The technique of Tanagra coroplasts. From local craft to "global industry" (2010) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Figuring out: coroplastic art and technè in Agrigento, Sicily: the results of a coroplastic experiment, 2017
Figurines – or terracotta made figurative objects – are a frequently encountered material category in Antiquity. Their importance can be directly linked to an expression of socio-cultural phenomena. To understand the practices and techniques applied in the production of terracotta figurines from Akragas (Agrigento, Sicily), an archaeological experiment was carried out with the aim to reconstruct the full chaîne opératoire. This so-called coroplastic experiment focused on the large variety of female figurines from Akragas dated from the 6th-5th century BC. These form the majority of mould-made objects, which were placed as votives in high numbers at sanctuaries and were also applied as a grave gift. The demand for figurines to be dedicated and the flourishing business of terracotta production in Akragas can be explained by the presence of several nearby high-quality mineral resources, in combination with the craftsmanship of the local workshops. This availability sets the conditions for a strong tradition, resulting in a variety of moulded figurines. In this study, several clays and techniques are selected to re-create the production process with the aim of elucidating the technological capacity and choices made by potters and artisans. The outcome of tests with local clays showed that the materials nearby found fit the workability requirements, but also that by mixing several clays the colour of the figurines could be manipulated. Several generations of a figurine’s genealogy re-created in the experiment show how details fade and explain the common solution to replace the head. The use of different tools, such as round sticks as well as metal blades could be distinguished by an interpretative approach to the traces on reworked figurines. The development of characteristics in both design and technique shows a local style, while moulds and figurines were exchanged with other Sicilian towns, such as Selinous (Selinunte, Sicily). However, the appearance, as well as specific production techniques, shows an influence of a different craft tradition, one which points to an eastern Greek origin. In order to distinguish the technological choices and their effect on stylistic developments, a technical approach was chosen to research the production technique and the use of materials by the workshops in Akragas.
Coroplastic production includes a wide range of artefacts, from various types of figurines to plastic vases or even miniature ones, especially when they were mould-made. As it is widely accepted, this particular line of manufacture in ancient Greece was conducted within the wider framework of ceramics 1 already since the Geometric era. The fact that the casting technique dominated production in the Archaic era, becoming possibly the sole manufacturing method is not by itself reason enough to separate coroplastic workshops from other pottery workshops. Furthermore, manufacture and creation of plastic artefacts were essentially only linked during the initial phase of a coroplastic series, that which included the creation of the prototype 2. The casting technique would then allow anybody to pour clay into the clay moulds, and later plaster moulds, hence creating figurines, busts, etc.
Coroplastic production in the Archaic era (2017)
P. Adam-Veleni, A. Koukouvou, O. Palli, E. Stefani, E. Zografou (eds.), Figurines, a Microcosmos of Clay, Thessaloniki, 2017, 2017
Short presentation of the coroplastic art of Archaic Greece (techniques, regional styles and repertoire, significations in votive and funerary contexts), in the exhibition catalogue Figurines, a microcosmos of clay edited by the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (English edition).
Iancu 2020_Redefining Textile Handcraft. Structures, Tools and Production Processes. Proceedings of the VIIth International Symposium on Textiles and Dyes in the Ancient Mediterranean World (Granada, Spain 2-4 October 2019), 2020
Abstract: Clay spools are ubiquitous in many regions of the ancient Greek world, being associated by archaeologists most often with textile crafts. This category of tools is controversial because the functionality of the ancient spool-shaped objects made of clay is still highly debated among scholars. Despite the large numbers of spools dating to the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods recovered from archaeological sites in Elis (e.g. Olympia, Elean Pylos, Makrysia) and in other regions of Peloponnese, as it is the Argolid and Corinthia, these objects have received much less attention than their Bronze Age counterparts. As a consequence, relatively little is understood about their modes of production, geographical distribution and functionality. This paper investigates a trait observed on the waist of several of the ancient spools from Elis and examines an ancient production technique of spools that remains quasi-unknown in the field of archaeological textiles: the moulding of spools. Keywords: Clay spools, Textile tools, Peloponnese, Olympia, Elean, Pylos, Bivalve mould, Spool-shaped loom weights. Resumen: Los carretes de arcilla están presentes en muchas regiones de la Antigua Grecia, siendo lo más habitual que se vinculen con la artesanía textil. No obstante, esta clase de artefactos no está libre de controversia, pues la funcionalidad de los objetos de arcilla que adquieren esta forma de carrete es ampliamente debatida por parte de la investigación. A pesar de las grandes cantidades de carretes fechables en época arcaica, clásica y helenística que se han recuperado en varios yacimientos de la región de la Élide (por ejemplo, en Olimpia, Elea, Pilos o Macrisia) y en otras zonas de Grecia, como la Argólide y la región de Corinto, estos objetos han recibido mucha menor atención que sus homólogos de la Edad del Bronce. Consecuentemente, es muy poco lo queue se sabe acerca de sus sistemas de producción, su distribución geográfica o su funcionalidad. Este trabajo se centra en una característica observada en varios de los antiguos carretes de la Élide y estudia una antigua técnica de producción que sigue siendo casi desconocida en el campo de las herramientas textiles en la Antigüedad: el uso de moldes para fabricarlos. Palabras-clave: Carretes cerámicos; Herramientas textiles; Peloponeso; Olimpia; Elea; Pilos; Moldes bivalvos; Pesas de telar en forma de carrete.