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, which lasted from approximately 900 to 700 B.C.E., is named after the geometric patterns and motifs that were prevalent on pottery at this time. Scholars subdivide the Geometric Period into three basic segments: Early Geometric (900-850 B.C.E.), Middle Geometric (850-760 B.C.E.), and Late Geometric (760-700 B.C.E.) (1). This chronological sequence is based on Attic Geometric pottery, which seems to have set the pace for Geometric pottery in the rest of the Greek world (2). It is important to note, however, that non-Attic vases identified as Geometric do not necessarily fall within these same chronological ranges and are more difficult to date based on style.Ìý

The predominant form of Ìýseems to have been painted pottery (3) and the vast majority of Geometric vases are found in cemeteries and other burial contexts in Greece. A well-known example of one such burial, the , included a variety of Geometric pottery.ÌýArchaeologists must base their interpretations on the material remains from these burials, as few written documents survive from this period (4). Our knowledge of this period, then, is restricted primarily to (5).Ìý

Vases performed several different functions in Geometric funerary practices. Some monumental amphorae and kraters acted as grave markers, as was the case with the so-called , which stands approximately five feet (1.55 meters) tall. Other vases, usually amphorae, acted as urns that held the ashes of cremated individuals, as was the case with the Tomb of the Rich Athenian Lady (above).ÌýA Boeotian amphora dated to c. 700 B.C.E. in the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØArt Museum's collection may be one such vessel. Still other types of vases were placed in graves as offerings to the deceased (7).Ìý

Both the shapes of vases in this period and their decoration derive from an earlier period called the Protogeometric period, which lasted from approximately 1,050-900 B.C.E. is characterized by vase shapes like the amphora, the krater, the oinochoe, and a range of cup shapes (8). Protogeometric decoration includes concentric circles and semicircles, checkerboard patterns, zig-zags, wavy lines, and lozenges in the form of triangles or diamonds. Minimal figural decoration adorns Protogeometric pottery; when it does occur it is, with few exceptions, in the form of animal motifs rather than depictions of human figures.Ìý

Vases from the Geometric Period tend to be of the same shapes as those of the Protogeometric, though they are usually taller and slimmer in form (9). The decoration on Geometric vases, however, suggests a substantial shift from the Protogeometric style, especially during the Middle and Late Geometric periods. In those later stages of the Geometric Period there appears to have been a growing interest in figural representation (10) and more variety in non-figural motifs, such as meanders and new forms of lozenges (11). These motifs usually form bands, or registers, of decoration and generally cover the vases from foot to rim.Ìý

One of the most significant changes in pottery decoration during this period is new interest in depicting theÌýhuman formÌýon vases, as on an Ìý(12). Human figures on Geometric Period vases are depicted in a very stylized -- indeed, a geometric -- form. That is, they are conceptual rather than representational. In the earlier phases of the Geometric Period, human figures are shown as silhouettes and in a perspective that combines frontal and profile views, much like what we see in . Additionally, figural decoration on surviving . Two well-known examples of this phenomenon are the Dipylon amphora, discussed above, which shows mourners surrounding a body lying in state in what is called the prothesis, and the Hirschfeld krater, also called the , which shows a funeral procession, or ekphora. Both of these vases were found in a cemetery near the so-called Dipylon Gate in Athens. As the Geometric Period progressed, human figures were represented in more detail and a greater sense of realism (13), although geometric elements remained prevalent in the portrayal of the human form.Ìý

Some scholars have argued that Geometric pottery exhibits "primitive" (14) or under-developed artistic characteristics or that Geometric art is "not very complicated" (15). It is important to note, however, that these types of value judgments can undermine the greater concepts suggested in the images and the extent to which pottery as an art form had progressed by this period.Ìý

Footnotes

1. Dates from William R. µþ¾±±ð°ù²õ,ÌýThe Archaeology of GreeceÌý(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996): 110; John µþ´Ç²¹°ù»å³¾²¹²Ô,ÌýEarly Greek Vase PaintingÌý(New York and London: Thames & Hudson, 1998): 23; andÌýJohn G. Pedley,ÌýGreek Art and ArchaeologyÌý(Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall, 2002): 118-24.
2. µþ´Ç²¹°ù»å³¾²¹²Ô,ÌýEarly Greek Vase Painting:Ìý23.
3. J.N. °ä´Ç±ô»å²õ³Ù°ù±ð²¹³¾,ÌýGreek Geometric Pottery: A Survey of Ten Local Styles and Their ChronologyÌý(London: Methuen, 1968): 1.
4. °ä´Ç±ô»å²õ³Ù°ù±ð²¹³¾,ÌýGreek Geometric Pottery: 332.
5. J.N. Coldstream, "The Geometric style: birth of the picture," in eds. Tom Rasmussen and Nigel Spivey, Looking at Greek VasesÌý(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991): 37-56.
6. Pedley,ÌýGreek Art and Archaeology: 121; µþ¾±±ð°ù²õ,ÌýThe Archaeology of Greece: 123; µþ´Ç²¹°ù»å³¾²¹²Ô,ÌýEarly Greek Vase Painting: 25-6.
7. Emily Vermeule,ÌýAspects of Death in Early Greek Art and PoetryÌý(Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, 1979).
8. Pedley,ÌýGreek Art and Archaeology​: 118.
9. µþ¾±±ð°ù²õ,ÌýThe Archaeology of Greece​: 121.
10. µþ´Ç²¹°ù»å³¾²¹²Ô,ÌýEarly Greek Vase Painting: 24.
11. Pedley,ÌýGreek Art and Archaeology​: 118.
12. µþ¾±±ð°ù²õ,ÌýThe Archaeology of Greece​: 125.
13. µþ¾±±ð°ù²õ,ÌýThe Archaeology of Greece​: 125.
14. Bernhard Schweitzer,ÌýGreek Geometric ArtÌý(New York: Phaidon, 1971): 16.
15. Anna Roes,ÌýGreek Geometric Art: Its Symbolism and Its OriginÌý(Haarlem, Netherlands: H.D. Tjeenk Willink & Zoon, 1933): 9.