Greek Vase Painting: Form, Figure and Narrative Warden, P. Gregory

Description

At the heart of this study of the relationship between Greek vases and their decoration – and between the decoration and the function of the vase – is a very well presented catalogue of 43 Greek and Etruscan vases exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. Each entry comprises at least one colour photograph of the vase accompanied by a full description and discussion of the form of the vase, its function, date and historical context, and the design and meaning of its decoration. Arranged chronologically, the vases date from c.850 to the end of the 4th century BC and demonstrate continuities and change in iconography as the influence of Greek potters spread further afield and interacted with local Italian cultures. The catalogue is preceded by five essays which include an introduction to Greek vases by Karl Kilinski II. The other essays discuss: depictions of vases on vases (Jenifer Neils) ; new appraches to Greek vases: repetition, aesthetics and meaning (Ann Steiner) ; myth and reality on Greek vases (Sarah Peirce) ; men, beasts and monsters: pattern and narrative in Etruscan art (P Gregory Warden) . There is also a discussion of the history of the Madrid collection by Paloma Cabrera, the chief curator of the Roman and Greek Antiquities Department.