Art and Architecture Collection > Historic Pottery and Porcelain > Reference Resources by Topic:

Ancient

Birch, Samuel. History of Ancient Pottery: Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman. London: John Murray, 1873. (3-MPE)
Volume I treats Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek art with emphasis on the types of materials and their forms. Glazes and other processes are distinguished by region. Greek vases and their styles and relationship to metal vases are covered. Volume 2 covers the evolution of Etruscan and later Roman materials and geographical styles.  

Cook, Robert Manuel. Greek Painted Pottery. London: Methuen, 1972. (MPEK 74-47)
A classic study of the ceramics and their specific styles, from Protogeometric to Hellenistic. Sections on shapes, techniques, and chronology.

Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Series.  (MPEK+)
NYPL has many titles in this extensive scholarly sequence.

Greene, Kevin. Roman Pottery. London: British Museum Press, 1992. (3-MPEK 93-3139)
A survey of Roman ceramic production, this work emphasizes excavation reports, laboratory analysis, production and economic studies.

Jones, R.E. Greek and Cypriot Pottery: A Review of Scientific Studies. [Athens]: British School at Athens, 1986. (3-MPEK)
A large, extensive publication that focuses on the methodology of provenance work, data analysis, regional survey of pottery sites and characterization data. Covers pottery of the Neolithic, Early, Middle, and Late Bronze Age, Cypriot, and Greek pottery of the Historic Period.

Robertson, Martin. The Art of Vase-Painting in Classical Athens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. (3-MPEK 92-19139)
Summarizes the results of scholarly studies begun by Beazley and others on Attic Red and Black-figure vase painting. Provides information on known painters.

Sparkes, Brian A. Greek Pottery: An Introduction. Manchester: Manchester University Press; dist. By St. Martin’s Press, 1991. (MPEK 92-3156)
A historical survey of archaeological investigation: making, dating, shapes, decoration, and distribution of vessels.  

Vickers, Michael J. Ancient Greek Pottery. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1999. (3-MPEK 99-11590)
A quick ready-reference guide with examples drawn from the Ashmolean’s famous collection. Excellent color illustrations provide a concise stylistic survey of representative works, their styles, and artists.