Understanding Greek Vases – A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques

What is a pyxis? Who was the Amasis Painter? How did Greek vases get their distinctive black and orange colours? This volume offers definitions and descriptions of these and many other Greek vase shapes, painters and techniques encountered in museum exhibitions and publications. There is discussion of how to look at Greek vases and on the conservation of ancient ceramics. The concise definitions are divided into two sections, one on potters and painters and another on vase shapes and technical terms relating to the construction and decoration of the vases. Featuring numerous colour illustrations of Greek vases, many from the Getty Museum’s collection, the work should be useful to students, scholars, and those wishing to obtain a greater understanding of Greek ceramics and a heightened enjoyment of them.