Greek pots at the McDougall

Press, 28 December 1985, Page 22

Greek pots at the McDougall

“Ancient Celebrations.” An exhibition of Greek pots at the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, until February 2. Reviewed by John Hurrell. Fifty very old Greek and Etruscan vases are presented in the McDougall Art gallery during the summer holidays. Forty-four of the artefacts are borrowed from the Logie collection of the University of Canterbury and six come from the Canterbury Museum. They are all sensitively displayed in glass cases and presented in an easy to follow sequence listed in the published catalogue. The staff of the McDougall and various members of the University’s art history and classics departments, have gone to a lot of trouble to make this exhibition and its catalogue accessible to a large section of the public. Its four short articles are packed with information about the myths and customs illustrated on the sides of the drinking vessels, and explain the social occasions on which these mainly wine containers were used.

The only serious omissions in the catalogue are the lack of data on the Logie collection itself (its size and range), and some exploration of how the curator, Regina Haggo, selected the show. John Coley the McDougall’s director, says in the acknowledgements that the Logie Collection is “one of the richest resources of ancient Greek and Etruscan artefacts in the southern Hemisphere,” yet there is no evidence in the catalogue to substanti-

ate this assertion. What is clear though, is that the owners of these objects are doing the inhabitants of a city as young as Christchurch a great service in making these vases available. It is hard not to feel a sense of awe, when viewing here, jugs and containers that were made 4000 years ago. Eight periods of vases are presented in the gallery each type having distincture characteristics of its own. The black figure band cups which came from Attica during the Sixth Century B.C. are particularly exciting with their black silhouettes in a shiny black glaze and added colour such as purple or white. These contain very delicate and finely detailed imagery and are elegantly proportioned and balanced. Even without understanding the specific meanings of the images and the functions of the containers, the beauty of these artefacts can be easily appreciated. In ancient Greek times no distinction was made between art and artefacts yet here in Christchurch the gallery and museum are positioned back to back, each institution having its own distinct function. As six of the exhibits here are from the museum, and none are owned by the gallery, it seems odd that the McDougall should present this show. After all, the museum is just as deserving of the public’s attention; possibly more so. One of the reasons art historians have been so interested in Greek pottery is

that examples of it are very common indeed, especially When compared with the tantalisingly rare examples of wall or panel paintings. From studying the painted images on vases, the evolution of Greek drawing can be appreciated, even though the actual painting techniques involved were quite different from those on

much larger works with flat, not curved, surfaces. They also shed light on the development of sculpture. As an introduction to the world of the ancient Greeks this is an excellent organised exhibition, and it is well-illustrated catalogue is cheap too. The McDougall, University and Museum have done well to present it.