions of this vase in china and terra-cotta have made it known in wide circles. The mythological bas-reliefs have not as yet been sufficiently explained. Similar glass vases with bas-relief ornamentation occur occasionally either whole or in fragments.

[Page Decoration]

EMPLOYMENT.

Many arts and inventions were in common use in Egypt for centuries before they are generally supposed to have been known; and we are now and then as much surprised to find that certain things were old 3,000 years ago, as the Egyptians would be if they could hear us talk of them as late discoveries. One of them is the use of glass, with which they were acquainted at least as early as the reign of the first Osirtasen, more than 3,800 years ago; and the process of glass-blowing is represented during his reign, in the paintings of Beni Hassan, in the same manner as it is on later monuments, in different parts of Egypt, to the time of the Persian conquest.