DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8577#0013
PREFACE
THE greater part of this book is devoted to the vase-painting of Corinth in
the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. The first half-century of this period
has recently been covered by an excellent treatise—Johansen's account of
' Sicyonian' (Protocorinthian) pottery—and where my own studies overlap with
his I have tried, as far as possible, merely to supplement Johansen's observa-
tions without repeating them. But of Corinthian vases from the middle of the
seventh century onwards we have no sort of adequate account. The only
monograph on the subject, Wilisch's Altkorintische Tonindustrie, pub-
lished in 1892, did not set out to cover the ground, and even within its limita-
tions, was never really up to date; since Wilisch's book, though a vast amount
of material has been published, very little has been written about Corinthian
vase-painting as such, except in general books on Greek pottery. There is no
need to speculate on the causes of this neglect; enough to say that in the
present state of our knowledge it is something of an anachronism. For the
artistic history of Corinth, apart from its intrinsic interest, has a manifold
bearing on that of the contemporary Greek world, and it has economic im-
plications which are no small part of the history of Corinth in the narrower
sense of the word.
My first aim has been to treat the subject from a historical point of view;
that is, to classify and characterize the vases irrespective of their merits, in
order to obtain an unprejudiced conception of the various phases of the
Corinthian style. With this end in mind I have mentioned and illustrated
a number of pieces which seem to me of very poor quality. But I have also
tried, without disturbing the balance of the whole, to bring out what is in-
trinsically valuable as well as historically important.
Although I have been able to treat the subject in some detail, I have
compressed the discussion of Corinthian vase painting in order to reserve
space for remains of other kinds. These are often fragmentary, but they
are a valuable corrective to the impression which the immense number of exist-
ing Corinthian vases is apt to leave. And of some categories, for example, of
bronze reliefs and architectural terracottas, enough is preserved for us to be
able to form a clear idea of a tradition which is certainly Corinthian. Indeed,
taken as a whole the artistic remains of early Corinth make an impression
which is convincing because it is remarkably consistent—a striking com-
mentary on Herodotus's remark rjKicrTa Se Kopivdioi opovtcli tous xaP0T*Xva<s-
It is only in recent years that the ground has been prepared for a correct
estimate of the various early schools of the Greek mainland. Thirty years ago
the theory that Ionia was the source of all that is best in early Greek art still
held the field. This view was, of course, by no means unnatural: there was the
oriental strain which is characteristic of so much early Greek work to be
3575 b
THE greater part of this book is devoted to the vase-painting of Corinth in
the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. The first half-century of this period
has recently been covered by an excellent treatise—Johansen's account of
' Sicyonian' (Protocorinthian) pottery—and where my own studies overlap with
his I have tried, as far as possible, merely to supplement Johansen's observa-
tions without repeating them. But of Corinthian vases from the middle of the
seventh century onwards we have no sort of adequate account. The only
monograph on the subject, Wilisch's Altkorintische Tonindustrie, pub-
lished in 1892, did not set out to cover the ground, and even within its limita-
tions, was never really up to date; since Wilisch's book, though a vast amount
of material has been published, very little has been written about Corinthian
vase-painting as such, except in general books on Greek pottery. There is no
need to speculate on the causes of this neglect; enough to say that in the
present state of our knowledge it is something of an anachronism. For the
artistic history of Corinth, apart from its intrinsic interest, has a manifold
bearing on that of the contemporary Greek world, and it has economic im-
plications which are no small part of the history of Corinth in the narrower
sense of the word.
My first aim has been to treat the subject from a historical point of view;
that is, to classify and characterize the vases irrespective of their merits, in
order to obtain an unprejudiced conception of the various phases of the
Corinthian style. With this end in mind I have mentioned and illustrated
a number of pieces which seem to me of very poor quality. But I have also
tried, without disturbing the balance of the whole, to bring out what is in-
trinsically valuable as well as historically important.
Although I have been able to treat the subject in some detail, I have
compressed the discussion of Corinthian vase painting in order to reserve
space for remains of other kinds. These are often fragmentary, but they
are a valuable corrective to the impression which the immense number of exist-
ing Corinthian vases is apt to leave. And of some categories, for example, of
bronze reliefs and architectural terracottas, enough is preserved for us to be
able to form a clear idea of a tradition which is certainly Corinthian. Indeed,
taken as a whole the artistic remains of early Corinth make an impression
which is convincing because it is remarkably consistent—a striking com-
mentary on Herodotus's remark rjKicrTa Se Kopivdioi opovtcli tous xaP0T*Xva<s-
It is only in recent years that the ground has been prepared for a correct
estimate of the various early schools of the Greek mainland. Thirty years ago
the theory that Ionia was the source of all that is best in early Greek art still
held the field. This view was, of course, by no means unnatural: there was the
oriental strain which is characteristic of so much early Greek work to be
3575 b