DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.999#0019
were afterwards to be draped. The folds of the drapery were then lightly outlined, together with the accessories, and
the design thus prepared was ready for the final process of colouring. In connection with this preparatory ground-
work we observe how careful and rigorous must have been the system of training in which the Greek artists were
educated, in the importance attached to the proportions of the figure and its correct action being secured by its being
drawn in the nude form. The white ground on which the personages were drawn was a " slip " washed over the red
clay, the outline was drawn in a black or dark sepia coloured varnish, or else in a red pigment, the latter material
apparently having been preferred at a comparatively late period of the art. Together with the outline, the black por-
tions of the vases and the ornamental bands were laid in, and the vessels were again baked in the furnace. They were
then ready to receive the colour, which we find, as a general rule, was washed on in flat tints, sharp and unsoftened
at the edges. Sometimes the principal garments were carefully filled in, covering the whole space within the outlines,
the same occurring with the other articles of dress or subordinate ornaments. On other vases passages of pure colour,
as vermilion, were added, irrespective of the original outlines, and apparently simply to impart brilliance to the general
decorative effect of the lekythi. The vases then were submitted to their final firing, which there are good reasons
for believing was at a low temperature, since the colours, with the exception of the black, never attained the vitreous
character of true enamel. This economy of time and fuel was doubtless due to the fact that the potter was aware that
the vases were to serve only a temporary purpose, and were then deposited in the grave. It is also probable that the
Greek potters had a very limited knowledge of the composition of coloured glazes and their application, though it is
certain that specimens of the splendid chromatic glazed wares of Egypt were imported into Greece at an earlier period
than that of the lekythi. The assertion that the Greeks had " no eye for colour," which has been put forth, is manifestly
unjust, it is possible, however, they did not possess the faculty of harmonising brilliant colours with the same ability
as the Egyptians.
The colours used by the painters of the lekythi were a purple, much esteemed by the Greeks, red (vermilion), a
lemon yellow and a kind of brownish or raw sienna yellow, blue and green. They are of course not all found on each
single specimen of the vases. At present we believe none of the lekythi exists showing the colour precisely in its
original purity. Contact with the earth in which the vases have been buried has changed their substance, and further,
in attempting to remove the earth a large proportion of the remains of the pigments come away also, even when the
operation is performed with the utmost care. Again there are instances of the colours showing clear and bright when
the design thus prepared was ready for the final process of colouring. In connection with this preparatory ground-
work we observe how careful and rigorous must have been the system of training in which the Greek artists were
educated, in the importance attached to the proportions of the figure and its correct action being secured by its being
drawn in the nude form. The white ground on which the personages were drawn was a " slip " washed over the red
clay, the outline was drawn in a black or dark sepia coloured varnish, or else in a red pigment, the latter material
apparently having been preferred at a comparatively late period of the art. Together with the outline, the black por-
tions of the vases and the ornamental bands were laid in, and the vessels were again baked in the furnace. They were
then ready to receive the colour, which we find, as a general rule, was washed on in flat tints, sharp and unsoftened
at the edges. Sometimes the principal garments were carefully filled in, covering the whole space within the outlines,
the same occurring with the other articles of dress or subordinate ornaments. On other vases passages of pure colour,
as vermilion, were added, irrespective of the original outlines, and apparently simply to impart brilliance to the general
decorative effect of the lekythi. The vases then were submitted to their final firing, which there are good reasons
for believing was at a low temperature, since the colours, with the exception of the black, never attained the vitreous
character of true enamel. This economy of time and fuel was doubtless due to the fact that the potter was aware that
the vases were to serve only a temporary purpose, and were then deposited in the grave. It is also probable that the
Greek potters had a very limited knowledge of the composition of coloured glazes and their application, though it is
certain that specimens of the splendid chromatic glazed wares of Egypt were imported into Greece at an earlier period
than that of the lekythi. The assertion that the Greeks had " no eye for colour," which has been put forth, is manifestly
unjust, it is possible, however, they did not possess the faculty of harmonising brilliant colours with the same ability
as the Egyptians.
The colours used by the painters of the lekythi were a purple, much esteemed by the Greeks, red (vermilion), a
lemon yellow and a kind of brownish or raw sienna yellow, blue and green. They are of course not all found on each
single specimen of the vases. At present we believe none of the lekythi exists showing the colour precisely in its
original purity. Contact with the earth in which the vases have been buried has changed their substance, and further,
in attempting to remove the earth a large proportion of the remains of the pigments come away also, even when the
operation is performed with the utmost care. Again there are instances of the colours showing clear and bright when