Foreword
Marion True
Preface
Toby Schreiber
Acknowledgments
Part 1: The Basics
Introduction
Steps in Producing a Decorated Athenian Vase
1. Clay: Origin, Composition, Properties, Purification
2. Forming and Techniques
Wedging
The Potter’s Wheel
Tools
Throwing
Turning
Appendages
Leather-hard
Slip
Moldmade Pottery
3. A Modern Greek Family-run Pottery Shop
4. Surface Treatment
Rib Smoothing
Burnishing
Miltos
Stroking
5. Greek Gloss and Firing
6. Flaws and Defects
Air Pockets
Cracks
Spalls
Dents
Miscellaneous
Part 2: The Vases
Introduction
7. Alabastron
Round-bottomed Alabastron
Footed Alabastron
8. Amphora
Neck-amphora
Types A, B, or C Amphora
Panathenaic Amphora
9. Aryballos
Wheel-made Aryballos
Moldmade Aryballos
10. Askos
Wheel-made Askos
Moldmade Askos
11. Dinos
12. Exaleiptron (Kothon)
13. Fish Plate
Attic Fish Plate
South Italian Fish Plate
14. Hydria
Kalpis (Continuous-Curve Hydria)
15. Kantharos
Cup-Kantharos
16. Krater
Column-Krater
Volute-Krater
Calyx-Krater
Bell-Krater
17. Kyathos
18. Kylix
19. Lebes Gamikos
Low-footed Lebes Gamikos
Lebes Gamikos on Stand
20. Lekythos
Squat Lekythos
Lekythos with Inner Oil Cup
Huge Lekythos
21. Loutrophoros
22. Mastos
Mastoid Cup
23. Oinochoe
Olpe (Shape 5)
Chous (Shape 3)
Oinochoai with Offset Neck (Shapes 1 and 2)
Beak-mouthed Oinochoai (Shapes 6, 7, and 10)
24. Pelike
Pelike in Sections
Pelike in One Piece
25. Phiale
Phiale in One Piece
Phiale in Sections
26. Psykter
Psykter-amphora
27. Pyxis
Tripod Pyxis
Type A Pyxis
Type C Pyxis
Type B Pyxis
Powder-box Pyxis
Type D Pyxis
Nikosthenic Pyxis
28. Rhyton
29. Skyphos
Cup-skyphos
30. Stamnos
Appendixes
1. Silhouettes of Vase Shapes
2. Terminology
3. Mouth Types
4. Foot Types
5. Handle Types
Abbreviations
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Plate Credits
Figure Credits
Index

“This is an excellent book that only a practicing potter could write. It gives us detailed insight into the practical procedures of forming pottery on the potter’s wheel in ancient times in Athens, as well as today. Hundreds of photographs and drawings illustrate every step.” —Joseph Veach Noble, Former Vice Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; President Emeritus, American Association of Museums

“This is a fascinating book. The author brings to her subject a unique combination: practical experience as an accomplished potter and scholarly expertise in the field of Greek vases. Profusely illustrated with detailed photographs and elegant drawings, this handsome volume will be the standard reference for the craft of ancient Athenian pottery for a good long while to come.” —Mary B. Moore, Professor of Art History, Hunter College, CUNY

Toby Schreiber is a master potter who became fascinated with the construction techniques used by the potters who created the classic Greek vases. An art graduate of Cornell College with a major in ceramics, she spent years creating and selling her pottery. In the mid-1970s, after the Getty Museum had been built only a few miles from her seaside studio in Malibu, California, she became associated with the Museum as a gallery teacher, and she had the opportunity to see and examine the Museum’s collection of Greek vases and their fragments. She soon realized that there was a need for a seasoned potter to analyze systematically the construction techniques used in the creation of these magnificent pieces. She therefore gradually tapered off her own creative work and spent more time analyzing her study objects, publishing several articles along the way. While the majority of her research was done at the Getty Museum, she also pursued her project in major museums all over the world. She participates in Getty Museum educational projects, helping conduct workshops, making videos demonstrating potting techniques, and working as a gallery teacher. Her enthusiasm, talent, analytical prowess, technical knowledge, and love of her subject are all reflected in the text and illustrations she has created for this book.