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| Chimera - a mythical creature on a Greek vase painting |
Pottery provides a hugely important link to the past, thanks to its durability and widespread use. Decorative amphora, mixing bowls, drinking cups and oil flasks are the best surviving medium for Greek painting, while the distribution of potsherds, or pottery shards, provides a record of ancient trade routes.
Pottery painting began to come of age during the geometric period of the 8th and 9th centuries BC. Its distinctive Greek key patterns, abstract designs and stick figures were very popular. More popular still was the Corinthian style of the 5th and 6th centuries BC. The black geometric stick figures were replaced with lively and colourful scenes of people and animals, broken up with floral decorations, probably inspired by Middle Eastern art.
Corinthian pottery was finally ousted from market domination by Athenian Black Figure (and later Red Figure) work of same time. Decorative designs were dropped in favour of scenes from myth or daily life, with finely incised details giving added depth and realism.
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