Attic Black-Figure Pinax (Plaque)

ca. 700 BCE - ca. 500 BCE

3 1/4 x 2 1/4 x 3/8 in. (8.3 x 5.7 x 1 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• Attic - Style and culture of the region of Attica. For culture particular to the capital of Attica, Athens, use "Athenian."
• Black-figure - Refers to a style of Greek vase painting that developed from the Geometric and Orientalizing styles. It appeared in Corinth around 720 BCE, flourished in Attica by 600 BCE, and was found in Sparta, eastern Greece, and elsewhere, until the Red-figure style gradually replaced it in the late sixth century BCE. The style is characterized by a particular technique, which is characterized by the use of a refined slip, a two-stage firing process, and sintering to create black figures in silhouette on a red ground. Details were incised into the black figures or applied in purple or white pigment.
• funerals - Ceremonies or rites held in connection with the burial or cremation of the body of a deceased person.
• plaques - Flat, thin, usually small objects, made of metal, clay, ivory, glass, or basketry, sometimes set into a surface for decoration or to bear an inscription.
• sherds - Limited to fragments of pottery or glass.
• vase paintings - Refers to two-dimensional decoration applied to pottery by using paint made of metallic oxides or other pigments held in suspension in slip or another medium. The term is particularly used to refer to Ancient Greek red- and black-figure works. See also "porcelain paintings (visual works)."
• wakes - Vigils held over the dead prior to burial, often accompanied by festivities.

This object is a member of the following portfolios: