Studying the shapes of Greek vases: historiography and new methodologies

Isabelle Algrain, Delphine Tonglet

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.2, 65-82; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.2.2021.07

Abstract

While the branch of Classical studies on Greek figured pottery focused for decades on the development of Beazley’s lifework (i.e. attributions of Greek vases to anonymous painters), the study of the potter’s work, the organization of workshops, their networks and relative chronology (although sporadically studied by several scholars, e.g. Haspels, Bloesh, Mackay, Jubier-Galinier) remained broadly neglected and were never systematically analysed. Yet, Beazley was perfectly aware of the need to restore the potter and his/her wheel to the centre of the workshop. In this paper, we first outline the history of the research on the shapes of Greek vases and their attributions to anonymous potters, showing why this work is fundamental to understand the organization of potters’ quarters (in Greece and elsewhere) and describing the most recent methodologies which we developed in this regard. In the second part, we build on case studies to move past stylistic attribution in order to show how the study of vase shapes in general can help archaeologists understand broader questions like the mechanisms of intercultural exchanges in the ancient Mediterranean.

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