Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Moldmade Bowls (Athenian Agora vol. 22)

250 Pages·1982·68.87 MB·English

by  Susan I. Rotroff

THE ATHENIAANG ORA
RESULTSO F EXCAVATIONS
CONDUCTEDB Y
THE AMERICANS CHOOLO F CLASSICALS TUDIESA T ATHENS
VOLUMEX XII
HELLENISTPIOCT FERY
ATHENIAN AND IMPORTED
MOLDMADE BOWLS
BY
SUSAN I. ROTROFF
THE AMERICANS CHOOLO F CLASSICALS TUDIESA T ATHENS
PRINCETONN,E WJ ERSEY
1982
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Rotroff, Susan I 1947-
Hellenistic pottery.
(The Athenian Agora; v. 22)
Bibliography:p .
Includes index.
1. Athens-Antiquities. 2. Pottery,
Hellenistic-Greece, Modemrn-Athens.3 . Greece,
Modemrn-Antiquities4. . Athens. Agora.
I. Title. I. Series: American School of ClassicalS tudies
in Athens. Athenian Agora; v. 22.
DF287.A23A5 vol. 22 938.5s [938.5] 80-23055
ISBN 0-87661-222-2
PRINTED IN GERMANY at J. J. AUGUSTIN, GLUCKSTADT
FOR MY PARENTS
who gave me opportunitya nd encouragement
AND FOR
DOROTHYB URR THOMPSON
who initiatedm e into the
mysterieso f the Hellenisticw orld
PREFACE
CCT ellenisticp otteryh as been neglecteda, nd deservedly.S"o wroteR M. Cooki n 1960( GreekPainted
ILi Pottetyp, .2 03). Whenv iewedi n the lighto f the Classicaml asterpiecesH, ellenisticc eramicsm ay
seem to have little to offer.P ottingh ad become a tradeo ften pursuedb y an indifferenct raftsmant;h e
proportiono f ill-centeredu, ngainlya, nd poorlyf iredp ots is large.B ut therei s still much thatH ellenistic
potteryc an offer, to the archaeologistc,e rtainlya, nd perhapse ven to the art historian.
For the archaeologisHt ellenisticp otteryc an providew hata ny potteryp rovidesa: chronologicaflr ame-
work.E ven the meanestf ragmenmt ay servet o datea significanbt uildingo r deposit.F ortunatelfyo r the
archaeologisHt, ellenisticp otteryi s no longern eglectedi;n recenty earst hereh as been increasedin teresti n
the Hellenisticc eramicso f manys itesa roundt he MediterraneaSne. veravl olumesh avea ppeareda ndm ore
are expected soon.
Whatc an Hellenisticp otteryo ffert o the art historian?T he type of potteryp resentedi n this volume
representsth e firstl arge-scalea pplicationo f the mold processt o the productiono f Greekt ablewareT. he
mold techniqueh ad earlierb een appliedt o terracottfai gurinesa nd in a few instancesw asu sed to produce
pots of unusuald esign.M ost pottery,h owever,c ontinuedt o be wheelmadea nd it was not untilt he intro-
ductiono f the so-calledM egarianb owl thatm oldsw ereu sed on a larges cale.T heseb owlst herefores tand
at the beginningo f a long serieso f moldmadec eramicsw, hichi ncludess uch distinguishedsu ccessorsa s
Arretinea nd Wedgwoodp ottery.
These vesselsa lso representt he firstG reeke xperimentin modulara rt. A limitedn umbero f motifs,
most of them stampedi nto the molds with small,r e-usablem asters,r eappearin countlessa rrangements
andc ombinationsT. hism odulara pproachto the decorationo f the surfaceo f the bowli s a commenta, lbeit
a naivea ndp robablyu nintentionaoln e, on the relationshipof the worko f the artist/artisatno the technolo-
gy of massp roductionI.t reflects,a s does contemporarmy ajora rt,t he redefinitiono f humanp ossibilities
thatc amew itht he disintegratioonf politicali,d eologicala, nda rtisticb oundarieisn the Hellenistica ge.I t is
a commentt hath as been echoedm ore self-consciouslbyy manya rtistsi n our own centuryv; iewedi n the
context of the art of the AmericanS ixties, the bowls have a peculiarm odernity.
This book grew out of an interesti n the Hellenisticw orldk indleda nd encouragedb y DorothyB urr
ThompsonH. erl ove forH ellenisticm inora rtsa ndh era bilityt o reconstructth e fabrico f antiquityfr omt he
scrapsa nd remnantst hat are the archaeologist'pso rtionh ave inspiredt wo generationso f studentsa nd
scholarsT. he dedicationo f this volumet o her is my inadequatee xpressiono f gratituder,e spect,a nd love
for her as a teacher,a scholar,a nd an individual.
The presents tudyi s concernedw ith only a smallp arto f the Hellenisticp otteryf oundi n the Ancient
Agorao f Athens:t he moldmadeh emisphericabl owlsw hichw erem anufacturefdr omt he late 3rd to the
early1 stc enturyb eforeC hristI. t is intendeda s the firsto f twov olumes,t he seconda ndl argero f whichw ill
be devotedt o the Hellenisticw heelmadep otteryf romt he Agora.I haver eliedh eavilyf orf ormato n Agora
XII, which deals with the Archaica nd Classicalb lacka nd plain pottery.I also owe much to G. Roger
Edwardsa nd his fine volumeo n CorinthianH ellenisticp ottery.E dwardsd evotedy earso f studyt o Athe-
viii PREFACE
mniaHne llenisticp otterya s well, and generouslytu rnedo vert o me manyp hotographasn d notes accumu-
lated in the course of those researches.
I wouldl ike to thankT . LeslieS hear,J r.,D irectoro f the AgoraE xcavationsa,n dH omerA . Thompson,
formerD irectoro f the excavationsf,o r permissiont o studya nd publisht he materialb; oth have reada nd
rereadt he manuscripitn severald ifferentd rafts,a nd it has benefitedg reatlyf rom their many helpful
commentsa nd suggestionsM. y debt to HomerT hompsoni s especiallyg reat,f or his publicationo f the
Hellenisticp otteryf oundi n the earlyy earso f excavationin the Agorap avedt he wayf or this volume;h is
interest,s uggestionsa, nd warme ncouragemenhta veb een a sourceo f comforta nd inspirationI.n valuable
help was givenb y VirginiaG race,w ho contributedm anyh ourso f her time in patiente xplanationo f the
chronologyo f the stampeda mphorah andles;a ndb y FredK leinerJ, ohnK roll,a ndA lanW alkerw, ho gave
freelyo f theira dviceo n numismaticm attersT. hanksa rea lso due JudithB inder,P eterC allaghanW, illiam
A. Childs,C . W. J. Eliot, ChristianH abicht,U lrichH ausmannH, . A. Shapiro,S helleyS tone,J ohn S.
Trailla, ndM alcolmW allacea, ll of whomc ontributedth eire xpertisea nda ssistanceo n scholarlyp roblems.
I am gratefult o CharlesK Williams,I I and Nancy Boodkidfiso r allowinga nd assistingm e to see the
Hellenisticp otterya t Corinth;t o Hugh Sackettf or permissiont o examinem oldmadeb owls at Knossos;
and to James R McCredief or the opportunityto look at Hellenisticm aterialo n Samothrace.
Mosto f the researchw asc onductedin Athens,a ndI wouldl iket o thankN ancyW interL, ibrariaonf the
BlegenL ibraryo f the AmericanS choolo f ClassicaSl tudies.I am also gratefutlo RuthM acDonaldo f the
RalphP ickardB ell Librarya t MountA llisonU niversityfo r her tirelesse ffortst o obtaino bscurep ublica-
tions throught he interlibrarlyo an system.
WhenI beganm y worko n the moldmadeb owls,I foundi n the Agoraf iles manyf ine drawingws hich
had been done overt he yearsb y Iro Athanasiadoaun d Piet de Jong;t hese haveb een supplementedw ith
additionadl rawingsb y Helen Besi and AbigailC amp,t o whomI am gratefufl or theirp ainstakinwg ork.
They cannot,h owever,b e held responsiblefo r the profileso f molds and drawingso f conventionafll oral
motifsa ndc haracteristsicta mpso f variousw orkshopsw, hicha ret he worko f the authorT. hankst o William
B. Dinsmoor,J r., who drewi t, Plan A representsth e most completea nd accurater econstructioonf the
HellenisticA gorap ublishedt o date.E ugeneV anderpoolJ, r. and Alan Walkert ook new photographos f
manyo f the objectsi n the CatalogueN. ikos Restakisw, ith the assistanceo f KyriakMi oustakid, eveloped
and printedt he photographs.
Specialt hanksa re due LucyK rystallisS, ecretaryo f the AgoraE xcavationsf,o r her assistancein amass-
ing the photographsa,n d to SpyrosS pyropoulosm, ender,f indero f misplacedp otterya, nd ingeniousa rti-
ficer,w hosec ontributionto this studya nd to the Agorai n generali s beyondd escriptionI. am indebtedt o
ChristineE mbreea nd LynnA . Grantf or typinga nd editoriaal ssistancea, nd to A. R Locka nd the Cana-
dianW ildlifeS ervicef or the loan of Her Majesty'lso yalp aperc utter.I am especiallyg ratefutlo MarianH .
McAllistert,h e editor,f ort he thoughta nd cares he has devotedt o this volume,a ndf or the manyi mprove-
ments she has suggested.
Researchw ass upportedin partb y the SocialS ciencesa ndH umanitieRs esearchC ouncilo f Canadaa nd
the Samuel H. Kress Foundation;I am gratefulf or their generosity.
Wordsa rei nadequatteo expressm y gratitudteo RobertL ambertonm, y frienda nd colleaguef,o r every-
thingf rome ditoriaal ssistancea nd adviceo n botanicatle rminologyto meditationos n the relevanceo f the
objectsp resentedh ere to the modernw orld,a nd,m ost of all, forh is sustaininga ndl ovings upporta ndp a-
tience.A nd finally,I thankm y parentst, o whomt his volumei s in partd edicateda, nd withoutw hom,f or
reasonsb eyond number,i t would not have been written.
MOUNT ALLISON UNIVERSITY
SACKVILLNEE, W BRUNSWICK
SEPTEMBER1, 979 SUSANI . ROTROFF
TABLE OF CON'E NTS
PREFACE ............................................................................................... vii
LIST OF PLATES ....................................................................................... xi
ABBREVIATIONSA ND BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................. xiii
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1
SCOPE ANDA IMS .................................................................................. 1
ARRANGEMENT OF THE CATALOGUE .............................................................. 1
C HRONOLOG.Y... ................................................................................... 2
N OME NCLATUR..E... ............................................................................... 2
T ERMIN OLOGY... ................................................................................... 3
TECHNIQUE OF M ANUFACTURE .................................................................... 3
THE ORIGINS OF THE ATHENIAN MOLDMADE BOWL ................................................ 6
P ROTOTYPES ........................................................................................ 6
A RCHAEOLOGICEAVLI DENCE ...................................................................... 9
HISTORICAELV IDENCE... .......................................................................... 11
THE AGORAM A TERIAL... ............................................................................ 14
THE CHARACTERISTIOCFS ATHENIANB OLS ..................................................... 14
CLAY AND GL AZE .............................................................................. 14
SHAPEA ND SIZE ................................................................................ 14
SCRAPEDG ROOVESA ND MILTOS ................................................................. 15
PINE-CONE, IMBRICATE,F LORAL, AND FIGURED BOWLS ............. ..................................... 15
PINE-CONE BOWLS ...................................................................... 16
IMB RICATBEO WL S .............................................................................. 16
FLORALB O LS .................................................................................. 17
FIGUREDB OWL S ................................................................................ 19
TYPESO F FIGUREDD ECORATIO..N... ...................................................... 19
FIGURES DERIVED FROM TERRACOTTAA LTARS ............................................ 20
AB DU C TIONS.. ............................................................................... 21
LABORSO F HERAKLE..S.. .................................................................. 23
LABORSO F THESEUS ........................................................................ 23
UNIDENTIFIESDT AMP.S.. .................................................................... 24
INTERIORRE LIEFM EDALLION...S.. ............................................................ 24
WO RKSHOP..S.. ................................................................................. 25
ATTRIBUTIONS.. .................................................................... 25
THE WO RKSHOP..S.. ........................................................................ 26
W ORKSHOP OF BION ..................................................................... 26
HAUSMANN'S WO RKSHOP.. ............................................................... 27
WO RKSHOAP ............................................................................ 28
COINS ~~~~~~~~~~~~94
x TTABLEO F CONTENTS
M MO NOGRAMC LASS.. .................................................................. 29
CL ASS1 ........................................................................ .. ........ 30
CL ASS2 ....................................... ........ ... ................................ 30
CL ASS3 .................................................... . ............................. 30
LOCATIOONF SHOPS.. ....................................................... .............. 31
TYPES OF ITEMSM ANUFACTURED.. .. ...................................................... 31
32
CHRONOLOG..Y .................................................................................
LONG-PETALB OwLS. ......................................*.....*.................. ................ 34
OR IGIN S ................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
35
CHRONOLOG..Y... ..............................................................................
END OF M ANUFACTURE.. .................................... .................................. 36
LONG-PETABLO wLSIN THEA GORA. .................................. 36
WORKSHOPO F APOLLODOR.O...S.. .......................................... 37
OTHER TYPES OF MOLDMADE BOWLS. ...............................*......................... 37
37
LOTUS-COROLBLOAW LS.. ....................................................
CONCENTRIC-SEMICBIROCWLLES. . ............................................ 38
39
N ET-PATTERBNO WL S ...........................................................................
39
DAISYB OWL.s. .................................................................................
OTHERT YPES OF MOLDMADEP OTTER.Y.. ....................................... 39
INSCRIPTIO..N..S... .......................................... ............ ............ ...........* 40
SIGNATUR.E...S.. ........................... .............................. 40
MONOGRAMOSN M OLD.S.. .................................................... 41
W42
IMPORTBEOD WL..S.. ................................o........................
44
C ATALOGUE4 .....................................................................
INTRODUCT4I.O...N... .......................... ...................................... .......... 44
44
TERMINOLOGYA ND CONVENTIONS .............................................................
44
DA TESA NDC ONTEXT..S... .............................*.......................................
THEC ATALOG.U...E... ................................................... ..... 45
D EPOSIT9.S.. ............................. ................ .............. ....................... ..... 94
94
INTRODUCTI.O...N... ........................ .......................................................
4
STAMPEADM PHORHA ANDLES.. ...............................................................
94
C OINS ...........................................................................................
. ...... 95
DA TE9S.. ......................................... ..................................
TERMINOLOAGNYDC ONVENTIO..N...S.. ...................................................... 96
DE POSISTU MMARIE..S.. ................................ ..................... ................... 96
APPENDIX: REVISED CHRONOLOGYO F PUBLISHED ATHENIAN HELLENISTICG ROUPS ...............107
THE AGORAG: ROUPSA -E1 .................................................................... 107
THE KERAMEIKODSIP:Y LON WELL B-1 ................................1.......................... 110
THEP IRAEUTSH: EP IRAEUCSI STER1.N... ..................................................... . III11
CO NCORDANC...E... .............I.. ...................... ...................... ................. . 113
....................... . 120
INDIC1E..S.. ...............................................................
PLATES
LIST OF PLATES
Photographs
1 Pine-coneB owls
2 Pine-coneB owls and Molds
3-6 ImbricateB owls
7 ImbricateB owls and Molds
8 ImbricateM olds. FloralB owls
9-13 FloralB owls
14 FloralB owls and Molds
15 FloralB owls with Figures
16 FloralB owl with Figures.F iguredB owls (Idyllic)
17-33 FiguredB owls (Idyllic)
34 FiguredB owls (Idyllica nd MythologicalH: erakles)
35 FiguredB owls (MythologicalT: heseus,O dysseus)
36 FiguredB owl (MythologicalR: ape of Persephone)
37 FiguredB owls (MythologicalR: ape of Persephone,R ape of Europa)
38 FiguredB owls (MythologicalR: ape of Ganymede)
39,40 FiguredB owls (MythologicalP: rokne?O pheltes?H eraklesa nd Auge)
41,42 FiguredB owls (MythologicalD: ionysiact rio)
43-45 FiguredB owls (Mythological)
46-53 FiguredB owls (Hunting)
54 FiguredB owls (Hunting)a nd Molds
55 FiguredM olds. Fragmentso f Bowls (ImbricateF, loralo r Figured)
56 Fragmentso f Bowls and Molds (ImbricateF, loral or Figured)
57 Fragmentso f Molds (ImbricateF, loral or Figured)
58 Fragmentso f Molds. Long-petaBl owls, Plain
59,60 Long-petaBl owls, Plain
61 Long-petaBl owls, Jeweled
62 Long-petaBl owls, Jeweleda nd Variants
63 Long-petaMl olds, Plain
64 Long-petaMl olds. Lotus-corollaB owls
65 Lotus-corollaB owl and Mold. Daisy Bowl. ImportedB owls (Imbricatea nd Floral)
66 ImportedB owls (Florala nd Figured)
67 ImportedB owls (Figured)a nd Fragments( ImbricateF, loralo r Figured)
68 ImportedB owls (Long-petaal nd Concentric-semicircle)
69 ImportedB owls (Net-pattern)R. elatedM oldmadeV essels
70 MoldmadeW est Slope Amphora
71 MoldmadeW est Slope Krater
72 Tools used in the Manufactureo f MoldmadeB owls
xii LIST OF PLATES
Drawings
73 Pine-cone,I mbricatea, nd FloralB owls
74 Florala nd FiguredB owls
75-86 FiguredB owls
87 Long-petaal nd ImportedB owls (Imbricatea nd Floral)
88 ImportedB owls (Floral,F igureda nd Long-petal)
89 ImportedB owls (Concentric-semicircalne d Net-pattern)R. elatedM oldmadeV essels
90,91 RelatedM oldmadeV essels
92 RepresentativPe rofileso f Bowls
93 RepresentativPe rofileso f Molds
94 ConventionaFl loralM otifso n Bowls.M otifsf romB owlso f the M MonogramC lassa ndC lasses1 -3
95 Monogramso n Molds and Signatureso n Bowls
96 Signatureso n Lotus-corollaB owls
97 Signatureso n Net-patternB owl and MoldmadeG uttus
98 Motifsf romB owlsP roducedb y Hausmann'Ws orkshopW, orkshopA and the Workshopo f Bion
99 Plan of the AthenianA gora in the SecondC enturyB .C., with Locationso f Deposits
ABBREVIATIONANDS BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adriani = A. Adriani, "Un vetro dorato alessandrino dal Caucaso,"B ulletin de la Societe Archeologique
d'Alexandri4e2 , 1967, pp. 105-127
Agora = TheA thenianA gora:R esults of ExcavationsC onductedb y the AmericanS chool of ClassicalS tudies
at Athens
Agora IV - R H. Howland, Greek Lamps and their Survivals, Princeton 1958
Agora V = H. S. Robinson, Pottery of the Roman Period, Chronology,P rinceton 1959
Agora VII J. Perlzweig (Binder), Lamps of the Roman Period, First to Seventh Centurya fter Christ,
Princeton1 961
Agora X = M. Lang and M. Crosby, Weights, Measures and Tokens, Princeton 1964
Agora XII = B. A. Sparkesa nd L. Talcott, Black and Plain Pottery of the 6th, 5th, and 4th Centuries
B.C., Princeton1 970
Agora XIV = H. A. Thompson and R. E. Wycherley, The Agora of Athens, Princeton 1972
AJA = American Journal of Archaeology
AJP = American Journal of Philology
AndreiomenouA, ., <r'' E(popsia KAaoOIK()Vap xaIOTnfTo2V3:: '056? "OO&voq4 *, AeAT2 1, B', 1966
[1968],p . 80
AntiochI V, i = F. 0. Waage, "Hellenistica nd Roman Tablewareo f North Syria,"i nAntioch-on-the-Orontes,
IV, i, Ceramicsa nd Islamic Coins,e d. F. 0. Waage,P rinceton1 948, pp. 1-60
AthMitt = Mitteilungend es Deutschen ArchaologischenI nstituts, Athenische Abteilung
BABesch = Bulletin van de Vereenigingt ot Bevorderingd er Kennis van de Antieke Beschaving
Baur, P. V. C., "MegarianB owls in Yale University,"A JA 45, 1941, pp. 229-248
Benndorf, O., Griechischeu nd sizilische Vasenbilder,B erlin 1869-1883
BMC = B. V. Head, A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum
BMC (Greece) = Central Greece, London 1884
BMC (Ionia) = Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Ionia, London 1892
Braun = K Braun," Der Dipylon-BrunneBn ,, Die Funde,"A thMitt8 5, 1970, pp. 129-269
Bruneau,P ., "La vaisselle,"i n Delos XXVII,p p. 239-262
BSA = Annual of the British School at Athens
Byvanck-Quarlveasn Ufford,L ., "Unb ol d'argenht ellenistiquee n Suede,"B ABesch4 8, 1973,p p. 119-123
, "Le bol hellenistiquee n verred ore au CorningM useumo f Glass,"B ABesch4 7, 1972,
pp. 46-49
, "Les bols hellenistiquese n verre dore,"B ABesch4 5, 1970, pp. 129-141
, "Les bols homeriques,"B ABesch2 9, 1954, pp. 35-40
, "Le tresord e Tarente,"B ABesch3 3, 1958, pp. 43-52
, "Variationssu r le theme des bols megariens,"B ABesch3 4, 1959, pp. 58-67
See also "Les bols megariens"
Corbett,P . E., "PalmetteS tampsf roma n Attic BlackG lazeW orkshop,H" esperia2 4, 1955,p p. 172-186