Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/408

 Pottery. 355 these lands set himself for the first time to model an earthen pot, and the epoch nearing historic days, towards the end of the Mycenian culture, when ornate pottery was manufactured. Considered as a whole, primitive pottery may be classed under three heads. The first comprises monochrome earthen- ware, which again subdivides itself into two sections: vases which retain the natural tone of the clay, and vases made black by a peculiar mode of baking. The paste of this pottery is often very impure, mixed with shells and crystals of quartz ; the external surface, however, is smoothed over with the polisher (Fig. 435). The use of the lathe was already known in that period, for it has served to fashion most of the pieces. Some few have Fiu. 435.— Tioy. Flint polishers. Aclual size. incised patterns, traced with the style on the moist clay. They are of the simplest description, a mere rudimentary combination of lines. The shapes are bulbous, not unlike our domestic iron utensils, and present many varieties. They bear a strong family likeness to one another, owing to the fact that they were all made for common uses. We cannot be surprised, then, to see this same style of earthenware manufactured side by side with pottery exhibiting a more scientific technique. Luxury can please itself, and indulge in fancies of all kinds as to forms and shapes, but such licence is denied to work-a-day life. Remains of this common earthenware have been found mixed with potsherds of painted vases, on the site of cities where the ceramist wooed ornament with the greatest success.