14 Examining the Red and Black Surfaces of Apulian Red-figured Pottery: Raw Materials and Technological Features

The red and black surfaces of Apulian red-figured pottery from significant sites located in various geographic- cultural areas in Apulia were investigated in order to test the hypothesis that local pottery production grew progressively independent of Attic manufacturing technology, its original inspiration. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), and Raman Spectroscopy were used to obtain a complete chemical and mineralogical characterization of the surfaces. The archaeometric results indicate that despite being very similar externally, Apulian and Attic surfaces are in fact different, having been made with locally available raw materials and via similar but not identical manufacture. In particular, the finest fraction of terra rossa, very common throughout Apulia, was probably the raw material for black gloss. As for the red surfaces, various methods were employed to redden the whitish/grayish ceramic surface of Late Apulian vases, whose color is due to the coarse clay fraction used in producing them. Refined from the same clays as the body, a clayey engobe could have been applied to the body, or else a clayey layer enriched with iron oxides or a wash with ferruginous water. These are the expedients identified so far. It remains unclear why a clay coarse fraction was used, though typically discarded by Attic potters. It is unclear whether this choice was mechanically or structurally motivated, a more appropriate material being needed for the larger vases, characteristic of Late Apulian production, or if it was economically motivated, enabling significant savings in raw materials as compared with Attic red-figured pottery while still achieving visual effects like those of traditional technology. All the results support the hypothesis that at least since the 4th century B.C. Apulian production is distinct in character and completely autonomous from Attic traditions of production. The results also suggest that the potters in Magna Graecia profoundly understood pottery craftsmanship, as is evident in their deliberately selecting raw materials and their adopting suitable technologies for the specific needs of producing each vase.