“HANDS-ON GREEK VASES” with AAR curator Prof. Valentina Follo and professional potter Roberto Paolini.
The popularity of Greek pottery transcended the Greek world. These artifacts, beyond their aesthetic beauty and role in spreading Greek myths, underscore the advanced technical skills required for their creation, a process that remains poorly understood.
Today’s event offers participants a hands-on experience with original Greek vases, but also with their creation process, from wheel-forming to intricate decoration.

The event will be composed of two activities:
1) guests will be allowed to touch and handle a selection of ancient Greek vases from the Archeological Collection of the AAR while curator Prof. Follo will discuss the peculiarities of each of them (e.g. technique, dating, iconography);
2) guests will meet Roberto Paolini, a professional ceramist who, through his study and experimental research (e.g. with Arizona University), has recreated the ancient techniques using only materials and technologies available in antiquity, eschewing modern chemical varnishes. He employs animal hair brushes, personally sourced clay slip, and a high level of skill and dedication – the same elements used by ancient potters.
Paolini will explain how to reproduce a vase and demonstrate how to use slip to decorate in the black-figure and red-figure techniques. Also in this case, participants will be allowed to touch and feel the vase reproductions.

The event will be open to 40 participants who will need to register in advance due to the limited space at the American Academy in Rome. Please sign up using this form https://forms.gle/WHfXaWK27CEWJu878

This activity will be offered free of charge and is open to anyone.