Beats, Kate A. (2012) Size, surface and shape : experiencing the Athenian vase. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This study provides an alternative framework for the interpretation of the painted and plain Athenian vase during the Late Archaic and Classical period. The primary focus is on the way in which the vase came to interact with society. As a commodity with a practical use, the vase was permitted to circulate in social spaces in Athens. As a consequence of this contact, the accumulated meaning became more symbolic than practical. For instance, due to its use within the domestic sphere, the vase became a symbol of domesticity. This development of symbolism involves a transformation in the perception of the vase as something more than a practically functioning thing. The functions that the vase performed were meaningful in themselves. For the purposes of exploring the manifestation of this transformation, this study draws upon an anthropological theory of art as well as theories which interpret the experience of viewing. Although the painted vase is discussed alongside plain vessels, its decorative component is considered as a further expression of communication between the vase and society, Athens in particular. The manifestation of this communication between the vase, context and user is isolated to three characteristics in this study; size, surface and shape. Alterations in these components reduce the practical function of the vase in favour of its symbolic qualities. These factors are discussed over five chapters. In so doing, this study offers a radically revised interpretation of the vase as an object which is entirely context dependent and came to represent the communication between commodities and society.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NK Decorative arts Applied arts Decoration and ornament
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Vases, Greek -- Greece -- Athens
Date:	March 2012
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Classics and Ancient History
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Davidson, James N.
Sponsors:	University of Warwick. Dept. of Classics and Ancient History
Extent:	xxix, 277 leaves : ill.
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/50045

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