Digital Arts and Humanities 110 - Hacking the Humanities Final Project

Greek History Rebuilt

Sam Much, Simon Noble, Conrado Peña Lemes, Joella Shearer

Clay

These objects are made from clay, painted with different techniques

Untitled, Shallow Bowl

See the item in the Perlman's Collection!
A black-on-red terracotta bowl featuring avian and floral motifs along with cup shapes on the underside. The birds are assumed to be birds of prey, as one of them appears to have a snake in its talons. The flowers may be stylized lotuses or papyri and the vines may be grapes. It is of uncertain origin, though it resembles East Greek bird bowls in motif but Cypriot bowls in shape and manufacture as the bowl was slipped first in red and then in black. It's most likely of the Archaic period, roughly 700-500 BCE.
Credit: Carleton College Art Collection
Sources:
Dissinger, A. (2017). Cypro-Archaic Bird Iconography: Types, Uses, and Meanings [University of Virginia]. https://doi.org/10.18130/V3V64N
Vacek, A. (2012). Imitation or Innovation?: Style, Decoration and Syntax of Greek and Cypriot Pottery During the Geometric Period. In A. Georgiou (Ed.), Cyprus: An island culture (pp. 224-240). Oxbow Books. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh1djv0.20
Cypriot Black on Red Ware Plate (Getty Museum). (n.d.). The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Retrieved March 6, 2025, from https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/10409Z

Untitled, red figure vase depicting two figures and Dionysian ground scene

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A red-figure terracotta kalpis depicting a man chasing a woman on a meander pattern with a botanical motif around the neck. It resembles works of the Pisticci Painter of Southern Italy and the shape indicates it was probably made in the late 5th century BCE. The kalpis is a type of hydria, a water jug with three handles for both carrying and pouring water.
Credit: Carleton College Art Collection
Sources:

The Pisticci and Amykos Painters: The Beginnings of Red-Figured Vase Painting in Ancient Lucania | Art History Dissertations and Abstracts from North American Institutions. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2025, from https://openpublishing.psu.edu/ahd/content/pisticci-and-amykos-painters-beginnings-red-figured-vase-painting-ancient-lucania

The Pisticci Painter | British Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2025, from https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG60109

Hemingway, C., & Hemingway, S. (2007, July 1). Greek Hydriai (Water Jars) and Their Artistic Decoration—The Metropolitan Museum of Art. https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/greek-hydriai-water-jars-and-their-artistic-decoration

Untitled, ewer

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A black-figure terracotta lekythos decorated with four palmettes on the body and rays on the shoulder. It strongly resembles a few other lekythoi made by the Beldam Painter or his workshop in Athens. He was active in the 5th century BCE, flourishing between 490 BCE and 460 BCE. It is a cylindrical shaped vessel meant for storing oil. Lekythoi were used at gymnasiums, baths, and in the funerary rites of unmarried women.
Credit: Carleton College Art Collection
Sources:
Campbell, G. (2007). Beldam Painter. In The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195300826.001.0001/acref-9780195300826-e-0163

Attic black-figure lekythos decorated with chain of three palmettes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2025, from https://emuseum.vassar.edu/objects/12950/attic-blackfigure-lekythos-decorated-with-chain-of-three-pa

The Beldam Painter | British Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved March 9, 2025, from https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG57375

9053980, ATHENIAN, Berlin, Antikensammlung, F4005. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2025, from https://www.carc.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/recordDetails.asp?id={57ACABFA-0C59-4E1D-9B0B-5DEA069CCE1D}&noResults=86&recordCount=35&databaseID={12FC52A7-0E32-4A81-9FFA-C8C6CF430677}&search=%20{AND}%20beldam%20lekythos%20palmettes

Untitled, flask

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A black-figure Proto-Corinthian alabastron bearing the figure of a goat. The figure was slip painted and incised. Alabstra were used to store perfumed oils, and were often decorated with scenes of women bathing. Proto-Corinthian examples are often decorated with animals accompanied by geometric motifs. Probably 6th century BCE.
Credit: Carleton College Art Collection
Sources:
Small closed shapes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2025, from https://www.carc.ox.ac.uk/carc/resources/Introduction-to-Greek-Pottery/Shapes/Small-closed-shapes

Amyx, D. A., & Lawrence, P. (1975). Archaic Corinthian pottery and the anaploga well. American School of Classical Studies at Athens.

Untitled, standing draped figure of woman on square base

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A terracotta figurine of a woman. She wears a draped outfit with a himation, a long rectangular piece of fabric, pulled over her head. She also wears a chiton, a tunic under the himation. These figures are called Tanagra statuettes after the Boeotian city of Tanagra where many were found. These mass produced statuettes are typical of the Hellenistic and later periods, this one was dated in the Perlman's records to the second or third century CE. They were brightly painted and traces of white and pink pigment remain.
Credit: Carleton College Art Collection
Sources:
Barrow, R., & Silk, M. (2018). Gender, Identity and the Body in Greek and Roman Sculpture (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139600439

Minniti, Kate. (2015). Tanagras in Cross-Cultural Context: A Study on Stylistic Variability Across the Mediterranean. In Current Research in Egyptology. Oxbow Books, Limited. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/carleton-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2089595

Untitled, seated draped figure of woman with fan

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A terracotta figure of a woman with a fan and hat. She wears a himation and chiton as well, but also a tholia, a broad brimmed sun hat which here is connected with a small metal pin. She holds a fan in her hand, another standard form. Many of these figures are based on tropes from New Comedy, a theatrical style where comedy evolved to be more character driven rather than politically satiric. It was also once brightly painted, here the red is preserved particularly well on her lips and fan.
Credit: Carleton College Art Collection
Sources:
Barrow, R., & Silk, M. (2018). Gender, Identity and the Body in Greek and Roman Sculpture (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139600439

Minniti, Kate. (2015). Tanagras in Cross-Cultural Context: A Study on Stylistic Variability Across the Mediterranean. In Current Research in Egyptology. Oxbow Books, Limited. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/carleton-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2089595

Creators of the project

Sam much: muchs@carleton.edu
Simon Noble: nobles@carleton.edu
Conrado Peña Lemes: penalemesc@carleton.edu
Joella Shearer: shearerj@carleton.edu

Acknowledgements

This project wouldn't have been possible without the help of Teresa Lenzen, the Technical Director for Perlman Teaching Museum, who worked with us on this project, helped us set up the photography equipment, and stood as our main point of contact with the Perlman. Additionally, we would like to thank the Perlman Museum for allowing us to interact with the artifacts and for providing us with the information they had on each object to assist with our research. Lastly, we would like to thank our professor Austin Mason for introducing us to some of the tools we used in the creation of this project and helping us establish a connection with the Perlman Teaching Museum.

Copyright

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