[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review]
The volume under review publishes the papers of a colloquium prompted by a small exhibition of East Greek, Ionian pottery (two display cases) at the Louvre. The exhibition was organised in 2019–2020 as part of the centenary celebrations of the Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (CVA) by Anne Coulié, who is currently responsible for the vase collection. The book comprises fifteen contributions by well-known authors with outstanding expertise in the field, and succeeds in presenting a clear picture of the current state of research.[1]
The contributions can be divided, according to their research questions, into three groups, which are presented in the volume as follows:
- scientific analyses Villing, Mommsen, Bouquillon, Coulié, Berthet, Sterba, Garnier);
- painting style, vessel shapes and iconography (von Graeve, Schlotzhauer, Lölhöffel, Grönwald);
- the distribution of Ionian–Milesian pottery in that region (Aytaçlar, Sezgin, Gürtekin-Demir) and more distant surroundings (authors: Chistov, Ilyina, Buiskikh, Ryabkova, Denti, Mazet).
As might be expected, the focus of interest lies primarily on vases with figural decoration, that is, animal-frieze and Fikellura pottery. Their localisation in southern Ionia, and particularly at Miletus, is the result of decades of research, which has been advanced above all by the excavations at Miletus under the direction of Volkmar von Graeve and is documented in the Miletus publications. Alongside the relevant archaeological studies, the determination of origin owes a great deal to the use of scientific methods, above all neutron activation analysis (NAA), which has proved particularly effective in this respect. By now, a close international cooperation has developed between German, French, British and Austrian institutions. Through the successful determination of the provenance of South Ionian pottery by these means, a century of research is, on the one hand, brought to a conclusion, and, on the other, reopened through the application of NAA, since the familiar questions on ceramic material—chronology, typology and distribution—are given a new basis for discussion.
The first of the scientific contributions, by Alexandra Villing and Mommsen, illustrates this clearly: workshops producing Milesian pottery can be identified in the Hellespont, in the Black Sea region and in the Nile Delta—that is, precisely in those areas towards which Milesian colonisation was directed or where Miletus maintained strong trading connections.
The second, by Anne Bouquillon, Anne Coulié and Jean-Paul Berthet, is devoted to the Milesian vases in the Louvre. These were analysed using PIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission), which has replaced the older XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analysis in French labs. The aim is to attempt a calibration of the different methods used for clay analysis, in particular also the NAA employed in Bonn. Considerable difficulties arise, however, since the chemical elements under consideration are not the same in each case. As a result, it must presently be acknowledged that a satisfactory, mutually agreed-upon outcome has not yet been reached
In another scientific contribution, by Mommsen, Johannes H. Sterba and Anne Coulié, the authors report on the analysis of four Louvre vases using the NAA method. Three of these evidently originate from Miletus, while one comes from Kos. Finally, Coulié and Nicolas Garnier present their analyses of the vessel contents of five closed vessels in the Louvre that come from the necropolis of Kamiros on Rhodes. Two of these are oinochoai that apparently contained wine; in one case, however, this was not produced from the fermentation of grapes but probably from pomegranate seeds. The contents of the third oinochoe were black and may have consisted of a kind of syrup, or alternatively of old raisins combined with vegetable oil.
In the first archaeological contribution, Volkmar von Graeve provides an impressive account of Milesian vase painting, a veritable lesson in animal-frieze style and Fikellura that can serve as a general foundation for instruction in stylistic analysis. Therefore, it merits particular attention. Starting from the conceptual pair of line and surface, he vividly describes, on the basis of faulty or unfinished pieces, the process by which the painted decoration came into being. In strikingly simple and clear language, he sets out in sequence the individual phases of the painting process, from the placing of the outer contour through the emphasis of the animal’s centres of force to the filling in of áreas of colour. What emerges is an analytical approach that brings the painting process vividly before the reader’s eyes. A stepped sequence thus becomes apparent: an initial stage characterised by a broad brushstroke defining the contour is followed by a second stage in which this is considerably finer. In the third stage, the line becomes autonomous at the expense of the surface, which disappears, so that the figures are defined solely by outline. At the same time, however, the preparatory drawing also disappears: the form is no longer sought but is already found in the first drawn line. In the development of this style of painting, Miletus undoubtedly occupies a central position. As a glance at neighbouring regions, notably Paros and Thasos, shows, one must assume the existence of a koine of painters in the eastern Aegean.
If von Graeve’s contribution aims at depth, that of Udo Schlotzhauer is broader in scope. With regard to “style and chronology—vessel shape and iconography”, he offers a current overview based on the finds from the sanctuary of Aphrodite on the Zeytintepe at Miletus. Emphasis is placed on the unbroken continuity between animal-frieze style and Fikellura, which is established by the so-called bilingual vases, that is, vessels that show representations in one style on one side and in the other style on the other. This transitional phase falls in the first quarter of the sixth century BC. The focus of the contribution, however, lies in the description of the Milesian world of images as found on the vases.
The inclusion of Didyma in the volume is particularly welcome, as the site is closely connected with Miletus through its sanctuary of Apollo. In recent years, fieldwork there has focused on the so-called Taxiarchis Hill. From the so-called Persian destruction layer come unusual and rare vessel shapes, of which Karoline Lölhöffel presents two in her contribution: the so-called cups with undulating rim and the round-bodied mug. The former has one, or probably even two, handles, bears Fikellura decoration, and thus belongs to the most frequent class of pottery finds from this hill.
The inclusion of the contribution by Holger Grönwald is likewise of interest. He sensitively describes the development of Milesian vase painting against the background of its documentation in drawings. The sixteen plates appended to the article, with numerous illustrations—occasionally reproduced at a very small scale—vividly present the panorama of this painted tradition to the reader.
The theme of the distribution of Ionian–Milesian pottery begins with a contribution by Mehmet Nezih Aytaçlar and Yusuf Sezgin, who note at the outset that, after the middle of the seventh century BC, such pottery was increasingly in demand in regions ranging from the Black Sea to Egypt and Italy/Sicily, with export volumes reaching their peak in the final third of that century. Their focus is on the immediate neighbourhood of Caria and Chios, where vases in the animal-frieze style and in the corresponding vessel types were also produced, occasionally while retaining older local shapes. Chios, however, subsequently followed its own path, as did northern Ionia and Aeolis. In the analysis of the differentiation between centre and periphery, combined with attention to quantities of finds and findspots, there remains considerable potential for further research.
Lydia as a ceramic landscape is examined in its own right in the contribution by R. Gül Gürtekin-Demir. Here, South Ionian pottery is only sparsely represented; imports are far outnumbered by Corinthian and Attic wares. The displacement or adoption of Lydian forms in favour of South Ionian–Milesian ones is explained by the general role of Ionia as a leading region in architecture, sculpture and intellectual life.
In the settlement of Borysthenes/Berezan at the lower reaches of the Bug (contribution by Dmitry E. Christov and Ioulia I. Ilyina), the proportion of South Ionian pottery—particularly Fikellura—is likewise low (around 1 per cent), consisting mostly of painted amphorae, and thus far below the quantities revealed by excavations at neighbouring Olbia. Most of these vessels evidently reached the settlement at a point when the colony (founded, according to literary sources, around 647 BC) was already well established. This conclusion is based on stratigraphic evidence. It leads to late datings that come into conflict with the currently favoured high chronology for Fikellura pottery. The observation highlights the fragility involved in reconciling results obtained by different methodological approaches.
This problem is well known and recurs in connection with Miletus’ colonial foundations in the Black Sea region. Accordingly, the contribution by Alla Buiskikh begins with an overview of the research history of Berezan and Olbia. According to the current state of research, the foundation of Berezan can be dated to the third quarter of the seventh century BC, in agreement with the literary tradition cited above. The foundation of Olbia appears to have followed somewhat later, around the turn of the seventh to the sixth century BC.
The contribution by Tatyana Ryabkova is of particular interest, as it addresses the striking occurrence of Ionian pottery—mostly amphorae from Klazomenai, Teos and Lesbos, together with a very small number of animal-frieze sherds—in the North Caucasian Trans-Kuban region, that is, far inland. The site at Tarasova Balka, initially interpreted as a settlement, is now regarded as a place of sacrifice or a sanctuary. Dating based on the pottery described points to the turn of the seventh to the sixth century BC.
With the question of how formal motifs—particularly the visual imagery—were transmitted in the Geometric and Orientalising periods, the focus shifts to Italy. In his contribution, Mario Denti turns his attention to the agents of transmission themselves. Accordingly, the emphasis lies on the places where East Greek pottery was produced in the West, the contexts, the function of the vessels, the nature of local demand, the procedures of acquisition, the execution of the imagery, and finally the kinds of relationships that extended across great distances. The author convincingly demonstrates that the immigrant craftsmen must have been educated individuals, capable not only of writing but also of mastering mythological references, iconographic conventions and technical particularities. Pottery production was associated with the aristocracy or closely connected to it, and the quality of the wares is very high. Archaeological evidence further shows that the presence of these East Greek craftsmen in Italy was apparently confined to Etruria, where their vases are found in graves. Within the corpus of East Greek vases from the rest of Italy, described in detail, potters from other regions can be identified, such as the Cyclades, who practised a mixed style of decoration (the so-called “plurilingual” type).
The last contribution by Christian Mazet is devoted to the work of the Swallow Painter, who worked in Etruria as an itinerant craftsman in the animal-frieze style during the final third of the seventh century BC.
In sum, the volume’s particular blend of detailed scholarship and synthetic overview makes it a work that anyone concerned with East Greek vase painting will consult, not least because of its rich illustrations. At the same time, the concentration on imagery entails a certain narrowing of perspective, since the largely monochrome so-called utilitarian pottery, which constitutes the bulk of Ionian ceramic finds, remains outside the scope of discussion. The questions pursued are those commonly posed to ceramic material and tend to reflect an art-historical perspective. Alongside this, however, more far-reaching issues of distribution and adaptation also emerge, which are addressed in the contributions of the third thematic group.
Authors and Titles
Alain Pasquier, Préface
- Volkmar von Graeve, Bemerkungen zu den Malstilen in der archaischen Vasenmalerei
- Udo Schlotzhauer, Die Vasenmalerei archaischer Zeit in Milet. Stil und Chronologie—Gefäßformen und Ikonographie
- Karoline Lölhöffel, Fikellura Mugs and Other Unusual Shapes from Taxiarchis Hill at Didyma—an update
- Holger Grönwald, Bild und Ornament. Zur zeichnerischen Rekonstruktion archaischer Keramik aus Milet
- Alexandra Villing, Hans Mommsen, Miletos and its pottery—the contribution of NAA
- Anne Bouquillon, Anne Coulié, Jean-Paul Berthet, Retour sur la céramique milésienne du musée du Louvre: l’apport de nouvelles analyses d’argile
- Hans Mommsen, Johannes H. Sterba, Anne Coulié, Provenance of four archaic vessels of the Louvre collections by Neutron Activation Analysis
- Anne Coulié, Nicolas Garnier, Analyses biochimiques du contenu de cinq vases fermés milésiens du style des chèvres sauvages et du style de Fikellura conservés au musée du Louvre
- Mehmet Nezih Aytaçlar, Yusuf Sezgin, Milesian Influence on East-Greek Pottery and especially on Aeolian Pottery
- Gül Gürtekin-Demir, Sharing the same mode in the land of Lydians and Ionians: local figural ceramics of Sardis
- Dmitry E. Chistov, Ioulia I. Ilyina, Fikellura style pottery in stratigraphic contexts of the Berezan settlement
- Alla Buiskikh, Milesian tableware—a chronological indicator for the foundation of Borysthenes and Olbia
- Tatyana Vl. Ryabkova, Tarasova Balka in the Trans-Kuban region: settlement or nomadic sanctuary?
- Mario Denti, La transmission de l’imagerie gréco-orientale em Italie aux VIIIe rt VIIe siècles avant J.-C. Par l’intermédiaire de la circulation des céramiques figurées et des ceramistes égéens
- Christian Mazet, Per vivere a Vulci si é fatto vulcente. Le Peintre des hirondelles et son milieu.
Notes
[1]The history of research is summarised by M. Kerschner und W.-D. Niemeier in: M. Akurgal, M. Kerschner, H. Mommsen, W.-D. Niemeier (eds.), Töpferzentren in der Ostägäis. Archäometrische und archäologische Untersuchungen zur mykenischen, geometrischen und archaischen Keramik aus Fundorten in Westkleinasien, 3. Ergh. ÖJh (Wien 2002) 25 ff.; see also the article by Schlotzhauer in the volume under review here.