Selected Vase-Fragments from the Acropolis of Athens.—II
The vase-fragments represented on Plates II.–IV. are with one exception here published for the first time and all belong to red-figured works. For the permission to publish them I am deeply indebted to M. Kavvadias, and I wish also to acknowledge help kindly given me by Dr. Wolters and Mr. Cecil Smith. Three of the works are in the early severe style, one shows the developed severe work and two belong to the advanced fine period. They are distributed on the plates merely with regard to convenience of publication. Nothing is more noticeable to any one glancing over the mass of vase-fragments from the Acropolis than the fact that while the preponderance of black-figured over red-figured works is very great (Dr. Graef puts the proportion at more than three to one), the vast majority of the former are poor in design and carelessly executed but the latter are nearly all careful and good. This seems to show—for the proportion can hardly be due to accident—that the older style continued in favour, probably because it was cheap, long after the introduction of a new method, and that the new school only produced works at the highest level of their ability, and by so doing ultimately commanded the market both at home and abroad. It is not till the second period of red-figured work that careless and hasty productions are turned out. Inferior artists seem to have contented themselves with imitations of successful masters: thus for example one seems to note imitations of Duris in museums.