GREEK BLACK FIGURE POTTERY

   A technique of pottery decoration first introduced in Corinth in about 700 BC, but best known from Attica and especially Athens from 575 until 490 BC. It involved the painting of a black silhouette of the figures on the base of preparatory guidelines, followed by some extra incised details and red. The Tyrrhenian and Nikosthenic forms were special forms of the sixth century BC, apparently made for export to Etruria. It has been shown that the Nikosthenic forms share manufacturing principles—the flat “foot ceiling”—with bucchero, most probably a result of firsthand experience, which must have involved travel or mobility of the artisans involved. One of the most famous examples of Attic black figure pottery found in Etruria is the Francois vase, a large volute krater dated to 570 BC, potted by Ergotimos and painted by Kleitias. It shows the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the hunt of the Calydonian boar, and the chariot race of Patroclus, as well as common themes for the Etruscan market such as those of Ajax. This would have been a centerpiece for Etruscan feasting.

   See also ATTIC POTTERY; ETRUSCAN BLACK FIGURE POTTERY; TRADE.