Classical & Etruscan vases

This page shows our stock of Greek pottery from the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods. This includes vases decorated in the black figure and red figure technique as well as plain black glazed vessels.

South Italian vases imitating Greek prototypes mostly comprise Apulian, Gnathian and Campanian wares. For ease of comparison we have also included indigenous Italic vases from Etruscan, Canosan and Daunian cultures.

Figurative decoration on Greek pottery evolved from rather formalised Geomteric painting into the Black Figure technique. Towards the end of the 6th Century BC the Red Figure technique developed in Athens. Red Figure pottery quickly prevailed as it allowed painters considerably more flexibility and expression.

Classical and Etruscan vases were highly prized in the 18th and 19th Century and enormous collections were formed by European nobles. The most famous collections include those of Sir William Hamilton, Prince Lucien Bonaparte and the Marquis de Campana.