Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/412

 Pottery. 359 drinking vessel. It probably belongs to the early days of the settlement (Fig. 437). The paste has been smoked black. This, and a small globulous pot with vertical holes and projecting ears in place of handles, were made with the hand. The string for suspension was passed in and out of the four holes (Fig. 438). The vase tapers below, and was not meant to stand erect. There is an evident attempt to decorate the piece which can scarcely be called successful, in the shape of very irregular circles, which surround the body and are continued on the neck ; between them Fig. 439.— Troy, Jug. Aciiia! size. Fiu. 440.— Tfoy. Jug. Aciiial size. are chevrons, vertical strokes, and circular cavities. The hollow lines are not filled, as on certain black wares, with white earth, to bring out the outline. Both shapes and forms are clumsy in the extreme. Some of the vases, though quite plain, exhibit a much more elegant contour ; the clay has been well sifted, and this has allowed the walls to be kept thinner. The use of the lathe is visible in pottery which becomes more and more light to the eye and hand. There is a decided improvement in the attachment of the handles (Fig. 439); the jars are more carefully made, and furnished with a spout which gains in length what it loses in thickness, so as to admit of its pouring off the liquid easily (Fig. 441). Elsewhere we find wide, open-mouthed jugs (Fig. 440),