History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman. Volume 1 (of 2) — A Closer Reading

From Birch to Walters: A Discipline Transformed

The preface reveals a discipline in rapid flux. Walters notes that between 1873 and 1889 the available material "doubled or even trebled," and the study itself was "revolutionised." He carefully distances his work from Birch's while retaining its plan, stating that the earlier text "implies no slur" to be out of date—a diplomatic acknowledgment of progress. The decision to omit Oriental pottery is explained as partly due to space, but also because the field had grown too vast for a single treatment. This framing positions the volume as both a successor and a corrective, aiming to give students a "condensed and up-to-date account."

Cyprus as a Cultural Crossroads

In the Cyprus section, Walters dissects the term "Graeco-Phoenician," arguing it masks a complex blend of Egyptian and Assyrian elements filtered through Phoenician intermediaries. He observes that painted pottery was never native to Oriental art, so Phoenician influence appears only in "borrowed motives of Oriental character, like foreign words in a language." A striking piece of evidence is the Cypriot syllabary, which resisted the Phoenician alphabet and shows affinities with Cretan script and Mycenaean vase markings. Walters uses this to argue that Cyprus maintained Hellenic ties despite political domination, as seen in the 501 BCE revolt against Persia.

Mycenaean Legacies in Later Pottery

Walters traces Mycenaean influence persisting in Cypriot pottery long after the Bronze Age. He cites specific technical details: painting figures in outline rather than silhouette, the use of dull red and black on unglazed light surfaces, and the invention of concentric circles as a "favourite and almost universal motive." These are combined with Attic geometric panels and Oriental lotos-flowers and rosettes. He compares a krater from Enkomi with a later amphora from Karpas to show stylistic continuity, and contrasts a vase from Tamassos with "crudely and childishly drawn figures" that mix Greek and Oriental motives without being Mycenaean in technique.

Readers should note that this volume is the first of two, with Volume II covering additional periods and classes. Walters frequently references illustrations and plates not reproduced in the text, so consulting the original print edition or supplementary image sources will enrich understanding. The work assumes familiarity with classical archaeology; newcomers may benefit from first reviewing basic Greek and Roman history.