Fig. 55. Detail of psykter showing relief line
Met. Mus. Acc. No. 10.210.18
RED OCHRE WASH
In three statements of ancient writers the addition of red ochre to Athenian pottery is referred to.[42] In Pliny, Natural History, XXXV, 152, we read: Boutades inventum est rubricam addere aut ex rubra creta fingere, “Boutades first added red ochre, or made pottery of red clay.” Isidorus, Etymologiae, XX, iv, 3, speaks of pottery vases having been first invented at Samos and then adds: Postea inventum et rubricam addere et ex rubra creta fingere, “a later invention was to add red ochre and to make pottery of red clay.” Suidas in his lexicon, where he describes Cape Kolias as a place in Attica where pottery is made, says that the clay from that region is the best, and adds: ὥστε καὶ βάπτεσθαι ὑπὸ τῆς μίλτου, “so that it is also dyed with red ochre.”
Archaeologists have assumed that this red ochre was mixed with the clay and that to it was due the deeper color of Athenian ware as compared, for instance, with the geometric. Thus in practically all our books on vases the preparation of the clay for the manufacture of Athenian vases is described somewhat as follows: “The clay having been thoroughly purified and washed, was then kneaded and brought to a consistency suitable for shaping it on the wheel. It was at this stage that other substances, chiefly a red earth (ochre = μίλτος), were worked in with the clay to deepen the color.” First of all, it should be noted that if ochre is to be added to the clay it must be done long before the kneading stage, otherwise the red ochre will of course not mix evenly. The best time would be when the clay is dry, so that a definite proportion could be weighed out. But that is too obvious to need discussion. The question is, Does the addition of red ochre materially change the color of the clay? It may be interesting in this connection to record my experience in the matter. About three years ago I was asked to speak at a convention of modern potters meeting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on the subject of Greek vases. I thought that these potters would probably be specially interested in the technical side of Greek ceramics, and with the courage of ignorance I described in detail our theories regarding the manufacture of Greek pottery. It was the questions which the potters asked me afterwards which convinced me that it was time I went to a pottery school. One of my statements which aroused considerable interest was this theory that red ochre was added as an ingredient to deepen the color of red clay. Several men came to me after the talk and said, “I don’t see why the Greeks did that; for by just slightly raising the temperature they could easily have deepened the color.” I had no answer then, but when I went to the pottery school I thought I should take nothing for granted, but convince myself by making my own experiments. So I made some tests, adding certain percentages of ochre to see how it would affect the color. Apparently the ochre had little effect, and the pieces with and without ochre were about equally pink when they came out of the kiln. I then burned some pieces without any ochre to a little higher temperature and the red was considerably deepened. I was quite convinced then that the ochre added as an ingredient to the clay would not have the desired result; besides, if we needed further proof we might remember that analyses made of Athenian clay have shown no trace of ochre.[43]
What, then, do Pliny and Suidas mean when they speak of the addition of red ochre to Athenian pottery? A number of archaeologists have observed from time to time that Athenian vases, especially of the late red-figured period, show traces of a reddish pigment applied over the surface. Reichhold in his technical description of vases in Furtwängler und Reichhold, Griechische Vasenmalerei, frequently refers to it as “rötliche Lasur.”[44] Pottier ascribed it to a sort of varnish or lustre applied over the surface of the decorated, fired vase which on decomposition precipitated into a red deposit.[45] Walters thought that red ochre was rubbed on certain parts of the vase which had remained too pale after baking.[46] A detailed examination of the vases in many European and American museums convinced me that the use of this red pigment was quite general throughout the red-figured period, and to a limited extent in the black-figured period. On a few vases it appears in excellent preservation.[47] The majority of red-figured vases of all periods[48] and a few of the black-figured vases[49] show traces of it. When it is not otherwise visible, it can often be detected in the slight depressions of the preliminary sketch, or under the handles, or on the under side of the foot. As the color comes off when rubbed with a damp cloth, it is not surprising that it is not better preserved, after the extensive cleaning that most museum specimens have undergone. But the many traces which are still preserved can only be satisfactorily explained by assuming that it was the general practice—at least in the red-figured period—to apply a red pigment over the whole surface of the vase.
Fig. 56. Detail of amphora showing diluted black glaze line (on arm) going over red ochre left in preliminary sketch line
Met. Mus. Acc. No. 12.236.2
In the light of this experience let us again examine what Pliny and Suidas say. Pliny’s statement is sufficiently vague to make any interpretation possible; but Suidas’ use of the word βάπτεσθαι, “to be dipped,” is illuminating. The clay could not have been “dipped” in a powdery or liquid state, the only way of having the ochre become an actual ingredient in the clay. The term βάπτεσθαι implies that the clay must have become a solid vase, in which case the ochre was applied only on its surface. Indeed Athenaeus (480 E) uses the term βάπτεσθαι to signify the “glazing” or “silvering” of earthen vessels. So that literary testimony seems to agree with the evidence of the vases themselves that the ochre was applied on the surface. At what stage, then, was this ochre added? Was it before or after the black glaze? Careful examination has shown that it was previous to the glazing. When the black glaze is chipped off it generally takes the surface too, so that instances of the red ochre showing underneath are not numerous; but there are nevertheless a number of undoubted examples.[50] An especially convincing instance is on an amphora in the Metropolitan Museum in which a diluted black glaze line goes clearly over traces of the red lift in a preliminary sketch line (fig. [56]). Furthermore, in many cases the glaze on the background surfaces has disintegrated and shows the red ochre beneath.[51]