The Craft of Athenian Pottery / An Investigation of the Technique of Black-Figured and Red-Figured Athenian Vases

by Gisela M. A. Richter

III. REFERENCES TO THE POTTERY CRAFT IN ANCIENT LITERATURE

The information derived from ancient literature on the subject of the technique of Athenian vases is decidedly meagre; and naturally so. The only people who could have given us valuable data regarding technical questions were the potters themselves, and they were not writers. Outsiders knew as little of the technique of the craft as they do today. So we obtain from them only general remarks; and these on the whole bear out the points we have already made. Occasionally, however, they throw fresh light on a question, or give us information on some point on which the vases themselves cannot speak, such as the status of the ancient potters, the value placed on the vases, etc. It is important, therefore, to examine the chief references in Greek and Roman literature on this subject.