Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/39

* VASCONCELLOS. 21 VASE. lishetl : Erlauti'rungeH zu Ucrdcr» C'id (1808); liomancLio del VUl (1870) ; titudien zur roman- ischen Worlschoj)fiin(i (1870) ; I'oesias de Fran- cisco dc Ha de Miranda (1885); Htudien zur liispaiiiKrlicn Worldeutuiifj (1880); "Geschichte (liT portugiesischen Littenitiir," in Griiber's ilnnidiis.t der romanisclien Sprachen (1894); and li(iiid;ilossen zum altportufiiesischen Lieder- liiidi (ISllo). VASCULAR TISSUE (from Lat. va.icidum, little vessel, diniinutive of vas, vase, vessel ). Tile eoiidueting tissue of the higher plants, eon- sisting of tracheiE or traeheids or sieve vessels. It is also the principal supporting tissue of the phint. See Anatomy of Plaxts; Histology. VASE. A vessel of circular form used for l)ractical or ornamental purposes. The material is generall.y potter.y. though stone, glass, metal, etc., are frequently used, especially for ornament. The use of vases is common to all ])e(>ples, both ancient and modern; but it was in Hellenic lands that vase-raaUing attained highest perfection, both as regards form and artistic decoration ; and it is, therefore, to the Greek vase that this article is mainlj- devoted. EartJu-nware vessels were in almost universal use among primitive peoples, and in their clay forms and decorations furnish valuable informa- tion to the anthropologist. It is not, however, till a more advanced state of artistic development has been reached, that the vases attract attention for their intrinsic merit. If, moreover, the rich prefer vessels of stone or metal, and the use of clay is confined to the poor, the potter is apt to produce cheap, rude, or carelessly made wares, even Avhen the other crafts show the possession of high artistic skill. Thus, in Egypt, though good clay abounds, the vases are in genera! of little interest in themselves. The material for the study of early Oriental ceramics is neither so pdentiful nor so minutely classified as is that from otiier lands, INIoreover, the essential conser- vatism of the East is strikingly displayed in the persistence of a limited number of forms and the old linear decorations, in marlvcd contrast to the variety of the Greek types. The Greek lands and Italy have yielded a vast mass of material, falling into well-defined groups, whose general succession is clear, and whose chronology is in most cases well established. The earliest forms are those found in the lower strata at Troj', the 'island graves,' and some of the pottery of Cyprus. The clay is coarse and the vases are .shaped without the aid of the pot- ter's wheel. The decoration, when present, con- sists of incised lines in geometrical patterns. The color is lilack or red, according to the firing, and an apparent glaze is due to the polishing of the surface, as no coloring matter seems employed. Toward the end of this period appear vases with decoration in colors, wheel-made, and showing much taste and skill. In addition to geometric designs there now appear plants and animals. Special classes of these vases are those from Thera and the Kamares ware of Crete, w'hose relation to the following IMyceiifean pottery is still a sub- ject of discussion. The earlier group of My- cena'an vases is decorated in dull colors on a highly polished clay. Later a more lustrous paint is used and the clay is very fine. A favor- ite form is the false-necked jar or amphora. ( See Fig. 4 on Colored Plate.) Favorite subjects are representations of sea plants, the cuttlefish, nautilus, and murex, all of which are rendered very successfully, though with a growing tendency to become mere conventional patterns. With the fall of the Mycenasan civilization near the end of the second millennium B.C., there is a return to a prevailing!}' geometric style, in which the straight line replaces the curves and spirals. The vases, of pale clay, are covered with marauders, zigzags, concentric circles, and triangles, to which are later added rows of water- birds and occasionally animals. Some vases show scenes from human life. As the first great discovery of these vases was made outside the Dipylon gate at Athens, they are sometimes called Dipylon vases, though this name should not be given to Boeotian, Argive, or other non- Attic varieties. During the eighth and seventh centuries the increased intercourse with the East is refiected in the vases. On the islands and among the lonians of Asia Minor was developed a great variety of local scliools, all showing great fondness for elaborate decorations covering the entire .surface of the vase. Rows of animals often surround the body of the vase, while the field is filled with rosettes, stars, crosses, and sim- ilar ornaments. An interesting example is a plate from Rhodes (Colored Plate, Fig. 1) represent- ing the conflict of Hector and Menelaus over the body of Euphorbus; it is the earliest example of an Homeric scene in art. While it is certain that Ionian influence was prominent in this de- velopment, it is not yet possible to determine the exact history of the local schools. On the Greek mainland the Oriental influence may be seen in the delicate little vases commonly called Proto- FlO 1. PROTO-CORINTHIAN LECYTHUS. (From the Journal of Hellenic Studies.) Corintliian (probably of Argive manufacture), and especially in the earlier Corinthian ware. Owing to the commercial importance of Corinth, her vases are found in Sicily and Ital.y and their manufacture seems to have continvied even after the established supremacy of the Attic ware. They are of light clay, rather heavy in form and decorated with figures in black glaze with some use of red and violet. A white slip is also em- ployed to indicate the fiesh of women. At Nau- cratis and Cyrene the body of the vase was covered with this slip, on which were painted decorations in dark color. Early in the sixth century the Athenian pot- ters began to enter the field, in which they soon won a complete mastery. They heightened the red of the clay by artificial means, and invented a black glaze of exceeding brilliancy. The earlier series is the 'black-figured,' in which the design