Undergraduate Study

The Classics section of the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh holds a collection of vases and a few figurines in excellent condition. Although it has not been possible to trace the donor or original provenance of our collection, the complete state of the vases suggests that they come from a funerary context. The collection represents a wide variety of both chronological and geographical range: from prehistoric Egypt, Cyprus and Mycenaean Greece to Early Archaic, Classical Greece and the Roman era. Especially interesting are the Cypriot examples of White Slip Ware, Proto-White Painted and Cypriot-Geometric vases. They offer a good sample of different fabrics and shapes from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The same can be claimed for the Corinthian aryballoi, which together with the Black Figure lekythoi illustrate the variety of techniques employed to decorate funerary offerings at Athens and Corinth.

The educational benefit of the collection is obvious: our students can examine and even handle the vases in tutorials. Thus they can appreciate differences in fabric, scale, and the various techniques employed by the ancient potters.

Similar opportunity is offered to our student visiting the School Cast Collection, located throughout Doorway 4, Teviot Place, including a pottery display on level 1; other items are held in the Cast Gallery, located at present behind no. 19 George Square. There, they can see and examine three-dimensional examples of famous statues, reliefs, and portraits dated from the Archaic and Classical periods to the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The sculpture in the Cast Gallery offers students the opportunity to follow important developments in Classical Art.

The casts were catalogued by Sian Williams and the pottery by Allyson Bailey (AB), Eleanor Loughlin (EL), Shelby L. Wells (SLW) and Sian Williams (SW). Technical assistance was provided by Lisa Bligh, Karen Hartnup and Ian Paterson. Photography by Joe Rock. Website designed by Lizzie "Lizzard" Bramlett.

We would like to thank Glenys Davies, Kristian Goransson, John Higgitt, Dominic Ingemark, Irene S. Lemos, Mario Longtin, David and Francesca Ridgway, and Gordon Thomas for advice and assistance during the cataloguing of the material and formatting of the website.