Fig. 32. Bell krater in the Metropolitan Museum
Acc. No. 07.286.86
Fig. 33. Kylix in the Metropolitan Museum
Acc. No. G.R.1047
Athenian handles are made by hand, not in moulds. Practically every pair of handles shows perceptible variations such as are unavoidable in handwork and distinguish it from the mechanical products of moulding. The handles were attached to the vase in leather-hard condition, and often the pressure entailed thereby resulted in a slight bulge on the inner side. This is particularly noticeable on kylikes where the walls of the pot were especially thin.
Fig. 34. Detail of krater showing under part of handle left rough
Met. Mus. Acc. No. 07.286.73
It may be noted that the handles of Athenian vases are not finished off neatly in parts where they were not seen. For instance, the under parts of handles on column kraters are generally left quite rough (fig. [34]). This fact, together with that already observed, that the insides of amphorai and hydriai are usually unturned, shows that the Greeks, at least, had no such theories as those often held today that a work should be finished perfectly all over, even in places not ordinarily seen, and were quite willing to save trouble when possible. Many potters today bestow as much care on the inside of a narrow flask as on that of an open bowl. It is characteristic of the sense of proportion of the Greeks that their potters took infinite trouble with what was important—the shapes, the proportions, the decoration—but that they did not spend time and labor where it profited nobody.