Antimenes Painter Greek Hydria 530-500 B.C. Slip-glazed earthenware 20-1/8 inches high The John R. Van Derlip Fund 61.59

Generally, Greek pots were formed, or THROWN, on the potter's wheel. The potter's wheel used in ancient Greece consisted of a turntable, on which the clay was placed, and a disk or crank that the potter operated with his knee to keep the turntable moving. This technique left both hands free to form the pot from the clay as the turntable turned. Large pots such as the hydria were made in sections, which were joined together with SLIP. Sections were defined at the structural joints—between the neck and body or the foot and body. Thin coils of clay added on the outside concealed the marks where the parts were joined. Handles were made by hand and attached with slip.

Athenian potters used a high-quality clay that turned a beautiful reddish brown when fired. They discovered, through a complex procedure, that a pot could be fired to produce both this natural red-orange color and black. The painting style that resulted is called black-figure because the figures are rendered in black against the natural red of the clay. To create the figures, the artist painted on the surface of the vase with a thickened clay and water mixture called ENGOBE (on-GOBE). Once the engobe was applied and dried, the pot was placed in a KILN and fired for many hours.

The figures became black through a process called OXIDATION and REDUCTION firing, which consists of three stages. During the first stage, oxygen is let into the kiln, causing the entire vase to turn red from the iron content of the clay. During the second stage the oxygen supply is cut off, causing the entire vase to turn black. During the third and final stage, oxygen is let back into the kiln, causing the vase to return to its original red color. However, because the engobe has a different consistency from the rest of the vase, the decorated portions do not reabsorb oxygen and they remain black.

Details were INCISED in the black areas before firing by scraping through to the red clay with a sharp tool. For example, the lines that show details in the faces and clothing are all incised lines. Finally, accents of white and purple were applied with separate solutions after firing. On this hydria traces of white remain on Athena's face, and purple appears on the horses' manes. More colors were probably once present, but they have disappeared over time.

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