The modern term West Slope pottery describes a type of Greek fine pottery from the

Late Classical Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

and

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

periods. West Slope pottery was especially widespread in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The name was coined in 1901 by

Carl Watzinger Carl Watzinger (9 June 1877 in Darmstadt – 8 December 1948 in Tübingen) was a German archaeologist, who with Ernst Sellin, worked on uncovering the site of the ancient city of Jericho (1907–09), and earlier, with Heinrich Kohl (1877–1914), c ...

, based on finds from the western slope of the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. West Slope pottery is a subtype of

Black-glazed Ware Black-glazed ware is a type of ancient Greek fine pottery. The modern term describes vessels covered with a shiny black slip. Black-glazed pottery was produced especially in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. During the reducing phase of the ...

. It was additionally decorated with white, yellow and pink clay

slip Slip or SLIP may refer to: Science and technology Biology * Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole * Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting * Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy Computing and ...

, incisions, vertical ribbing and imprinted roulette decoration. The type developed during the 4th century BC out of a pottery style with applied yellowish-orange plastic ornaments that imitated gilding. West Slope pottery is especially well known from Athens, but several other production centres have been identified. Especially

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

is noteworthy in this regard. Since Athens had lost its dominant role in the Mediterranean pottery markets by this time, it should not be assumed that the form is a particularly Attic one, but rather that Athens adopted and went along with a generally prevailing trend in pottery production. The most common vessels shapes included ''

pyxis Pyxis is a small and faint constellation in the southern sky. Abbreviated from Pyxis Nautica, its name is Latin for a mariner's compass (contrasting with Circinus, which represents a draftsman's compasses). Pyxis was introduced by Nicolas-Lo ...

'',

krater A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, krat ...

, ''

hydria The hydria ( el, ὑδρία; plural hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped o ...

'',

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

, ''

pelike A pelike ( grc, πελίκη) is a one-piece ceramic container similar to an amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characterist ...

'', jug, '' krateriskos'', ''

kantharos A ''kantharos'' ( grc, κάνθαρος) or cantharus is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in Greek pottery, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In i ...

'', chalice cup, ''

kylix In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix ( , ; grc, κύλιξ, pl. κύλικες; also spelled cylix; pl.: kylikes , ) is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot ...

'' and ''

lebes The lebes (Greek 'λέβης', plural ''lebetes'') is a type of ancient Greek cauldron, normally in bronze. It is a deep bowl with a rounded bottom. It was often supported by a sacrificial tripod. In classical times, a foot was attached and it was ...

''. Similar styles developed in the

West Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...

. For example, the polychrome Gnathia style is closely related. West Slope pottery underwent several stages of development until it went out of production in the second half of the 2nd century BC.

Bibliography

* Roald F. Docter: Westabhangkeramik. In:

Der Neue Pauly Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...

, vol. 11, cols. 487–488. {{Greek vase painting Ancient Greek vase-painting styles