2. CORINTHIAN POTTERY OF THE LATE SEVENTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES

In the following section, only the Corinthian pottery made between about 625 and about 500 B.C. will be discussed. The division between the earlier and the later pottery, warranted by the bulk of the material, has been set at ca. 500 B.C., chiefly because the character of the vases themselves and their combinations in the grave groups show a rather marked change at that time.16

Preceding the summaries will be found a brief account of the shapes of the vases found in the Cemetery, followed by a discussion of the various kinds of decoration, with particular mention of the figure styles represented, and the related problems of chronology. The sum- maries will be arranged in the same order as the vases in the catalogue:

skyphos alabastron

other cups amphoriskos

phiale lekythos

oinochoe pyxis

olpe lekanis

bottle bowl

hydria krater

amphora chytra

aryballos

SHAPES

In studying the shapes of the vases found in the Cemetery, one is struck by their distinctive character as offerings. As individual pots they are seldom exceptional; their interest derives from the selection of shapes and the grouping of the shapes in each grave. This character, which appears more clearly in the later graves, is already evident in the sixth century.

Of all the shapes, the globular trefoil oinochoe contributes most to the character of the groups.

The thirty-one examples, all black-glazed, appear in just about half of those sixth century graves which contain ceramic offerings. Other kinds of oinochoai occur now and then, but they are common types found also in other contexts, unlike the globular pitchers which ap- parently never served for domestic purposes and which were never exported." In the fifth and fourth centuries an oinochoe-and one oinochoe only-was an essential part of the offerings in graves of adults. This appears also to be true, but to a somewhat lesser extent, in the sixth century. The single oinochoe is usual in the burials of the second half of the sixth century, but in the first half one frequently finds two or more oinochoai in the same group (notably grave 1655). Groups which lack the oinochoe belong to one series of adult graves18 in which kylikes are the sole, or major, offerings. The earliest group of this kind is 148; the practice is, however, most common about the middle and third quarter of the century (graves 198ff., and 244).

16 The small pattern skyphoi comprise the one series which is continuous through the sixth century and much of the fifth. The three most important early series died out or were completely transformed very early in the fifth century: the rayed skyphoi, the globular oinochoai, and the powder pyxides. The vases most characteristic of the fifth century, although invented much earlier, became well established at about the turn of the century, notably the lekanides and

round-mouthed oinochoai. For the influx of Attic pottery in the early fifth century, an equally decisive change in the character of the groups, see p. 152.

17 The round-mouthed oinochoai of the fifth century also were not exported. For the one exception see p. 137.

18 Children's graves, with offerings of special character, infrequently had an oinochoe.

7

© American School of Classical Studies at Athens For personal use only. License: CC-BY-NC-ND.

The second important vase shape in the sixth century graves is the skyphos. Here there is no distinction between the kinds in everyday use and the grave offerings. Figured, patterned, and black-glazed skyphoi occur in great numbers, and in all kinds of graves, early and late, large and small. It is a rare burial that does not have at least one skyphos, and many have several. The exceptions are again the graves with large imported kylikes.

The third kind of vase most characteristic of the Cemetery groups is the pyxis, which, however, occurs almost exclusively in children's burials (see p. 80). The practice can be traced down through the fifth and fourth centuries. Also typical of the offerings made to children are the miniature vases, and, although pitchers and skyphoi in small sizes are most common, one also finds miniature phialai, kalathoi, and hydriai. The lekanis rarely appears in the sixth century, although it to a large extent supplants the pyxis in the fifth century.

A few other shapes may be noted. Aryballoi and alabastra appear in large and small graves, and although they frequently occur in the Cemetery, they were by no means made specifically for funeral purposes. They disappear in the second quarter of the sixth century, being replaced by the lekythoi of Deianeira type (see p. 115), and at Corinth in the sixth century it is likely that the lekythos in its several forms was primarily a funeral vase. Kraters and large kitchen pots served occasionally as burial containers.19

One other circumstance helps to give the Cemetery grave groups their specific character.

Almost as important as the presence of certain kinds of vases is the complete absence of shapes otherwise in common use at Corinth. A comparison of the Cemetery vases with those illustrated in Corinth, VII, i, which publishes the pottery found in the central excavations of the city, shows that the grave groups lack kothons, round-mouthed olpai, plates, large bowls, and ring

vases.20

A few sixth century vases in the Cemetery contribute something to the history of Corinthian pottery as a whole, and not merely to the knowledge of special funeral equipment. In addition to the many ordinary pyxides, one finds the globular pyxis with heavy rim (157-n, PI. 86), the two cylindrical examples with shallow lids (128-h, PI. 18 and 258-4, PI. 34), and the pair of kotyle-pyxides with pattern decoration (167-q, P1. 23 and 159-11, P. 24). The unusual krater with low broad foot appears three times (p. 118), and there is a black-glazed beaked oinochoe (254-1, P1. 34) dating from the end of the century. Two shapes typical of the fifth century can be shown to have developed early in the sixth century, namely the round-mouthed oinochoe and the lekanis.

Attic influence, so very strong in the fifth century, is much less important, but by no means negligible in the earlier period. Some skyphoi from about the middle of the sixth century show a definite dependence on imported models (p. 108), and at about the same time one finds lekythoi copied from Attic types. The trefoil olpe (189-1, PI. 27) is probably another imported shape.

D 43-d (P1. 25) may be a local version of the Attic banded cups. In view of the many Attic vases found in the Cemetery, it is not surprising that their popularity should be reflected to

" The usual form of child's burial was in a small monolithic sarcophagus (p. 72).

20 One reason for this discrepancy is that the largest mass of objects from the early graves is Middle Corinthian, a period poorly represented in the finds in the city. If I recall cor- rectly, the material from the Potters' Quarter corresponds approximately to that from the center of town, at least with respect to the kinds of shapes. On the other hand, the vases

most characteristic of the Cemetery (excepting the skyphoi) have not yet appeared in any quantity in other sections of the city. This is particularly true of the fifth and fourth century pottery. Mrs. Stillwell's excavation revealed only one of the several factories in Corinth, however, and it is very possible that another potters' establishment may be found which was devoted to the manufacture of vases intended primarily for the cult of the dead.

© American School of Classical Studies at Athens For personal use only. License: CC-BY-NC-ND.

FIGURE DECORATION 99 some extent in the local wares, but the full impact of Attic influence is not apparent until the fifth century.21

FIGURE DECORATION

The Early Corinthian period is represented by a few small vases of common type, aryballoi and alabastra, decorated with cocks and panthers. Three of them come from grave 129 (Pls. 18, 124); the remainder (157-j, Pls. 23, 124; D 42-f, P1. 124; D 44-f, Pls. 30, 124) are from mixed groups, and of these the only distinctive piece is D 44-f with its delicately drawn sphinxes confronting a quadruple lotus.

In contrast to the meager selection from the last quarter of the seventh century, the Middle Corinthian period provides a fair number of figured vases which are, for the most part, large and impressive pieces, often of good quality. Comparatively early, probably to be dated to the second decade of the sixth century are the two pyxides from grave 157 (P1. 86); they are very similar in shape except that 157-m (Pls. D, 87) has plastic female heads for handles, and 157-n has not. Their neat stocky figures are drawn in closely related styles, both reflecting the Early Corinthian tradition. Datable to the same decade is another convex-sided pyxis, 141-6 (Pls. E, 19), with even stockier figures, but by a different hand. A fourth artist, very nearly con- temporary, painted the second protome pyxis, X-131 (Pls. C, 87), which has two female heads only.

Of the cups, three have the normal frieze made up of sirens, griffinbirds, and panthers (156-5, P1. 84; 157-c, P1. 84; D 44-c, P1. 30); a fourth, D 44-b (Pls. B, 30), has two friezes. Nos.

156-5 and 157-c are by the same hand, and for the painters of D 44-b and D 44-c, see the cata- logue. The fifth cup, 148-1 (P1. 83), is by the Lausanne Painter, and is of interest in that it has no offset lip.

There are also a few lesser vases which stand apart from the heavy styles typical of the Middle Corinthian period. The bottle, 157-h (P1. 86), and the two skyphoi, 157-a (P1. 83) and 169-5 (P1. 83), certainly derive from an early tradition, but must date from at least the middle of the first quarter of the sixth century. With them may be mentioned the two phialai from grave 157 (P1. 84).

The remainder of the figured vases from this quarter century are all typically Middle Co- rinthian in style. The followers of the Dodwell Painter decorated four of the five large figured oinochoai from the Cemetery. Three (155-6, P1. 22; 155-b, P1. 22; and 157-f, P1. C), all with wide neck and broad bottom, belong to the group of Necrocorinthia no. 1124, a heavy untidy style with lavish incision and thick filling ornament. A fourth oinochoe, 155-a (Pls. A, 85), also a broad-bottomed vase but with a tall flanged neck, is by the Geledakis Painter. The most distinctive style to be found among the oinochoai, indeed on any of the figured vases from the Cemetery, is that of D 44-e (Pls. 30, 124). Its incision is neat and deliberate, and the drawing more mannered than that on any contemporary work.

The decoration of the remaining large vases in the Middle Corinthian figured series is in the heavy style. The amphora, 141-5 (Frontispiece, P1. 85), is one of the most striking vases from the Cemetery in its boldness of design. Another important vase is the early krater, 135-3 (P1. 18). Of the three skyphoi, 147-1 (P1. 83) is a pure example of the heavy manner, and the

21 Weinberg's statement (Corinth, VII, i, p. 92) that most of the pottery made at Corinth after the middle of the sixth century was in imitation of Attic pottery cannot be accepted without some reservations. At no time, not even in the fifth

century, were the various kinds of oinochoai and powder pyxides influenced by imports; for the skyphoi, see pp. 108, 124, 127-128.

7*

© American School of Classical Studies at Athens For personal use only. License: CC-BY-NC-ND.

two others (147-2 and 162-3, PI. 83) belong to the group which affected shaded rosettes (Patras Painter). The Scale Painter's group is represented by the pyxis 157-o (PI. 88). The style of the pyxis 155-c (P1. 88) is unusually untidy and awkward.

Most of the aryballoi can be placed in this quarter century. The three with komasts (156-9, P1. 124; 172-k and 172-1, PI. 26), and two others (168-7, P1. 27, and X-128) are typical of the period. Here also belong most of the aryballoi with processions of warriors.

Only three vases with incised figures can be dated with any assurance later than the first quarter of the century. The most ambitious is the krater X-134 (PI. 89) with its panels of sirens. The skyphos, 162-3 (PI. 83), has a chain of dancing women. The third is an aryballos with a rather well drawn but elongated siren (163-5, P1. 25). Perhaps also to be dated in the second quarter is the pyxis, 182-7 (PI. 88). The Cemetery had none of the fine large pots with mythological scenes drawn on a red ground which were the outstanding products of the Late Corinthian period.

Vases decorated in the silhouette style22 are amply represented among the finds from the Cemetery, the majority of them dating from the Middle Corinthian period.23 The various degrees of divergence from the standard incised animal style are numerous: 180-1 (P1. 27) and 172-h (P1. 26) look like poor Middle Corinthian without incision; the goats of 141-2 (P1. 86) and the indeterminate figures of 168-5 (P1. 27) "straggle"; and five of the skyphoi and one pyxis, 159-12 (P1. 24), have comparatively neat single-line figures in a dotted field.

Silhouette figures occur on two pyxides from grave 224 (PI. 33). No. 222-1 (PI. 32) is a debased form of the usual figured cup. In addition to the four normal skyphoi with running dogs (128-c;

182-1 and 182-2, PI. 28; X-121) there is a very tiny miniature which offers not only a dog, but what appears to be a human figure (182-3, Pls. 28,124). The latest and one of the most success- ful applications of the stylized silhouette figures is the pyxis with tall sphinxes, 253-3 (PI. 35).

The subsidiary decoration on the figured vases is often as interesting as the figures. Red24 is of course used for details of the figures, but both red and white are generously applied in other ways. Most common is the wide band of glaze on which are painted narrow lines of red and white in the same way as on the black-glazed vases, for example the cock amphora or the kraters.

The figured vases in fact offer a wider selection of designs than do the pattern vases. Most of the common kinds of patterns, such as the double-dotted band, vertical zigzags, etc., occur frequently in conjunction with friezes of figures. In addition to these there are a number which do not occur on the pattern vases as such: slanting checker, whirligig, reserved daisy, scales, double rays (notably 155-c, P1. 88), and tongues. The lotus-palmette complexes, which are found on pattern vases only in one form, the quatrefoil of the aryballoi, are an essential part of the figured frieze in many vases. In 165-a, 1655-6, 157-d, 167-f, and D 44-f, it is the central motif around which the animals are grouped. The most striking example is the amphora on which the palmette fills the whole panel of one side, and reappears in smaller form between the cocks on the other (141-5, PI. 85, Frontispiece).

PATTERN DECORATION

The term "pattern" has been adopted in preference to "linear," which would exclude not only floral but all the more elaborate forms; and to "conventionalizing" which, though excel-

22 Hopper's very useful nomenclature; B.S.A., XLIV, 1949, p. 163.

23 Skyphoi: 141-2, 142-a, 163-1, 163-2, 169-1, 180-1, 180-2. Pyxides: 159-12, 224-5, 224-6, 253-3. Others: 168-5

(oinochoe), 172-h (phiale), 222-1 (cup).

24 No white has been preserved on any of the figures except for the white dots around the shields on the warrior aryballoi.

© American School of Classical Studies at Athens For personal use only. License: CC-BY-NC-ND.

PATTERN DECORATION 101