What was it that made the Attic vases so special and their imitation so difficult, not only by modern but also by contemporary would-be copiers, who were far more familiar with the ceramic art of that period than we are?
The secret, as has been discovered by scientists today, lies in the clay. The earth of Attica provided the potters of Attica with the appropriate raw materials that enabled them to achieve a glaze unique in colour and resilience, and a clay body of exceptional quality.
And of course, the potters worthily exploited this gift, putting all their artistry and creativity in its service .....
Formation of the clay body, clay paint decoration, black-figure and red-figure techniques, clay paint (clay slip) preparation and clay specifications.
THETIS AUTHENTICS LTD in association with CLAYREEL PRODUCTIONS
Directed by Spyros Pantazis
Scientific editor: Dr. E. Aloupi-Siotis
Music by NoMBe
Editing of greek texts: Lalina Fafouti and Eleni Aloupi-Siotis
Translation and editing of English texts: Alexandra Doumas
Narration: Alexandra Doumas
The film makes use of a homonymous web application funded by SYNERGASIA 2011 research PROGRAMME (Project Code11SYN 10_488: RE3CAP Research_Recovery_Revival of Classical Attic Pottery), General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports (2013-2015). www.atticvases.gr
The texts are based on interviews with Dr Eleni Aloupi-Siotis, Dr. D. Paleothodoros and Professor M. Tiverios, conducted by the journalist Lalina Fafouti for ΒΗΜΑ SCIENCE PUBLICATION: 15/07/2012 (www.tovima.gr/science/article/...)
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, the Metropolitan Museum Collection (www.metmuseum.org), Altes Museum Berlin (Flickr),
Beazley Archive (www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/) for the SH 1717 hydria Staatliche Antikensammlungen Munich and the Caputi hydria fromTorno Collection in Milan, THETIS’ archive.
© ATTIC BLACK: THETIS AUTHENTICS LTD 2021