Overview

Greek vases fill whole wings of museums - from New York to Malibu, from Munich to Paris and London. There has, however, been an important change of emphasis of late - largely initiated by Michael Vickers and David Gill - as a result of which gold and silver have been restored to their central position as markers of wealth and taste. Painted ceramic has now been shown to be a high quality substitute for use in contexts where precious metal would have been inappropriate, notably in tombs, which are the source of the most number of pots that survive complete. This book demonstrates how Greek pottery first came to be regarded as a high value commodity in the eighteenth century thanks to clever, if not fraudulent, sales techniques; it examines the primary sources, both literary and epigraphic, to find what materials the ancients did consider to be important; and it explores the ways in which work in gold and silver influenced painted pottery. This challenging and important study calls for a radical reappraisal of the ways that the material culture of Greece is presented and discussed today. This book is intended for scholars and students of ancient art and archaeology; classicists and ancient historians, including those on classical civilization courses.

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9780198132264

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