105-210

Pottery of the "West Slope" type from Rhodes

• Πατσιαδά, Βάσω

The «West Slope» style pottery described here came from rescue excavations in the city and cemetery of ancient Rhodes. The first part of the article is concerned with the typological and morphological development of the shapes, and an attempt is made to classify the sherds and vases in their order of development on the basis of similarities with dated examples from other areas. Surer chronological evidence is afforded by a number of vases from tomb groups.The material presents disparities in both shapes and decoration, as well as in the composition of the clay and the techniques; these disparities are due to its origins in three different «West Slope» workshops, those of Attica, Pergamum und Rhodes.Attic «West Slope» ware was imported to Rhodes from the end of the 4th to the beginning of the 2nd c. B.C., after which its presence began to diminish appreciably. The earliest appearance of Attic pottery in Rhodes is given by the kantharos no. 90 and the little prochous no. 177, which date to the end of the 4th c. B.C, and its end by the phiale no. 13, dating to the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 2nd c. B.C.In Rhodes, as in other places where Attic pottery of this type was imported, typical products of the Attic workshops, usually standard in appearance, are found. The most common are the phiales nos 13-16, the kantharoi nos 89-104, the kantharoi with continuous sides nos 72-82, which generally have geometric decoration, and the amphorae with twisted handles, usually decorated with a vine-branch on the neck and geometric ornamentation on the shoulder, nos 139-144.Pergamene pottery makes its appearance in Rhodes from the end of the 3rd c. B.C. in the characteristic form for the period of the kraters with curving rims, nos 108-122, and it continued to be imported until the end of the 2nd c. B.C. (skyphos no. 43).The typical products of this workshop are the kraters with curving rims, nos 108-122, the amphorae nos 145-163, which differ from the Attic ones in shape and decoration, and the skyphoi with angular bodies nos 43-45. Perhaps also from Pergamum, or from Asia Minor more generally, came the hemispherical bowls nos 41-42, which imitate Megarian bowls in shape and decoration.A special feature of the decoration of this group is the common use of laurel-branches, alternating dolphins and palmettes, and dotted bands bordering the bands of decoration. Characteristic Attic motifs, such as vine-branches, ears of corn and bucrania are not found.Pottery in the «West Slope» style similar to that found at Pergamum is also known from the Asia Minor region and particularly the Black Sea coast, although it is not yet sure whether the pottery from these areas had a Pergamene or local provenance. In the case of Rhodes a Per. gamene provenance must be considered certain for most of the examples regarded as Pergamene ware, especially for the kraters, amphorae and skyphoi, because they show such a strong similarity with the same shapes at Pergamum itself.The Rhodian «West Slope» pottery is distinguished from the Attic and Pergamene by its inferior technical and decorative quality.Typical shapes are the kylikes of the «Koan-Knidian» type nos 24-37, whose style is rare elsewhere, the hemispherical bowls nos 50-71, the kraters with a short vertical neck and hemispherical body, nos 126-136, and the amphorae nos 164-176, which are more like the Pergamene than the Attic. The motifs on the Rhodian pottery are limited in number. The most characteristic of the style are the most frequent: the ivy-branch and the necklace, and much less commonly others such as the Ionian cymatium, the astragalus, garlands, and flower-star. Also quite common is the laurel-branch, an influence from the Pergamene workshop, and the use of geometric motifs may be attributed to Attic influence. A tendency to simplification and stylization is noticeable in the manner of rendering the decoration.The method of decorating the pyxides nos 207, 208, 219, seems to be characteristic of the Rhodian workshop; they are the result of combining this with another Hellenistic decorative style, that of a painted decoration usually of bands on an unpainted ground.The Rhodian workshop appears to have begun its activity around the end of the 4th c. B.C., to judge by the kantharos no. 105, which comes from a grave dated to 333-304 B.C., and because of its poor quality it is most probably of Rhodian origin. Rhodian production during the 3rd c. is limited in quantity and faithfully imitates, while being inferior to the Attic pottery. From the end of the 3rd and 1st half of the 2nd c. B.C., a relative peak is observable in the output of the Rhodian workshop: the quality of its appearance improved, the decoration is more lavish, and the motifs were more numerous and more carefully drawn.A general decline in the technique and decoration is apparent before the middle of the 2nd c. B.C: the glaze is dull and fugitive, the motifs employed are few and they are carelessly and clumsily painted. Local production was strongly influenced by the Pergamene ware throughout the 2nd c. B.C., although this influence never resulted in close imitation. However, in spite of the falling off in quality, the 2nd century, and particularly its 2nd half, was the Rhodian workshop's most productive period.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Excavations (Archaeology)
• Decorative arts

Για την παραχώρηση του υλικού η γράφουσα ευχαριστεί θερμά τον Έφορο Αρχαιοτήτων Γρ. Κωνσταντινόπουλο, καθώς και τους εφόρους Ηώ Ζερβουδάκη και Γ. Παπαχριστοδούλου. Την Η. Ζερβουδάκη θα ήθελε να ευχαριστήσει ιδιαίτερα για τις πολύτιμες υποδείξεις της. Ευχαριστώ επίσης τις σχεδιάστριες Κ. Κοκκονού και- Γ. Θωμαδάκη, που συνέβαλαν στη σχεδίαση των αγγείων και των οστράκων., Περιέχει 13 σχέδια. Πίνακες 49-84 βλέπε τέλος τεύχους, Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες