Blanton Vases: Home

Beginning of the Archaic Period

Vase painting in the Archaic period saw the first forays into figural decoration on Greek pottery. It is often divided into two phases, the earlier (ca. 700-600 BCE, frequently called "Orientalizing") being strongly influencd from the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, and a later (ca. 600-480 BCE) that more closely resembles the Classical period that follows it.

ca. 600 BCE

Black-Figure Technique Invented in Corinth

In Corinth, painters begin to decorate their pottery with black slip figures on an un-painted background in the natural color of the clay. The preferred subjects at Corinth included animals, mythical beasts, and floral designs.

ca. 700 BCE

Athenian Painters Adopt the Black-Figure Technique

Vase painters in Athens, which was to become the most important center of Greek vase-painting, begin to use the black-figure technique. The Athenians preferred human scenes, particularly from myth.

ca. 630 BCE

Early Corinthian Round Aryballos

1980.37

ca. 600 BCE

Middle Corinthian Stemless Kylix

1984.39

ca. 590-580 BCE

Late Corinthian Round Aryballos

1980.36

ca. 550 BCE

First Red-Figure Vases Painted in Athens

Athenian vase painters innovate a new form of figural decoration by reversing the black figure technique, painting the background in black slip and leaving the figures the natural red color of the clay. Details of the figures were added with fine black-slip lines.

ca. 530 BCE

Beginning of the Classical Period

The Classical Period, generally considered to be the artistic peak of Attic (Athenian) vase painting, is typically considered to extend from the Persian sack of Athens in 480 BCE and the death of Alexander in 323 BCE.

480 BCE

Image of the Type B Red Figure Kylix from the Blanton Collection

Red-Figure Kylix Type B

1980.42

ca. 430 BCE

Red-Figure Bell Krater

1980.40

ca. 420-410 BCE

Red-Figure Calpis

1980.61

ca. 400-390 BCE

Beginning of the Hellenistic Period

This period, beginning with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, is defined by the spread of Greek language and culture around the Mediterranean and the Middle East following Alexander's campaigns. One characteristic of Hellenistic vase painting is the rising popularity of polychrome (multi-colored) painted vases, like the Lebes Gamikos in the Blanton collection.

323 BCE

Polychrome Lebes Gamikos

1981.48

ca. 300-289 BCE

Art-Historical Timeline