Black-figure pottery
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Achilles (left) and Ajax (right) playing dice. Detail from black-figure amphora by Exekias, c. 540-530 BCE |
The
black-figure pottery technique is a style of ancient
Greek pottery painting in which the decoration appears as black
silhouettes on a red background. Originated in
Corinth during the early
7th century BC, it was introduced into
Attica about a generation later. Other notable black-figure potteries existed at
Sparta and in eastern Greece. The technique flourished until being practically replaced by the more advanced
red-figure pottery technique in
530 BC, although later examples do exist.
Greek vases were made of a pale
iron-rich clay which turned a reddish-orange colour when fired. The design was sketched in outline, then filled in using refined clay as paint. Details would be added with an
engraving tool, scratching through the paint layer to the clay below. The vessel would then be fired in a
kiln at a temperature of about 800°C, with the resultant
oxidization turning the vase to a reddish-orange colour. The temperature was then raised to about 950°C with the kiln's vents closed and green wood being added to remove the oxygen. The vessel then turned an overall black. The final stage required the vents to be re-opened to allow oxygen into the kiln, which was allowed to cool down. The vessel then returned to its reddish-orange colour due to renewed oxidization, while the now-
vitrified painted layer remained the glossy black colour created in the second stage.
Apart from black, other colours could be used by modifying the characteristics of the clay used to paint the vase. The most common was a yellowish-white derived from a purified iron-free clay, and a purplish-red derived from the same refined clay used to produce the black areas mixed with
ochre (red
iron oxide) and water.
The Corinthians originally used black-figure pottery to depict animal friezes until the mid-
6th century BC, when the great Athenian painters developed a sophisticated style of narrative decoration depicting subjects such as battle scenes, mythical beings and legendary episodes.
Black-figure pottery typically depicted figures in silhouette, but it was somewhat limited in artistic scope due to the limitations of engraving tools. Only a few painters are known by name, though many black-figure vases have been grouped on the basis of painting style and appear to be the work of distinct individuals or workshops. The most famous named painter is
Exekias, a vase painter of the
6th century BC who is best known for his battle scenes.
Famous black-figure potters
*
Sophilos -
590 BC-
580 BC*
Andokides -
550 BC-
525 BC*
Exekias -
550s BC-
525 BC*
Pottery of Ancient Greece*
Black Figure Pottery for Kids* Boardman, J.,
Athenian Black Figure Vases, London, 1974
* Williams, D.,
Greek Vases, London, 1985
* "Black-figure vase painting". The Bloomsbury Guide to Art (1996)
* "Black-figure vase painting"
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Michael Clarke. Oxford University Press, 2001
* "Black-figure pottery"
Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006
* "Black-figure vase painting"
The Oxford Dictionary of Art. Ed. Ian Chilvers. Oxford University Press, 2004
