Fig. 52. Method of glazing: use of the brush
The glaze was, as I have endeavored to show (cf. [pp. 37 ff.]), applied to the vase in leather-hard condition. At that stage the clay still contains enough water to prevent too rapid absorption, and the glaze, therefore, runs in an easy, flowing manner.[38] To carry out his work the painter could take his time, for, as we have seen (cf. [p. 16]), a vase can be kept leather hard for an indefinite period by the simple device of placing it in a damp box, that is, an air-tight case with a pan of water at the bottom.[39]
Fig. 53. Method of glazing: spraying
Cox, Pottery for Artists, Craftsmen and Teachers, p. 111, fig. 51
Fig. 54. Hydria showing brush marks
Met. Mus. Acc. No. 11.212.7
How did the Greek painter apply the glaze to his pottery? We know that on the broader surfaces the brush was used, for brush marks are clearly visible in many cases.[40] When possible the backgrounds and horizontal bands were painted while the piece was rotating on the wheel; where a panel had to be reserved, the irregularity of free-hand brush work can readily be observed (fig. [54]). For the “flat” glaze lines, in both the figured scenes and the ornamental motives, smaller brushes were employed. But what was the instrument which produced the famous “relief” lines, that is, those fine lines which stand out perceptibly from the surface and which were used for the contours and inner markings of the figures during the best red-figured period (fig. [55])? The quality of these lines has been justly admired by all who have studied them and it has been thought that the instrument used had much to do with the result.[41] After a number of experiments with fine brushes, single bristles, reeds, feathers, pens, etc., I have come to the conclusion that it is of little avail to discuss the instrument used before we can employ in our experiments a glaze identical with the Greek. For to get the wonderful flow of the Greek line, the glaze must run much more easily than any imitation black glaze which we have so far produced. The groove which runs down the middle of the relief lines hardly affords a clue; for slight pressure of any instrument seems to produce such a result.
