21 The Craft of Centuripe Vases: Techniques, Colors, Patterns
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Elisa Chiara Portale
und Gabriella Chirco
Abstract
Polychrome Centuripe ware is a specialty of the Hellenistic workshops of the ancient city of Kentoripai, in inland Sicily. It has caught scholarly attention since the beginning of the last century because of its formal and iconographic features, but it was not until the early 1970s that Paul Deussen, in his PhD dissertation, ventured to investigate workshop organization on the basis of a systematic reappraisal of morphological, decorative, and stylistic features. He recognized four different workshops with their own painters, whom he named after favorite subjects or decorations (Tendrill Altar Master, Gorgon Portrait Master, Medusa D-Veil Painter, Dionysos Painter, Dolphin Coroplast, Imitation Coroplast). While highlighting some objective characteristics, this general picture was nevertheless weakened by some interpretative fallacies and the lack of in-depth study of the technical features. Moreover, the state of conservation of the paintings (which were often barely legible or altered by modern restorations) further complicates their study. An interdisciplinary research project, on selected Centuripe vases kept in the archaeological museums of Syracuse and Palermo, sheds new light on technological and chromatic aspects of these vases through morphological and iconographic study closely coupled with archaeometric and computational imaging analyses. On the basis of this interdisciplinary approach, some groupings have been reconsidered in order to penetrate deeper into the production logic.
Abstract
Polychrome Centuripe ware is a specialty of the Hellenistic workshops of the ancient city of Kentoripai, in inland Sicily. It has caught scholarly attention since the beginning of the last century because of its formal and iconographic features, but it was not until the early 1970s that Paul Deussen, in his PhD dissertation, ventured to investigate workshop organization on the basis of a systematic reappraisal of morphological, decorative, and stylistic features. He recognized four different workshops with their own painters, whom he named after favorite subjects or decorations (Tendrill Altar Master, Gorgon Portrait Master, Medusa D-Veil Painter, Dionysos Painter, Dolphin Coroplast, Imitation Coroplast). While highlighting some objective characteristics, this general picture was nevertheless weakened by some interpretative fallacies and the lack of in-depth study of the technical features. Moreover, the state of conservation of the paintings (which were often barely legible or altered by modern restorations) further complicates their study. An interdisciplinary research project, on selected Centuripe vases kept in the archaeological museums of Syracuse and Palermo, sheds new light on technological and chromatic aspects of these vases through morphological and iconographic study closely coupled with archaeometric and computational imaging analyses. On the basis of this interdisciplinary approach, some groupings have been reconsidered in order to penetrate deeper into the production logic.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Editorial Board VI
- Contents VII
-
Introduction
- 1 The A.G.A.T.H.O.C.L.E.S. Project and Beyond: Archaeology of Gesture and Material Consciousness in Ceramic Studies 1
-
Section I: The Shapes of Clay: Manufacturing and Local Traditions
- 2 What Makes Aeginetan Cooking Pots So Special? Technological Choices in Ancient Aegina’s Pottery Production 13
- 3 Production Relationships between Attic Black-glazed and Figured Pottery 25
- 4 Potters in South Italian Red-Figured Workshops: An Overview 35
- 5 Clay Crafting, Hand Modeling: A Coroplastic Perspective. Case-Studies from Sicily and Magna Graecia 49
- 6 The Manufacture of “Thickened-edge” Roof Tiles between Unintentional Traces and Intentional Marks: The Case of the Hellenistic-Roman Temple in Agrigento 69
- 7 Teanum Ware Pottery from Loc. Cappella Marcella (Castrocielo, Frosinone) 79
-
Section II: Populating the Ancient Pottery Industry
- 8 Timing Euxitheos and Euphronios: Energetics and the Scale of Production in the Athenian Potters’ Quarters 91
- 9 Reconstructing the Scale of Athenian Vase-Painting Workshops 111
- 10 Potters’ Tools at the Kerameikos of Selinous 125
- 11 Pottery Production in Pompeii, Step by Step: From Excavations to Experimental Archaeology 133
- 12 Republican Kilns at Pollentia-Urbs Salvia: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Local Ceramic Production 147
-
Section III: Workshop Recipies and Craft Production Systems: Technologies Magnified
- 13 Magnific Magnification at Locri Epizephyrii: An Insight into the Surface of Western Red-figured Vases 157
- 14 Examining the Red and Black Surfaces of Apulian Red-figured Pottery: Raw Materials and Technological Features 173
- 15 Reconstructing Pottery Production in Archaic Rome and Latium: Integrating Traditional Approach and Archaeometry 183
- 16 Black-glazed Pottery from Locri Epizephyrii: New Evidence from the Technological Study of the Local Hellenistic Production 193
- 17 Roof Tiles with the ΣΩΣΗΝΟΣ Stamp: Calabrian Production in Sicily 199
- 18 Preliminary Observations on the Interdisciplinary Project of Roman Amphorae from the Territory of Ostia 207
- 19 A True Melting Pot: The Production of Cooking Ware at Fregellae, Southern Lazio (Italy), between the 4th and the 2nd Centuries B.C. 213
-
Section IV: From Invisible to Visible: Artisanal Gestures, Ontologies, and Ceramic Networks
- 20 From Micro to Macro and Vice Versa: Technology Studies and Network Analysis on Red-figured Vase Production between Sicily and Campania 223
- 21 The Craft of Centuripe Vases: Techniques, Colors, Patterns 241
- 22 Kerameikos.org and Digital Accessibility for Ancient Greek Vases 255
- 23 New Perspectives in the Study of Western Greek Amphorae 269
- 24 Economic Principles in the Roman Economy: Modelling Mass Ceramic Production and Trade 285
- 25 Looking for the Lost Decoration of an Apulian Volute Krater by the Painter of Sèvres 1 303
-
Section V: Craftspeople’s Mobility and Knowledge Transfer: Distribution and Statistics
- 26 Technology Transfer and Mobility During the Period of Greek Migrations to Italy (8th to 6th Centuries B.C.): Insights from Coarse ware Pottery 313
- 27 Regional Markets and Distribution Patterns of Laconian Pottery in Crete and Beyond: The Aeginetan Hypothesis (6th–5th Centuries B.C.) 327
- 28 Consumers and Vases in Early South Italian Vase-Painting 347
- 29 Hybridity and Exchange Models in Campania: The Case of Ionian Cups from Ancient Cumae 357
- 30 East Greek Inspirations on Attic Black-figured Pottery: The Implications for Clients and Trade Networks 365
-
Epilogue
- 31 Greek and Roman Ceramic Producers: Operational Knowledge and Networked Mobilities 373
- List of Contributors 381
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Editorial Board VI
- Contents VII
-
Introduction
- 1 The A.G.A.T.H.O.C.L.E.S. Project and Beyond: Archaeology of Gesture and Material Consciousness in Ceramic Studies 1
-
Section I: The Shapes of Clay: Manufacturing and Local Traditions
- 2 What Makes Aeginetan Cooking Pots So Special? Technological Choices in Ancient Aegina’s Pottery Production 13
- 3 Production Relationships between Attic Black-glazed and Figured Pottery 25
- 4 Potters in South Italian Red-Figured Workshops: An Overview 35
- 5 Clay Crafting, Hand Modeling: A Coroplastic Perspective. Case-Studies from Sicily and Magna Graecia 49
- 6 The Manufacture of “Thickened-edge” Roof Tiles between Unintentional Traces and Intentional Marks: The Case of the Hellenistic-Roman Temple in Agrigento 69
- 7 Teanum Ware Pottery from Loc. Cappella Marcella (Castrocielo, Frosinone) 79
-
Section II: Populating the Ancient Pottery Industry
- 8 Timing Euxitheos and Euphronios: Energetics and the Scale of Production in the Athenian Potters’ Quarters 91
- 9 Reconstructing the Scale of Athenian Vase-Painting Workshops 111
- 10 Potters’ Tools at the Kerameikos of Selinous 125
- 11 Pottery Production in Pompeii, Step by Step: From Excavations to Experimental Archaeology 133
- 12 Republican Kilns at Pollentia-Urbs Salvia: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of a Local Ceramic Production 147
-
Section III: Workshop Recipies and Craft Production Systems: Technologies Magnified
- 13 Magnific Magnification at Locri Epizephyrii: An Insight into the Surface of Western Red-figured Vases 157
- 14 Examining the Red and Black Surfaces of Apulian Red-figured Pottery: Raw Materials and Technological Features 173
- 15 Reconstructing Pottery Production in Archaic Rome and Latium: Integrating Traditional Approach and Archaeometry 183
- 16 Black-glazed Pottery from Locri Epizephyrii: New Evidence from the Technological Study of the Local Hellenistic Production 193
- 17 Roof Tiles with the ΣΩΣΗΝΟΣ Stamp: Calabrian Production in Sicily 199
- 18 Preliminary Observations on the Interdisciplinary Project of Roman Amphorae from the Territory of Ostia 207
- 19 A True Melting Pot: The Production of Cooking Ware at Fregellae, Southern Lazio (Italy), between the 4th and the 2nd Centuries B.C. 213
-
Section IV: From Invisible to Visible: Artisanal Gestures, Ontologies, and Ceramic Networks
- 20 From Micro to Macro and Vice Versa: Technology Studies and Network Analysis on Red-figured Vase Production between Sicily and Campania 223
- 21 The Craft of Centuripe Vases: Techniques, Colors, Patterns 241
- 22 Kerameikos.org and Digital Accessibility for Ancient Greek Vases 255
- 23 New Perspectives in the Study of Western Greek Amphorae 269
- 24 Economic Principles in the Roman Economy: Modelling Mass Ceramic Production and Trade 285
- 25 Looking for the Lost Decoration of an Apulian Volute Krater by the Painter of Sèvres 1 303
-
Section V: Craftspeople’s Mobility and Knowledge Transfer: Distribution and Statistics
- 26 Technology Transfer and Mobility During the Period of Greek Migrations to Italy (8th to 6th Centuries B.C.): Insights from Coarse ware Pottery 313
- 27 Regional Markets and Distribution Patterns of Laconian Pottery in Crete and Beyond: The Aeginetan Hypothesis (6th–5th Centuries B.C.) 327
- 28 Consumers and Vases in Early South Italian Vase-Painting 347
- 29 Hybridity and Exchange Models in Campania: The Case of Ionian Cups from Ancient Cumae 357
- 30 East Greek Inspirations on Attic Black-figured Pottery: The Implications for Clients and Trade Networks 365
-
Epilogue
- 31 Greek and Roman Ceramic Producers: Operational Knowledge and Networked Mobilities 373
- List of Contributors 381