The Greek Vase - Art of the Storyteller (Broché)

The stunning Greek vases that still exist today, often well preserved because they come from tombs, represent a wonderful culmination of the artistic endeavours, developments in craft and technique and the social, political and religious strands of an entire culture. This book closely examines the Greek vase from every angle, using superb examples from the collections of the British Museum and the J.
Paul Getty Museum, to explore what these images on pottery would have meant to the people who lived with and used them, as well as how they have been received by later generations. In the opening chapters we consider the vases in the hands of their makers : from the material and techniques of the potter, to the geometric patterning and the elaborate narrative scenes created by the painter. By looking at how painters and potters worked together and reacted to each other's work we are able to gain a sense of the creative collaboration that took place.
The book then goes on to present the scenes depicted on vases in their full narrative glory, interpreting the forms, images and stories along a variety of themes, from the adventures of gods and mythological heroes to expressive scenes of sexual intimacy and depictions of social, family and domestic life. Sumptuously illustrated with close-up details of these telling scenes, this lavish book will take you back into the halls, shrines, temples and theatres of Greek public life, and behind closed doors into the dining chambers and bedrooms, to reveal a fully rounded, intimate and sometimes humorous picture of the mythical, religious, social and sexual preoccupations of the ancient Greek world.
With over 140 colour illustrations