Comparative study of anthropological aspects of greek vase painting and etruscan murals

Abstract

Introduction. The fine arts of archaic Greece and Etruria experienced a noticeable influence of the East. The transition from archaic to classical time influenced the forms of depicting the morphological features of a person in antique art. Comparative study of the anthropological features of the antique population of the Mediterranean on the greek painted pottery and etruscan murals of the archaic and classical times was the purpose of our study.

Materials and methods. The material was collected in the online-collections of ancient collections of museums. We used the method of a composite portrait in a digital version, the calculation of the frequency of features in our study. Studied features was – beard growth, hair color and nature of the hair.

Results and discussion. On the etruscan murals of the archaic period, the frequency of depicting straight nature of the hair in women is the highest (7,7 %) in all samples; for different groups of painted pottery, it does not exceed 7 %. The degree of beard growth according to vase painting and etruscan murals is characterized by a strong and very strong growth. A greater manifestation of hair pigmentation polymorphism according to painted pottery is noted in the images of the classical period. Dark hair predominates in all groups, grey-haired was depicted only in male characters. Hair depigmentation on painted pottery is observed in images of the classical and late classical periods and did not exceed 6 % in the total sample. Pigmentation on etruscan murals indicates a lightening of the hair in the group towards reddish-red shades, depigmentation does not exceed 8%. Features of the depiction of pigmentation in to vase painting and murals, despite the different technique and coloring, reveal common tendencies of variability characteristic of the Mediterranean groups. Composite portraits based on painted pottery reflect the historical transformation of the anthropo-aesthetic ideas of the greeks through the fine arts of the archaic and classical times.

Conclusion. Color in greek painted pottery performs not only a decorative function, but is also an artistic means of conveying morphological variability. Involvement of antique written sources of the description of population and the philosophy of color in antique culture can help in the anthropological reading of vase painting and further study of pigmentation polymorphism. © 2023. This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 license

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