History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman. Volume 2

Henry Beauchamp WaltersProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8
Word count
1.4M words
Chapters
139

Tags

English Originals Historical GeographyCrafts Human GeographyAncient PotteryClassical ArtsPorcelain AppreciationArt CollectionWestern ThoughtIllustrated GuideAcademic MonographArchaeological StudyMediterranean Civilization

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman. Volume 2 (of 2) by Birch et al.Author: Walters, H. B. (Henry Beauchamp), 1867-1944,Language: English, Class: NK: Fine Arts: Decorative and Applied Arts, Decoration and Ornament, Release Date: Feb 7, 2015

Editor's review

This volume is the second of Walters's two-volume History of Ancient Pottery. Building on the framework established in Volume 1, it continues with the specific types, decorative motifs, and regional variations of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman pottery, making it indispensable for a complete grasp of this public-domain general history. The free electronic edition from Project Gutenberg makes this early scholarly work readily accessible and suitable as extended reading for the study of classical decorative arts. Its value lies in its relatively systematic presentation of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century scholars' classificatory perspectives and descriptive language on ancient pottery; the prose is rigorous but text-heavy, and readers must supply the plates themselves. Because of its early date, statements concerning chronology and sources should be treated with caution. It is best read after Volume 1, with thematic notes, and checked against contemporary museum collections and recent scholarship, so that one gains its framework while avoiding outdated conclusions.

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Reading tips

  1. Review your notes on vessel shapes and terminology from Volume 1 before entering this volume's thematic chapters, to keep concepts coherent.
  2. Read in blocks by Greek, Etruscan, and Roman material, compiling a comparative table of stylistic differences after each block.
  3. Flag statements about dating and findspots, and later check them against contemporary research literature.
  4. Consult museum online collection catalogues alongside the text to make up for the electronic edition's lack of plates.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
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FAQ

Can I read Volume 2 without having read Volume 1? You can, but it is not advisable. Volume 2 continues the vessel classification and terminology established in Volume 1, and the lack of that prior framework makes comprehension harder. If time is limited, at least skim Volume 1's contents and introduction to grasp the basic classification before starting this volume.
How does Volume 2 differ from Volume 1? Volume 1 focuses on the overall development and basic classification, while Volume 2 builds on it with more specific discussions of vessel types, decorative motifs, and regional styles. Only together do the two volumes form a complete general history of ancient pottery; reading just one leaves you without the other half for reference.
How can I make up for the lack of plates when reading the electronic edition? Open museum online collection databases and search by vessel-shape names and decorative terminology for comparison; you can also keep a catalogue of classical pottery at hand as companion material. Read the text description first, then find the corresponding object image, which deepens your understanding of the classification system.
Is it suitable as a practical manual for pottery authentication? No. This is a scholarly general history of a historical and classificatory nature, not an authentication guide, and it lacks systematic methods for detecting forgeries and market experience. If your aim is practical authentication, choose a dedicated work on ceramic authentication; this book is only suitable as supplementary background knowledge.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Henry Beauchamp Walters Author · British · 1867–1944

Henry Beauchamp Walters (1867–1944) was a British classical archaeologist. Born in Oldham, he was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, and later worked for many years at the British Museum, where he served as Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities from 1925. Three of his works are held here, including the two-volume History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman and Church Bells. The former systematically surveys the forms and development of ancient pottery and remains an important reference in classical archaeology, while the latter reflects his sustained study of church bells. His writings are object-based and attentive to typology and dating, offering solid foundational work in their fields.