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Surface Colour Transfer from Metal, Ivory and Stone to Ceramic and Glass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Michael Vickers
Michael Vickers*
Affiliation:
University of Oxford, Department of Antiquities, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford OXI2PH, England
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Abstract

In the area of Greek and Roman ceramics, it is now generally agreed that the forms of various fine wares are derived from metalwork. There is less harmony among scholars, however, regarding the surface colours of different fabrics, some maintaining that the colours we have were simply predicated by what it was possible to achieve in clay, while others invoke the hierarchy of materials and argue that precious metals, gold and silver underlie red, orange and black and grey colour schemes on Greek and Roman ceramics. On such a view, white would relate to alabaster or ivory, green and yellow to bronze, and clear glass to rock crystal. This paper will explore some of the issues involved, and present some newdata relating to Greco-Roman ceramics that seem to evoke various kinds of marble, including porphyry.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 352: Symposium – Materials Issues in Art and Archaeology IV , 1995 , 189
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

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References

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