LaunchPad: Ancient Greek Vase Production and the Black-Figure Technique

[@ElagabalusRex]

On second thought, making a counterfeit Amasis looks like more trouble than its worth.

[@soulak6332]

Thank you for the clarity of process!!

[@rzeka]

Spot-on How it's Made impression, I love it

[@robcoghan5204]

Terse, outstanding!

[@lilyborrego9482]

To make a vase, workers first mined naturally occurring clay and fixed it with water in the outdoor pools Impurities of the clay would sink to the bottom As the water evaporated, it left behind a layer of purified clay, which was then kneaded by workmen to make it more malleable To start to form a vase, a mass of clay is centered on a potter’s wheel In ancient times, the wheel would have been rotated manually by the potter or his assistant Moden electric powered wheel works the same way With his hands, the potter forms a depression in the clay By pulling outward and upward slowly, he carefully forms the clay into the desired shape depending on the type of vessel We do not know exactly what tools ancient craftsmen employed, but in addition to their hands, they may have used wood, metal, and sponges. The next day, the vessel has dried and excess clay is trimmed away and the excess is smoothed A separately made food is applied for stability. Handles made from coiled clay complete the shape of the vessel Once the vessel has been shaped, it is prepared for painting A fine clay, called slip, is painted onto the area that the artisan whished to be black To provide a background for further decoration, an unpainted area will be decorated with a scene [ainted in the black-figure technique After the clay had dried to a leathery, hard texture, the base painted could make preliminary sketches in charcoal which would disappear later during firing Using the charcoal sketched as a guide, slip would be used to ass silhouetted forms, often human figures Details and internal lines were then incised through the slip to reveal the lighter colored clay below Additional details are usually made with red ochre When fired, it would turn purple to depict blood, clothing, etc To portray white, a pure clay with minimal iron oxide was used, often chosen to depict women’s skin, marble objects, animals, and patterns With the painting complete, the vessel was ready to be fired in a kiln This 3 set process lasted 6 to 8 hours but since there was no precise thermometers or accurate clocks, it required great precision and experience First, the temp was raised to about 1500 degrees Fahrenheit By allowing air into the upper chamber of the kiln, an oxygen-rich atmosphere was created This produced red ferric oxide in both the clay and slip, which caused both to turn red Second, the temp was raised further to about 1700 degrees Fahrenheit Air vents were closed and damp wood or wet leaves were placed in the stoking tunnel of the kiln This created an oxygen-poor and carbon-rich environment This produced black ferrous oxide in the clay and slip, which turned both from red to black At this point, the slip became a glossy shell that was resistant to any further changes In the third and final step, the air was permitted to enter the upper chamber of the kiln again, creating an oxygen-rich environment once more The surface of the vessel not covered in sleep turned from black bac to red, and the glossy, slipcovered areas-such as figures-remained black The kiln required around 12 hours to fully cool down, after which the vases could be removed

[@AlexeyChesnok]

Slip had to have some low-melting point additives otherwise it wouldn't create glossy sealed surface. Any info on what these might be?

[@JohnDoe-kk9hp]

Its water mixed with a fine clay

[@cazek445]

Probably some sort of crushed up glass

[@snehalpradhan2318]

@@cazek445 it doesn’t need crushed up glass since silica at a particular temperature turns to glass the slip just needs some sort of a low fire flux Which could be soda ash, bone ash, Dolomite etc (I don’t know what though)

[@johnbooth1110]

im a potter who has done hundreds of this type of firings, you seem to have a mix view on what creates the black gloss. my slips are naturally gloss before firing, if you settle the clay slips long enough i wait 6 months,

[@mangiapaninazittazittagatt6358]

It is the refined clay itself having a lower vitrification point

[@ChefKhaliebRufael]

How much do/did vases like this usually weigh?

[@GrandNecro]

what is the slip made of tho?

[@kathvg]

GrandNecro coloured clay and water

[@johnbooth1110]

The slips are Terrasigillata .

[@blkhistorydecoded]

In some of the Ancient Greek Black figure art you can tell that the blackness was scratched off. Making it seem that underneath was originally White but purposely painted Black over it.

[@sahq5996]

we were not blacks, we will never be. same goes for the egyptians. stick to your own sub-saharan history.

[@dieu5041]

@@sahq5996black figure pottery was in Greece before red figure pottery, you can check Wikipedia yourself.

[@candyman650]

how did you find out about the charcoal sketch?

[@solanelukoperse5815]

Freehanding such complex design on a so difficultly crafted piece seems very hard, so it's kind of a logical conclusion. Maybe some potters did free hand their design! But all of them? I don't know if there are pieces where we can see sketches, I don't even think they would resist the firing...

[@comicluigi7]

I miss this kind of narrator

[@badmatt4227]

One issue I have with your video around 3:00, it should show multiple vases, not just one.

[@johnbooth3538]

well that was a bit short on details. you for got to mention the use of water in the kiln to aid in reoxidisation at 300 degrees. you for got to mention the ionisation "radiation when using green woods in a kiln. work place health and safety requires that you do list all health warnings. i think, please consult a technician before any one attempts these firings.

[@missmia196]

Lmao u fuckn think ancient Greeks were like, "where do u list all the health warnings??😢" lol pussy

[@calvindebeverly7410]

@@missmia196 Exactly. They were like "Opps: Hey we need another slave trained in pottery production over here and hurry up about it!"

[@artisticgarbage708]

he asked a question. chill out. No need to cuss

[@haveueverwondered9749]

Don't show us a computer simulation of how it supposedly happened. We just have to take your word for it?

[@armawillo]

dude what do you expect you cant actually see inside a kiln while its firing

[@solanelukoperse5815]

If you don't care for what historians, art historians and archaeologists have to say, I'm not even sure of what you're doing here...