CHAPTER VIII

_VASE-PAINTING IN IONIA_

General characteristics—Classification—Mycenaean influence—Rhodian pottery—“Fikellura” ware—Asia Minor fabrics—Cyrenaic vases—Naukratis and its pottery—Daphnae ware—Caeretan hydriae—Other Ionic fabrics—“Pontic” vases—Early painting in Ionia—Clazomenae sarcophagi.

Having traced the history of vase-painting in Greece Proper down to the middle of the sixth century B.C., the point at which a tendency towards unification of style becomes perceptible, we must now turn our attention to the remains of the art on the other side of the Aegean, among the representatives of the Ionian race and in the centres of Ionian influence. To a certain extent it is difficult to treat the subject at all in a handbook, as, owing chiefly to want of material, the existence of an Ionian school of vase-painting has only been realised of late years, and it is as yet too early to sift proofs from theories, or to give a succinct and systematised account of the development and achievements of this school. The most that can be attempted is to present the reader with a review of the accumulated materials, and to point out what groups of vases may be regarded as exhibiting “Ionian” characteristics, or at all events such as permit of their being connected together.[1082] It must be borne in mind that some of these fabrics, such, for instance, as the Rhodian wares, have not actually been found in Ionic settlements; in other words, the name Ionian is to be applied to certain styles or schools, in the main associated with that race, apart from considerations of ethnography.

On one point scholars are in general agreement—namely, that Ionic art is a direct survival of Mycenaean. This was recognised as long ago as 1879 by Furtwaengler[1083] and by Lenormant,[1084] who pointed out that the silver cauldron dedicated by King Alyattes at Delphi must have been quite Mycenaean in character, although not earlier than the seventh century. It was decorated with aquatic animals and plants. There was in Ionia no disturbing element, such as the Dorian invasion introduced into Europe, between Mycenaean culture and the spread of Oriental influences. The Greek cities in Ionia owe their origin to that upheaval, but their culture was not affected by it; and their founders brought their Mycenaean civilisation with them fresh from Greece to their new homes in Miletos, Ephesos, Phocaea, Chios, and Samos. This was in the eleventh and tenth centuries B.C., and the Panionion, or union of Ionian cities, lasted down to the sixth century (when it was broken up by the Persian invasion), besides stretching out its feelers over the Mediterranean, to the Egyptian Delta and elsewhere. The actual centres of pottery-manufacture are not, however, easy to determine, and much may depend on the results of future excavations. That there was more than one is fairly obvious, and it will probably appear that Clazomenae, Miletos, and perhaps Phocaea, played the most important parts.

As regards the characteristics of the Ionian wares, a rough division may be made into two classes, corresponding to the buff-clay and red-clay Corinthian wares respectively. In the earlier, the vases are always covered with a creamy-white or drab-coloured slip, on which the figures stand out in lustrous black paint.[1085] The most typical fabric is that of the Rhodian wares, found in such large quantities in that island, but not necessarily made there. In the later group the place of the white slip is taken by a red coating or glaze similar to that of the Attic and later Corinthian wares, but somewhat brighter.

The principal subdivisions may be classified as follows (the arrangement is M. Pottier’s, with one or two small differences):—

I. 1. Rhodian wares.[1086] 2. Samian and “Fikellura” wares.[1087] 3. Asia Minor fabrics: (_a_) Caria.[1088] (_b_) Knidos.[1089] (_c_) Larissa.[1090] (_d_) Myrina.[1091] (_e_) Pitane.[1092] (_f_) Phocaea.[1093] (_g_) Troad.[1094] 4. Vases found in the Crimea.[1095] 5. Naukratis wares.[1096] 6. Clazomenae sarcophagi.[1097]

II. 1. Cyrenaic wares. 2. Daphnae wares. 3. Caeretan hydriae. 4. So-called “Pontic” vases. 5. Developed B.F. Ionian fabrics from Clazomenae, Kyme, Naukratis, Rhodes, etc. 6. Italo-Ionic vases of the decadence and Etruscan imitations.[1098]

The subdivision between the earlier and later fabrics is, roughly speaking, between those with white and red ground, and between those in which ground-ornaments are used or not. Generally speaking, all the second class have more in common with the Attic B.F. vases than with “primitive” fabrics.

Before proceeding to the consideration of these fabrics in detail, it may be as well to note some of the general characteristics of Ionian pottery. In the use of incised lines and accessory pigments we may note two points: firstly, the absence for some time of any attempt at incised lines, their place being taken partly by contours drawn in outline on the clay; secondly, the use of white lines or patches for details. The incised lines, when they do appear, seem to be derived from Corinth. We may, perhaps, detect their arrival in the vases with imbrications (see p. 311), which were imported thence to Rhodes; but another theory is that they were derived from engraved work in metal. Practically their place had been, and to some extent continued to be, taken by the white paint, which, be it noted, is obviously a Mycenaean survival or revival.[1099] It frequently occurs on the pottery of Ialysos and Enkomi, in precisely the same manner as we see it used in Rhodes or on the sarcophagi of Clazomenae. Sometimes both the incised lines and the white-paint details are found on the same vase, as is seen in some of the Rhodian jugs, or on a pinax from Naukratis.[1100] The white pigments are usually laid directly on the clay, not on the black, as at Athens. They are used for flesh tints, but not to distinguish sex (cf. the Caeretan hydriae, p. 355, where men are painted white, as on the Melian vases they are yellow).

As regards the ornamentation, the persistence of Mycenaean motives is exceedingly remarkable.[1101] It is seen especially in the fabrics of Rhodes and Naukratis, with their wealth of ground-ornaments, and is found not only in the more conventional motives such as spirals, or scale-pattern, but also in the vegetable patterns. There is generally in the floral decoration of the vases a tendency towards the naturalism of Mycenaean pottery. Animals, when decoratively treated, are usually arranged in long friezes, contrasting with the Corinthian method of grouping them heraldically in pairs.[1102] In the human figures Oriental influence is frequently prominent, as in the hybrid beings which so often adorn the vases, or in such types as the “Asiatic Artemis”; or, again, in small details, the conical caps and shoes with turned-up toes, which recall the figures on the monuments of Lydia and Phrygia. Oriental costumes generally are reproduced with great fidelity. As a rule the proportions are gross and heavy, as compared with the slimness of figures on Attic vases, wherein a curious contrast may be observed with the characteristics of Ionian and Continental architecture and sculpture, in which these features are reversed. There is, moreover, a conspicuous absence of stiffness in the Ionian compositions—rather, a remarkable freshness, vigour, and originality quite in advance of their time. Another point of contrast with the Attic vases is the absence of any differentiation of the sexes in the shape of the eye, which is always oval (cf. p. 408).

In the choice of subjects the same law may be observed to prevail as in the Corinthian wares—that of the _hiérarchie des genres_. Mythological subjects appear first about the middle of the seventh century, in the Euphorbos pinax. Later we find actually scenes of a quasi-historical character, as in the battle-scenes on the Clazomenae sarcophagi and the Cyrenaic Arkesilaos vase. Throughout there is a remarkable absence of inscriptions, which are only found at the most on some half-dozen vases. The height of the Ionian style may be said to have been reached in the seventh century, lasting up to about the middle of the sixth; thence there is a rapid downfall, due mainly to historical causes, and the traces of its influence are only to be sought in Italian imitations of an inferior kind, and in some of the Attic black-figured vases, such as those of Amasis and Nikosthenes.

But the influence that was exercised during all this period by Ionian art in general on Greece is not easy to estimate; it is not confined to the pottery, but is found in sculpture and architecture as well as the minor arts. There are numerous passages in ancient writers bearing on the activity of early Ionian artists, such as Theodoros and Rhoikos of Samos, and their works, which often took the form of offerings of Asiatic princes to the Greek temples. The Ionic school of sculpture, illustrated by the early temple at Ephesos, the “Harpy” Monument, and other notable works, as well as the great Amyclaean throne, which Bathykles of Magnesia was commissioned to erect, established the fame of early Greek sculpture in no small degree; and Ionic architecture, though slower to win its way to favour in Greece Proper, reached a high degree of excellence at an early period on the eastern shore of the Aegean. Of painting in Ionia, apart from the vases, we propose to speak later. In literature and in civilisation generally Ionia was, up to the middle of the sixth century, far more advanced than any part of the Greek mainland.

§ 1. RHODES AND ASIA MINOR

The distinctive pottery of Rhodes,[1103] which, whether of local manufacture or not, is found almost exclusively in that island,[1104] represents the union of Mycenaean elements with a new feature, that of Oriental influence. Although primarily due to the dispersion of the Phoenicians by Assyria in the eighth century, this Orientalising of Ionia is purely artistic and industrial, not political, and is due to the commercial activity of the Phoenicians. The pottery represents a sort of transition between Assyrian and Greek decorative art, the essentially Greek elements in which are a survival of Mycenaean ornaments and a Mycenaean faculty of observation of nature, especially in the animal world. From the East were derived such features as hybrid monsters (the Sphinx, Siren, etc.), animals such as the lion, isolated motives like the lotos-flower and the rosette, and generally a tendency to imitate textile fabrics with long bands of decoration, in which the ground is strewn with these rosettes and other ornaments. We have already seen that these features also made their mark on the Corinthian style, but they are more especially characteristic of Rhodes. Human figures are exceedingly rare.

In regard to the shapes a great advance is made towards the classical types; the parts of the vase are more clearly distinguished, and the forms are few and consistent. The special Rhodian shape is the oinochoë, a large jug with trefoil lip and spherical body, decorated with two or three friezes of animals (see Plate XX. and p. 177); next in popularity is the circular plate or _pinax_. The ornamentation is always in lustrous black paint on the characteristic white or drab-coloured slip, with a free use of purple for details. White is little used as an accessory—there seems to have been a prejudice against its use when the ground of the vase was also white—but incised lines occur more freely. On the other hand, the heads of animals are almost always outlined in black on the clay ground, a feature derived from Mycenaean pottery, and interior details are also frequently left in the ground of the clay, as in the Geometrical style. We have already mentioned instances in which the two methods are found on the same vase.

The typical Rhodian oinochoae, like the contemporary Corinthian vases, owe much to the imitation of the textile embroideries of Assyria, of which we have already spoken under the other head (p. 312). These had become familiar in Rhodes through the agency of the Phoenicians, but it is also possible that the Ionians were themselves proficient in this industry. The bands of lotos-ornament and friezes of animals also appear on the porcelain vases found in large numbers at Kameiros (p. 127), which are sometimes most elaborately ornamented, and are clearly of Phoenician origin; the seventh century was, in fact, the time when the Greek world was most dominated by Oriental influences.

The ornamental patterns on the vases of this class fall under two heads—the smaller independent ground-ornaments, and the more elaborated bands of vegetable ornament. The former are best illustrated by the Euphorbos pinax, presently to be described; in contrast to the unvarying Corinthian rosette, they show a considerable variety of treatment, and are partly variations on the rosette theme, partly geometrical, like the fragments of maeander, or crosses with hooked arms, which recall in form the ubiquitous _swastika_. The band of lotos-flowers and buds actually occurs at a much earlier date in Boeotia, as we have seen, but it is at Rhodes that it first assumes the characteristic Greek form. On the pinakes a development of this motive, forming a fan-shaped combination of radiating leaves, is usually employed to fill in the “exergue” below the designs; a similar ornament is found on the black wares with incised patterns, and it is the forerunner of the pear-shaped radiations painted on the small bowls of a more recent date.[1105]

A typically Ionian motive is the plait-band, found at Naukratis and on the Clazomenae sarcophagi, and introduced from Assyria. The Mycenaean spiral, so prominent in Attica and Melos, retires into the background, or loses its geometrical significance, and becomes a mere vegetable motive, an adjunct to the floral combinations of bud and flower. The Rhodian vases are, in fact, the first in which spiral motives were freely used for calyx-ornaments, as, generally speaking, they were the first in post-Mycenaean times to raise floral motives from mere ground-ornaments to independent decoration.[1106]

The series of pinakes yield the most interesting examples of Rhodian vase-painting; they are usually decorated with a figure of a ram or other animal on a large scale (Plate XXIV.), the exergue or lower portion of the field being filled in with a suitable pattern, such as a sort of fan-pattern of spreading rays or fronds (see above), or a free variation of the Egyptian lotos-flower. But one is of surpassing interest and importance, the famous Euphorbos pinax as it is generally called, which was found at Kameiros, and is now in the British Museum. The subject is the combat of Menelaos and Hector over the body of Euphorbos,[1107] a scene from the _Iliad_, but not reproduced in accurate detail, as, indeed, is seldom the case in archaic art. The figures are drawn partly in outline, with a lavish use of purple for details, and the whole of the ground is filled in with various ornaments, rosettes, etc., one at the top of the scene taking the form of a pair of eyes, with a conventionalised floral pattern between. Additional interest is given to the design by the fact that the figures are named, the words being in the Argive alphabet (see Chapter XVII.).

This inscription does not necessarily affect the question of the place of fabric of the pinax, as it has been shown that the Argive alphabet was used in Rhodes in the seventh century[1108]; but it enables us to fix its date about B.C. 650, and the whole of the Rhodian ware may be regarded as belonging to the seventh century. It has, indeed, been suggested that the subject is copied from an Argive metal relief, and this might account for the unexpected presence of an inscription.

As to the place of fabric of Rhodian ware generally, it has been more than once suggested that it is to be sought, not in Rhodes, but in the neighbouring Ionian city of Miletos.[1109] Dümmler’s theory of an Argive origin, resting as it does almost exclusively on the Euphorbos inscriptions, is practically negatived by the absence of any similar pottery in the extensive finds at the Argive Heraion. Miletos, however, was in close connection with Rhodes, and in favour of the argument is the remarkable parallelism of the pottery of Naukratis, which was undoubtedly in close association with Miletos; it was, in fact, first colonised by Milesian Greeks, and the Milesian Apollo was worshipped there. But further evidence is needed before this view can be regarded as other than a mere hypothesis. At all events, no convincing argument has as yet been urged against the pottery being of local manufacture. In date, as has been said, it covers the seventh century, being thus contemporaneous with the Melian and earlier Corinthian fabrics.

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PLATE XXIV

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In one of the extensive cemeteries of Kameiros, known as Fikellura, there were found quantities of a class of pottery which has since been generally known by that name, but is probably not a local fabric. It has also been found in large numbers in the island of Samos,[1110] where Rhodian vases are comparatively rare, and owing to this more recent evidence the ware has been regarded as probably of Samian origin. Several specimens were also found on another Ionian site, that of Daphnae in the Egyptian Delta, but are quite distinct from the local fabric of that place. The date of the tombs in Samos is the second half of the sixth century, and it is noteworthy that from the ornamentation of these vases all Oriental influence has disappeared. On the other hand, they seem to represent the last lingering vestiges of Mycenaean influence. The majority are in the form of amphorae, but other forms, such as jugs and lekythi, are known. The technique is that of the Orientalising vases, with the typical Ionian creamy-white slip; the black has a tendency to become brown, or even red, and purple accessories are employed. Incised lines do not appear, but details are marked by spaces left in the ground of the clay. The subjects are simple in character and arrangement, usually one or two animals (or sometimes human figures) on either side of the body, the spaces being filled in with palmettes, spirals, or other ornaments. The ornamentation is strikingly characteristic, especially the network patterns on the necks of the vases, the scale-patterns, and the bands of crescents which we also find in use in Lesbos and at Daphnae.[1111] They form altogether a clearly-distinguished group, but sometimes show signs of late date, if they are not actually to be regarded as archaistic. Examples are given in Fig. 91.

The system of decoration is curiously reminiscent of the Mycenaean vases,[1112] as exemplified in the great prominence given to the ornament as the main decoration, the scrolls and palmettes recalling the seaweed and other vegetable patterns on the former. This prominence of ornament is always an Ionian characteristic, retained as late as the Caeretan hydriae (p. 354), with their bold bands of palmettes and lotos-flowers round the very centre of the body. The scale-patterns, another Mycenaean legacy, we shall meet with again at Daphnae, where similarly they cover the most prominent part of the vases. The most representative series of Fikellura vases is that in the British Museum, from Rhodes, Naukratis, and Daphnae; there are also some in the Louvre (A 321–34).[1113]

Dr. Böhlau, in his treatise on Ionian pottery,[1114] discusses as a class certain vases which, in accordance with his theory, he terms “Later Milesian.” At all events, they demand attention from the remarkable way in which they combine Ionian and Corinthian characteristics, sometimes, as we have seen, on the same vase. They have been found in Rhodes, Naukratis, and Italy, but the place of their manufacture is variously assigned to Corinth, Naukratis, and Miletos.[1115] An oinochoe found in Rhodes, with the incised lines in one animal-frieze and the details left in the colour of the clay or shown in black outline in the other, seems to incline to an Asiatic origin, at least as regards its shape[1116]; on the other hand, the fine krater in the Louvre[1117] is of a form more usually associated with Corinth. The upper half of the latter is Corinthian in style, the lower Rhodian, and thus there is not much to choose. But on the evidence adduced by Dr. Böhlau[1118] it would seem to be more probably of Ionian fabric. It may be that further evidence will enable us to assign these vases of mixed style to Naukratis, always a meeting-place of styles or fabrics; but it has not as yet been definitely ascertained to what extent the earlier fabrics of that place are local in origin. Meanwhile, the group is one that fully deserves separate consideration. Dr. Böhlau points out that it is characterised by the half-palmettes at the handles of the vases, by the Mycenaean-like spirals, and the inferior careless ground-ornaments, and generally by its deviations from the normal Rhodian types.

The black ware with patterns in purple and white and incised lines which has been mentioned as found in Rhodes is regarded by Böhlau[1119] as Aeolic. It is, as we shall see, paralleled at Naukratis by wares which there is good reason for regarding as of Lesbian origin. The typical form of decoration, the fan-shaped palmette, also occurs at Daphnae. In any case there is clearly an attempt at the imitation of metal vases, the polychrome colouring being intended to reproduce the effect of bronze inlaid with gold and silver. But before it can be established as an Aeolic fabric more results must be obtained by excavation in that part of Asia Minor.

In various places on the mainland of Asia Minor (see p. 62) vases of early fabric have been found, about which at present little is known, except that they usually show some points of comparison with the recognised Ionian fabrics, and may therefore be regarded as of local manufacture, or at least from some place on the coast of Asia. An attempt has indeed been made by Böhlau to recognise in these also an Aeolic fabric, centring in the neighbourhood of Kyme and Myrina. An example is to be seen in the remarkable vase found at Myrina,[1120] with the bust of a man painted in outline, which resembles in shape the Fikellura vases, and is probably intermediate between the Rhodian and this fabric. Similar pottery finds have been made at Larisa, at Pitane, and in the Troad. At Larisa and Myrina Böhlau notes vases of the earlier Rhodian style, and at Larisa others which show a distinct independent derivation from Mycenaean pottery, especially in the ground-ornaments. On the site of Troy Dr. Dörpfeld found fragments of pottery of a Rhodian type with ornaments of pear-shaped leaves, such as occur on late sixth- century bowls from Kameiros[1121]; also a vase with a female head resembling that from Myrina, and another of Naucratite character. There appears to have been a local fabric in the sixth century—or perhaps even later—of flat bowls with bracket-handles, on which are painted figures of birds, etc., in coarse black pigment without any incised lines or accessories; a series of these is in the British Museum, and others were found by Dr. Dörpfeld (see above, pp. 61, 259).

In Caria the Ionian style is represented by finds at Stratonikeia and Mylasa,[1122] with ornamentation of Mycenaean character, which appears to have reached a similar stage of development to the earlier Graeco-Phoenician vases from Cyprus; many analogies may be noted. That the Mycenaean influence was strong in Caria is also shown by the pottery of transitional character found by Mr. Paton at Hissarlik.[1123]

At Temir-Gora (Phanagoria) in the Crimea a vase was found in 1870 with paintings in brown on buff ground, representing a hare-hunt, panthers, and other animals.[1124] The style has evident affinities to that of the “Rhodian” vases, and Phanagoria being a Milesian colony, this is only natural. But it seems to be a local product, not an importation; the panther, for instance, is unknown on Rhodian vases proper.

§ 2. AFRICA

The fabrics of the Ionian school are not confined to Asia Minor as regards their place of origin. In the Greek colonies which were founded in Africa in the seventh and sixth centuries we find evidences of great industrial activity, and in some cases extensive remains of painted pottery, which exhibit a close connection with the fabrics more closely associated with Asia Minor. There is, however, one group of vases which seems to stand by itself, and which, though it may be ranked with the Ionian fabrics from its use of the white slip and from the original naturalistic treatment of the subjects, yet shows a marked independence both in technique and in decoration.

The vases grouped under this head have been found chiefly in Etruria, but more recently several examples have come to light in the Ionian colony of Naukratis in the Egyptian Delta and in Samos.[1125] As long ago as 1881 it was proposed by Puchstein to connect them with the Theraean colony of Kyrene on the north coast of Africa, on the ground of the subject depicted on the finest and most remarkable of them—the Arkesilaos cup of the Cabinet des Médailles at Paris. When, however, the Naucratite specimens turned up, it was thought that they might after all be a local fabric of that colony, especially as that place was known to have had a close connection with Kyrene, whence about 570 B.C. came the queen of Amasis, who was a great benefactor to Naukratis. But to urge only one of the opposing arguments, there seems to have been little or no export of pottery _from_ Naukratis, although imported specimens have been found there of almost every early fabric known. It was reserved for the ingenuity of Dr. Studniczka[1126] to identify a scene on a fragmentary cup found there with the figure of the nymph Kyrene, the patron goddess of that city, and thereby to establish definitely the origin of this class. Curiously enough, no remains of the early colony of Kyrene have ever been discovered; but when, if ever, they are brought to light, it may be confidently hoped that further evidence will be obtained.

The =Cyrenaic= vases, as they are now generally styled, are for the most part _kylikes_ of a slender and graceful form, owing much apparently to metal originals, as indicated by the use of palmettes at the ends of the handles, and by their form and ornamentation in general. The designs are painted in black on a slip varying in tint from deep buff to a pale cream-colour, with firmly-drawn incised lines and a plentiful use of purple for details. The drawing is remarkably spirited, and the subjects mostly marked by _naïveté_ and freshness. The popularity of mythological scenes is remarkable; we find representations of Zeus, Atlas and Prometheus, Kadmos, Pelops, and other heroic figures, besides the remarkable vases which deal with local legend and history.

The Arkesilaos vase[1127] (Fig. 92) demands something more than a passing description. It represents the king of Kyrene superintending the weighing of the silphium-plant, which was a valuable source of his revenue. Although there were four sovereigns of that name, the choice is practically limited to one, the second of the name, who reigned about 580–550 B.C. The scene takes place on a ship ready to sail, of which the yard-arm and part of the sails are visible; from the yard hangs a large balance, inscribed with the word σταθμός, in each pan of which is a large mass of some substance, which has generally been interpreted as representing the silphium. But as a matter of fact it is open to doubt whether it is not really wool, or some similar article of merchandise. On the left of the scene, on a folding-chair, sits the king, with flowing locks and large hat, before whom a man named Sophortos stands, with a gesture implying that he is making a statement relating to the transaction. On the right are four men variously occupied, two carrying bags of the stuff tied at the neck; one of these is named Σλιφόμαχος,[1128] a word of uncertain meaning, but apparently having some reference to the silphium. A horizontal line is drawn below the scene, and in the lower part of the circle we see perhaps the storing of the merchandise in the hold, under the superintendence of an official named Φύλακος (guardian); two men are carrying bags to add to a heap of three already stored away. In the upper part of the design and behind Arkesilaos are depicted various birds, a monkey, a lizard, and a panther, perhaps to give local colouring to the scene.[1129] The whole is conceived with wonderful _naïveté_ and freshness, so much so that early writers regarded it as a parody or burlesque of a serious subject; but this can hardly be the case.

Several other scenes on the Cyrenaic vases merit description, did space permit; but it must suffice to refer to the list of subjects already given. The majority of the specimens are in the Louvre, which possesses no less than ten cups, besides three larger vases, decorated with animals and ornaments only. There are also four in the Cabinet des Médailles, of which, besides the Arkesilaos cup, one representing Polyphemos devouring the companions of Odysseus and the subsequent blinding (all in one scene) is of conspicuous interest. The British Museum possesses two or three cups and several fragments from Naukratis, including the important one restored by Studniczka as representing the local nymph holding branches of silphium and pomegranate, and surrounded by flying daemons, male and female, or Boreads and Harpies (Fig. 93).

Of this series the Arkesilaos cup is the only one with inscriptions. They are without doubt in an alphabet of Peloponnesian, not Ionian, character, as is shown, for instance, by the [ψ] for Χ in Σλιφόμαχος. But this may be explained by reference to the history of the city, which in the seventh and sixth centuries received a considerable influx of the Dorian element, especially from Sparta, whose alphabet may have been adopted for general use.

The total number of specimens in existence is about forty; some of which, however, are merely fragmentary examples.[1130]

Allusion has already been made to the extensive finds of pottery at =Naukratis=, among the most remarkable of recent years, which have done much to increase our knowledge of Ionian industrial art. As has been said, almost every other early fabric is represented there, from the Melian and Corinthian wares to those of Rhodes and other Asiatic sites, including a large series of Athenian vases or fragments down to the latest times. But with these were present in overwhelming numbers specimens of an entirely new fabric which could only be regarded as local in its origin. Of the pottery with figure subjects three stages can be traced, all characterised by the Ionian cream-coloured slip, of which the earliest is remarkably like the Rhodian wares, the next is distinguished by its polychrome decoration on a white ground, and the third represents a sort of transition from the quasi-Rhodian style of decoration to the regular black-figured ware, and is parallel in many respects to the sister-fabric of Daphnae (see below).

All this pottery was discovered in _favissae_ or rubbish-heaps attached to the sanctuaries of Apollo, Aphrodite, Hera, and the Dioskuri, especially the two former. As the vases had been rejected as useless or crowded out by new ones, they are almost all broken and fragmentary. But it is interesting to note that on numbers of the earlier potsherds from the Apollo temple the words Ἀπόλλωνος ἐμί, “I am Apollo’s,” have been roughly scratched, as if the priests had wished to mark them as sacred and preserve them from profane uses, although no longer required. Even more frequent on all the sites are dedications to the respective deities, with the formula ὁ δεῖνα ἀνέθηκε τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι, or τῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ, in the Ionic alphabet (cf. Fig. 16, p. 139). On palaeographical grounds the inscriptions may be dated as ranging from about 600 to 520 B.C., but there are some difficulties with regard to the date of the foundation of the settlement.

Strabo (xvii. 1, p. 801) assigns the foundation to Greeks of Miletos, about 620 B.C., but the words of Herodotos (ii. 178) are to the effect that Amasis (564–526 B.C.), “who was a phil-Hellene ... gave those who arrived in Egypt the city of Naukratis to inhabit.” If this means that no Greeks had lived there before his time, we cannot place any of the pottery earlier than 570; but it does not seem unreasonable to take the words to mean that the city already existed, and that Amasis merely recognised the right of Greeks to reside there. Herodotos also tells us that by permission of Amasis the Milesians independently founded the temenos of Apollo. From the evidence of the excavations Messrs. Petrie and Ernest Gardner felt themselves justified in placing the foundation of the city about the middle of the seventh century, a date which certainly seems to be required by the character of the earliest pottery. The disappearance of the local fabrics and their replacement by Attic importations would then fall about 520 B.C.

In the earliest class a distinction, as in Rhodes, is to be noted between figures without incised lines, but with faces in outline, and figures with incised lines, the two being sometimes combined on one vase, as in Fig. 94. It has already been shown that the former must be earlier in origin than the latter. On the other hand, in the polychrome white ware (see below) the incised lines again disappear; but the more advanced style of the drawing and choice of subjects testifies to its being a later variety. There can, however, be no doubt that the influence of Rhodes (or whatever was the fabric-centre of “Rhodian” pottery) was very strong at Naukratis, and if we adopt Böhlau’s theory of a Milesian origin for the Rhodian wares, this is fully accounted for by the history of the place. Consequently the two fabrics are very difficult to distinguish, and, in fact, the difference is mainly in point of style.

There is, however, a class of wares found at Naukratis which does not seem to be of local origin. This is the so-called Polledrara fabric, or black ware resembling that found in Etruria, and especially in the tomb of that name at Vulci (see Chapter XVIII.). It has also been found in Rhodes, where black wares are by no means uncommon, some closely resembling the Italian bucchero in character. It is hardly likely that this ware is Naucratite in origin, although the Polledrara tomb contains objects undoubtedly exported from Egypt. Professor E. A. Gardner[1131] has pointed out that one of the black-ware vases bears an inscription showing that it was dedicated by a Mytilenaean, and others have inscriptions in Aeolic dialect. Hence he deduces the theory that this black ware was made in Lesbos, and exported thence both to Rhodes and to Naukratis. He also points out that it is really distinct from the Italian variety both in style and technique, as, for instance, in the Italian use of blue.

But there is a class of pottery, unfortunately only represented by fragments, which appears to be developed partly from the “Lesbian” ware, partly from the early Naucratite fabric, and must certainly be of local origin. It has never been found elsewhere,[1132] and the combination of “Lesbian” and Rhodian elements also points to this conclusion. The vases, which seem to have been large bowls, are covered on the inside with a black varnish, on which patterns of purely decorative character (palmettes, pear-shaped rays of Rhodian or Aeolic form, etc.) are painted in white and red. The outside, on the contrary, is covered with a white slip, the designs being painted, partly in outline, in various tints, such as flesh-colour, dark brown, purple, dark red, yellow, and even opaque white. In spite of the retention of the Rhodian system of outlines and absence of incised lines, the style is remarkably advanced, and the treatment of details often most careful and elaborate; moreover, the subjects are almost exclusively human figures, although the fragmentary nature of the remains renders the interpretation in many cases almost impossible. They seem to stand on the same level as the Daphnae pottery (see below), both in style and range of subject.[1133]

To return to the vases of “Rhodian” type, a few typical characteristics may be noted, showing their development. The earliest specimens are decorated exclusively with animals, painted in the Rhodian fashion, with heads and other parts in outline and details only indicated by leaving them in the colour of the clay. The typical ground-ornaments are the cross with hooked arms, the spiral, and a pattern of diagonals with chevrons between.[1134] Later, a preference is shown for large vases, usually bowls or kraters, sometimes also large plates, with friezes of animals and Sphinxes on a corresponding scale. The Rhodian style still obtains, with the addition of purple accessories. The favourite animals are the lion, bull, boar, and Cretan goat; a broad plait-band or guilloche as border is of frequent occurrence; and in addition to the ground-ornaments already mentioned, various forms of rosettes and borders of maeander are found. On a large bowl dedicated to Aphrodite by one Sostratos (Plate XXIV.), besides lions, Sphinxes, and water-fowl, two dogs are seen attacking a boar; the drawing is more advanced than in most examples.[1135]

The next stage in which the incised lines begin to appear is best illustrated by the fine plate with a seated Sphinx,[1136] where they are combined with outlined contours (in the head), and details rendered by white laid on the black, as also are the patterns round the rim. Another large plate (A 986) has a dance of men and a frieze of animals with incised lines and purple accessories, but the surrounding patterns (lotos-flowers and palmettes, tongue-pattern, etc.) are in plain black.

Lastly, there is the stage which forms a transition from the earlier or “Rhodian” style to the black-figured, in which for a time the influence of Corinth seems to make itself felt. The figures are painted in black, which often turns to red through faulty firing, on a warm buff ground, sometimes with purple accessories. The favourite shapes are the _lebes_ or _deinos_ with flat rim, and the column-handled krater so popular at Corinth in the sixth century, with flat-topped handles, on which human heads or animals are painted. Corinthian influence is sometimes also seen in the designs, as in the Sphinxes of B 100; or in other ways, as in the olpe A 1534, with a ram in a panel on one side of the handle. Another curious example is the column-handled krater A 1533, with two friezes of animals, of which the lower is more Ionic in type. The British Museum collection also contains numerous fragments (B 102–3) in this local style, together with a few of other fabrics,[1137] among which an interesting representation of Odysseus passing the Sirens may be noted; also a series of chariot-scenes and horsemen, which in style recall the Caeretan hydriae (see p. 355). The merging of the local style in the fully-developed black-figure Athenian style is clearly visible in these fragments, which are interesting from their parallelism, though not their resemblance, to those of Daphnae.

Among the later Ionic fabrics, of practically fully-developed black-figure style (_i.e._ with buff ground, incised lines, and accessory colours), not the least interesting is the group of vases and fragments from =Daphnae= in the Egyptian Delta, now in the British Museum.[1138] Like the pottery of Naukratis, they illustrate the relations between Ionia and Africa in the sixth century, but even in a more marked degree, inasmuch as they were more directly influenced by local circumstances.

This pottery was discovered by Mr. Flinders Petrie in 1886, on a site known as Tell Defenneh, representing the Tahpanhes of the Hebrew prophets and the Daphnae of Herodotos,[1139] from whom we learn that a fort was found here by Psammetichos I. at the beginning of the sixth century. As Naukratis guarded the west of the Delta, so did Daphnae the east, with the highway to Syria. Herodotos[1140] also speaks of camps garrisoned by Ionian and Carian troops; and if we might identify these with Daphnae, we should have a _terminus post quem_ for the pottery, as the camps were desolated by Amasis about 560 B.C. On the other hand, the pottery is hardly to be dated so early from its style, and it is important to notice that it is practically unrepresented at Naukratis, that meeting-place of all early fabrics.

The chief problem with which we are confronted in regard to the Daphnae pottery is whether it is a local fabric or imported. Opinions of scholars are somewhat divided, Dümmler and Endt declaring for the local fabric,[1141] Zahn for importations from Clazomenae.[1142] The close connection with the fabrics of Asia Minor, such as the Caeretan hydriae and the Clazomenae sarcophagi, cannot be denied, and there are many small details which are peculiar to Ionic vases; but, on the other hand, there is much that is peculiar to this group and tells in favour of a local origin. It is also important to bear in mind that the Daphnae pottery has little in common with that of Naukratis, in spite of the relation of both to Ionia.

It will perhaps be convenient to take the groups of Daphnae fragments one by one, noting the general characteristics and individual peculiarities of each. First we have a group of tall cylindrical vases[1143] (one or two of which are completely preserved), of an obviously Egyptian form, which has been called a _situla_ or pail (Fig. 95). The clay is of a drab colour, brittle, and badly levigated, and covered with a dark brown varnish laid on a coating of glaze. Owing to chemical causes this varnish has in almost all cases disappeared, carrying with it most of the designs, which can only be distinguished by the incised lines. The figure subjects are confined to panels on either side of the neck, and usually consist of heraldic groups of animals or winged monsters. Round the body are patterns of lotos-flowers and fan-shaped half-rosettes of Rhodian type. The technique, however, and other points recall the Geometrical vases, and this is especially marked in one case (B.M. B 104 = Fig. 95), where the panels are bordered and filled in with ornamental patterns of Geometrical style.[1144] The whole appearance of this vase, in which the varnish is preserved, is that of the Geometrical style; the method may have been learned through Rhodes. On the other hand, some subjects are of Egyptian type, such as the hawks (B 106_{2}), and the pair of combatants with their nude bodies and shaven crowns (B 106_{1}).

Secondly, there is a group of tall slim amphorae, of purely Greek style,[1145] with a characteristic scheme of decoration, consisting of panels on the neck, usually containing a Sphinx or Siren, and two friezes round the body, divided by a band of dots; the neck is always divided from the body by a moulded ring, below which is a polychrome tongue-pattern in black, white, and purple alternately. An example is given in Plate XXV. It is important to note here that the white colouring, of which lavish use is made, is laid directly on the clay, as in other Ionic vases; incised lines are only employed for inner details, not for contours. This group is obviously of later date than the _situlae_, and the points of correspondence between it and the Caeretan hydriae and sarcophagi of Clazomenae (see below) are very marked. Sometimes the place of the main design is taken by a panel of scale-pattern,[1146] rendered in colour only, curiously reminiscent of Mycenaean vases. Two other points are worth citing here as presenting the same feature: the two-handled cup with tall stem on B 115_{2}, which is clearly the Mycenaean type of kylix, and the borders of white dots laid on the black which sometimes occur on the draperies. The clay is of a warm yellow colour, well levigated and polished, and the general appearance of the vases is bright and pleasing. The lower frieze on the body usually takes the form of a row of animals, especially of geese feeding; but where the main design is replaced by a scale-pattern, dancing figures are usually found.

Thirdly, there is a squat form of amphora, with cylindrical neck and wide body, which has been distinguished by the name of _stamnos_.[1147] Most of the vases of this form found at Daphnae are of the “Fikellura” type described above (p. 337), and are obviously importations, whether from Samos or Rhodes; but others (nearly all fragmentary) are of the same type as the amphorae. On both shapes a motive is sometimes introduced which is clearly learned from the Fikellura vases, that of a row of crescents, which, instead of being merely painted in black, are treated, like the tongue-pattern, in polychrome.[1148] The only other shape found is the hydria, of a type differing greatly from the Caeretan (see below) with its flat shoulder at right angles to the body; but the same typical wreath of pointed leaves occurs on both (cf. B 126–27). The list is completed by a few fragments of imported B.F. vases from Athens.

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PLATE XXV

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The subjects comprise several interesting mythological themes: Odysseus and Kirke,[1149] the Calydonian boar-hunt, Boreas and one of his sons, Bellerophon and the Chimaera. There is a curious series of nude figures on horseback, painted white throughout, accompanied by warriors and dogs; they have usually been interpreted as feminine, but are not so necessarily, as Ionian painters used white indiscriminately for either sex.[1150] Dionysiac scenes are popular, but monotonous, and often very coarse; the Satyrs are of the Ionic type, with horses’ hoofs, and very bestial in appearance; their place is often taken by grotesque dancers, as on the Corinthian vases. Among small details the Oriental embroidered saddle-cloths[1151] should be mentioned, as also the curious hook (φάλος) in front of the warrior’s helmet on B 11; both are found on the Clazomenae sarcophagi, and the latter is typical of Ionic art.[1152]

§ 3. LATER IONIC FABRICS

What is in many ways the most remarkable group of Ionian vases is formed by the =Caeretan hydriae=, so called because they have been found almost exclusively at Caere (Cervetri) in Etruria. They form a very homogeneous group, and their typical features are unmistakable. Originally they were thought to be of local, _i.e._ Etruscan, manufacture, or even imitations of Corinthian vases. But since the sarcophagi of Clazomenae and the pottery of Naukratis and Daphnae have been made known and studied, it has been established beyond doubt that they stand in close relation to these undoubtedly Ionian fabrics.[1153] If further proof were wanted, it is to be found in a class of Etruscan vases which are clearly imitated from them (see Chapter XVIII.).

They were first collectively discussed in 1888 by Dümmler, who gave a list of fourteen, assigning them to Phocaea; a more complete list of twenty has since been drawn up by Endt, who to some extent endorses Dümmler’s views, but is inclined to attribute them to Clazomenae, on the opposite side of the Gulf of Smyrna, thus bringing them into closer relation with the sarcophagi. Whichever be the correct view, there is no doubt that they come from this region, and the existence of a ceramic fabric at Clazomenae, as attested by the sarcophagi and a few painted fragments of pottery, is in favour of Endt’s attribution. We have also to set by the side of this the absence (so far) of any pottery at Phocaea. In any case the place must have formed part of the Naucratite confederation, and it was perhaps influenced much by Rhodes.[1154] That the vases have all been found at Cervetri need excite no surprise, as there is abundant evidence that certain fabrics were specially favoured by different places, and apparently made for exclusive importation.

From the circumstances of discovery of some of them they may be dated about the middle of the sixth century B.C.; the style is remarkably advanced, and shows the rapid development of Ionian art as compared with that of Continental Greece. As regards the form of the hydria, it is characterised by the egg-shaped body, the division of neck from shoulder by a moulded ring, the low flat-ribbed handle at the back, and the high concave foot. Even more marked is the system of ornamentation. The main design runs in a broad frieze round the body, broken at the back by a palmette pattern under the handle, on either side of which are usually grouped two similar or opposed figures, distinct from the principal subject. The rest of the surface is given over to floral patterns, which assume great prominence on these vases. The normal arrangement is as follows: inside the mouth a large tongue-pattern in red, bordered with black; on the neck, palmette-and-lotos pattern; on the shoulder, ivy-wreaths or other plants, treated in a naturalistic manner; round the lower part of the body, a broad band of large palmettes and lotos-flowers alternating, forming a very effective pattern and enhanced with white and purple details. An illustration in colours of a typical specimen is given on Plate XXVI.

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PLATE XXVI

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The range of subjects is wide and original, both in choice and method of treatment. We find among mythological scenes the return of Hephaistos to heaven, the rape of Europa, the contest of Herakles with Busiris, and the hunt of the Calydonian boar.[1155] Other subjects, such as combatants or horsemen, are more in the manner of the Clazomenae sarcophagi. A curious feature of the group is the entire absence of friezes of animals. The realistic treatment of the Egyptians on the Busiris vase, and the introduction of apes and other African animals into some of the scenes, clearly indicate a relation with that part of the world, obviously through the medium of one of the Greek colonies of Egypt. Naukratis, as we have seen, was largely colonised from Phocaea, and some of the later fragments from this site[1156] show a parallelism with the hydriae.

Among the smaller details which are typically Ionian may be mentioned the horse-hoofed type of Seilenos (as at Daphnae); the four-winged deities and winged boars[1157]; the favourite types of stag-hunts,[1158] horsemen, and combats, all appearing on the sarcophagi; the running dogs and the owls on horses’ backs; the high-peaked cap of women and shoes with turned-up toes. All these are generally, but not invariably, characteristic of the Ionian fabrics, as is the peculiar treatment of boys’ hair, which is tied in a tuft at the back.

In regard to technique the chief point is the extensive use of accessories, which give a bright and varied appearance to the vases. And we must also note the general use of white for flesh, of men as well as of women, the white being laid on the black varnish in the Attic fashion, and not on the clay, as usual in Ionia. The clay, too, is not covered with the characteristic creamy slip, but with a red glaze approaching more nearly to the “continental” fabrics. Incised lines are used with great care, and folds of drapery are always indicated; the male eye is always oval, and undistinguished from the female.

Two groups of fragments from sites in Asia Minor, though differing in some degree from the Caeretan hydriae, yet obviously stand in close relation. Of these, one set, forming a large krater of the Corinthian type, was found at Kyme in Aeolis[1159]; they appear to be later than the hydriae, _i.e._ about 500 B.C., but the style and technique are not dissimilar, except that the white is here laid on the clay ground and the drawing tends to freedom and carelessness.[1160] Folds of drapery are not indicated; the typical Ionic motive of a large bud in the field is found.[1161] They may be described as a local differentiation from the hydriae, representing the transition from the sarcophagi[1162] to B.F. fabrics, or rather, perhaps, forming a link between the Caeretan group and that next to be discussed. The other set was found at Clazomenae,[1163] and appears to stand midway between the Daphnae pottery and the hydriae; it is probably of local origin, and also exhibits points of comparison with the sarcophagi. The influence of this fabric has been traced in some Attic B.F. vases which represent a similar scene—the harnessing of a chariot.[1164]

There are also various groups of vases (mostly amphorae) of advanced B.F. technique, but thoroughly Ionian characteristics,[1165] which seem to trace their descent mainly from the Caeretan hydriae, although the scheme of ornamentation is widely different. In the majority the most striking feature is the adoption of the panel-design, the rest of the vase being covered with black. This is clearly non-Ionic, and probably due to the growing influence of Attic vase-painting, in which it early became a marked feature; but it is usually combined with a distinct neck, on which is a smaller design, and this, on the other hand, is a non-Attic idea. These vases were all most probably made in the Clazomenae region; they are, however, rather to be regarded as forming links between the Ionian fabrics proper and the Attic B.F. vases, and are the predecessors of a group of vases of fully-developed B.F. technique which are yet more Ionic than Attic in feeling and treatment (see below, p. 387).

Among these may be mentioned two groups of kylikes, one found in Rhodes and richly decorated with figures within and without, the form suggesting a metallic original.[1166] The other consists of a series of kylikes decorated on the outside with large eyes (formerly thought to be of symbolical import), at the head of which stands the well-known Würzburg cup, with the subject of Phineus attacked by the Harpies.[1167] This vase bears remains of inscriptions in the Ionic alphabet; the cup is of a form afterward introduced at Athens by Exekias, in which the off-set rim and high foot of the other group are replaced by a wide-spreading bowl of plain convex section, with a low foot. Once adopted at Athens, this type remained firmly in favour throughout the R.F. period.

It has often been remarked that inscribed vases are remarkably rare among Ionian fabrics; there are not more than six at the outside, including the Euphorbos pinax, the alphabet of which we have seen to be Argive.[1168] But there are two vases the alphabet of which apparently belongs to the island of Keos, being one of the Ionic or Eastern group, and of these one[1169] may well be associated with the later Ionic fabrics. The other, however, is in a style which is usually associated with the Chalcidian group[1170]; there is the typical feature of the fallen warrior with face turned to the front. If the two can both be assumed to have been actually made in Keos, the geographical position of that island would account for the combination of these Eastern and Western elements.[1171]

A complete and detailed list of the Caeretan hydriae and of the allied types may be found in Endt’s book (pp. 1, 21, 29, etc.); but a brief summary may also be found useful:—

1. _Caeretan hydriae_: B.M. B 59 (Plate XXVI.); Louvre E 696–702; Vienna 217–18; _Ant. Denkm._ ii. 28 (in Berlin); _Mus. Greg._ ii. 16, 2_a_; Jahn, _Entführung der Europa_, pl. 5_a_; Endt, figs. 1–2, 5–8; four others unpublished. See also generally Dümmler in _Röm. Mitth._ 1888, p. 166 ff., and Pottier in _Bull. de Corr. Hell._ 1892, p. 253 ff., and _Louvre Cat._ ii. p. 534.

2. _Later Ionic B.F. fabrics_, chiefly amphorae, kraters, hydriae, and deinoi, from the region of the Gulf of Smyrna: Louvre E 736, E 737, E 739; Vienna 215; Munich 573, 583, 685; Berlin 1674, 1885, 2154; Würzburg, iii. 328 (= Reinach, ii. 97) and 331; Reinach, ii. 156; _J.H.S._ vi. pp. 181, 185, and _Anzeiger_, 1893, p. 83 (in Berlin); Louvre E 754–81; Berlin 1676 = Reinach, ii. 22, 3–5; and the fragments from Kyme and Clazomenae already discussed. See besides Endt, Pottier in _Bull. de Corr. Hell._ 1893, p. 423 ff.; Zahn in _Ath. Mitth._ 1898, p. 38 ff.; Karo in _J.H.S._ xix. p. 146 ff.

3. _Kylikes of Attic-Ionic style_: (_a_) Rhodian: B.M. B 379-B 382: see _J.H.S._ v. p. 220 ff.; (_b_) later type, with eyes (see p. 374); Würzburg, iii. 354 = Furtwaengler and Reichhold, pl. 41 (Phineus cup) and 349; Berlin 1803, 2054, 2056; Munich 428, 468, 630, 553, 711, 1239, 1316, 1027, 1239; and others given by Böhlau; to which may be added the British Museum cups with eyes, B 427 ff., and the amphora B.M. B 215.

4. _Keos fabric_ (?): Louvre E 732 = Reinach, i. 162; Gerhard, _A.V._ 205, 3–4.

There are also numerous vases scattered about our museums which are of a debased and inferior B.F. type, and on good grounds have been thought to be of Italian manufacture, whether Etruscan or South Italian. The former usually display unmistakable local characteristics, and there is a class so sharply defined that its Etruscan origin is undoubted, in spite of its affinities to the Caeretan hydriae. A full description will be found in the chapter on Etruscan pottery (XVIII.). Others again have more in common with the class next to be discussed; and, generally speaking, they may all be found to show Ionian affinities. But the line is not easy to draw: debased B.F. vases may have been produced in Ionia, as they undoubtedly were at Kameiros[1172]; but, on the other hand, the extensive export of Ionic wares to Cumae, Cervetri, and other places may have incited the Italian potters, as in the case of the Etruscan class just mentioned, to unsuccessful attempts at imitation.

There remains yet one class of Ionic vases to be discussed, a class which can be clearly defined, but for which as yet no satisfactory name has been found. Like the Caeretan hydriae, they were first discussed by the late F. Dümmler; but his grounds for assigning them to the region of Pontus—whence they have been provisionally styled “Pontic”—have not found general acceptance.[1173] They were also originally, like the Caeretan group, thought to be Etruscan, a view which at first sight might seem justified by their rough execution; but style and other reasons preclude such a possibility. On the other hand, it is quite possible that some of them are imitative fabrics made in Southern Italy. All at present known have been found in Etruria.

The group is formed by a series of about twenty amphorae and sixteen oinochoae, to which Endt appends a list of twenty or so which may either be of this fabric or Italian imitations. Another example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, is illustrated on Plate XXV. The list might doubtless be extended. That they date from the first half of the sixth century seems indicated by the discovery of one at Orvieto, together with an early Corinthian cup. Like so many of the Ionic fabrics, they exhibit a fondness for bright colouring, with an extensive use of accessory colours. In some cases Corinthian influence seems to have been at work, especially in the technique. Incised lines are sparingly and carelessly employed, and seldom for contours. Among the subjects mythological scenes are rare, but one of the British Museum examples (B 57) has a curious subject—the contest of Herakles and the Lacinian Hera (the Roman Juno Sospita), assisted respectively by Athena and Poseidon. Winged male figures are not uncommon, and the typically Corinthian subject of grotesque figures dancing is occasionally found. But the specially characteristic feature of the group is formed by the friezes of animals. Of these there are usually two on each vase, more rarely one; sometimes they are interspersed with figures of men, not representing any definite subject, but as an imitation of stamped metal vases (as on the Bucchero vases of Etruria,