Old Smyrna: Ionic Black Figure and Other Sixth-Century Figured Wares

Abstract

The Ionic Black Figure pottery at Old Smyrna is a fragmentary body of material and it is of no very great bulk; so there is no certainty that it is fully representative of the wares current in North Ionia in the sixth century or that it gives a reliable indication of their relative frequency. It is worth remark that no Fikellura came to light. The material here published was divided into classes after the conclusion of the excavations and the photographs were taken. The classification then adopted was a subjective one and not entirely satisfactory. The isolation (in Section A) of what seemed to be conscious imitation of Attic Black Figure may be useful; it could be improved in detail, but at least it does not cut across other divisions. For the rest, the section (E) headed ‘Clazomenian’ ought on any count to have embraced more of the material, and the boundary between Sections B (‘North Ionic Styles’) and C (the North Ionic Column Kraters) is a rather arbitrary one. But there would have been obvious dangers in a rearrangement made without full recourse to the material itself; for due attention must be paid to the physical appearance of the wares. So the original classification has been retained.