What can you learn about an archaic community from the art they created? Can the way in which their artefacts are displayed enhance the experience of viewing it? Very few remains still exist from Ancient Greek culture on the whole. However because of the durability of the material, pottery is a large part of the archaeological record from this period in Greece’s history, and as a result these vases have exerted a disproportionately large influence on our understanding of Greek society.
These films show how you can an insight into Greek civilisation by observing the designs on the ceramics that have been acquired by these museums. The Open University’s Jessica Hughes analyses their religious mythology and Lucilla Burns discusses presentation at the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge.
This material forms part of the Open University course A151 Making sense of things: an introduction to material culture.