An Introduction to Greek Vases | Christie's

International Head of Antiquities G. Max Bernheimer surveys some magnificent Greek vases. For a civilisation that disappeared 2,000 years ago, the ancient Greeks left a great deal behind: philosophy, democracy, poetry, architecture, and an extensive corpus of vases, which comprise a large part of the archaeological record. Their enduring popularity is reflected in the breadth of their influence on contemporary art — as seen in the pottery of Grayson Perry and Picasso, and in the paintings of de Chirico an