Greek Vases of the Vienna University Collections for the CVA

Within the Archaeological Collection of the University of Vienna, Greek and Etruscan vases have been collected since 1878, mainly for practical teaching. For a long time they played no role at the academic level, as they were inadequately published, apart from the pieces presented in the first volume of the series Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum of Vienna University in 1942. Since then, the number of vessels has increased significantly, mainly through donations. With this basic research project 155 whole or fragmented clay vessels within the Archaeological Collection as well as five pieces from the Study Collection of Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology of Vienna University from the Geometric and Archaic periods (from the end of the 9th to the beginning of the 5th cent. BC) are to be comprehensively examined for the first time. With the help of common archaeological methods, comparisons to ornaments, iconographic representations and vessel shapes will be sought in relevant publications in order to achieve a classification, a dating as well as an attribution to a painter, potter or workshop. Non-destructive scientific examinations will also be used: 3D laser scans of every object allow non-contact profile and sectional drawings to be produced, enabling the vessel volume to be calculated or a depiction to be unrolled. Neutron activation analysis will help narrow down the production region of some fragments, and X-ray fluorescence analysis can make faded representations visible again or detect recent overpaintings. An important part of the project is the restoration of the vases, whereby many of the fragmented vessels and fragments will have to be taken apart, cleaned of pollutions and will have to be reassembled. In addition to this, all 61 objects already presented in the 1942 CVA volume will be reviewed again, as vase research has developed significantly over the past 80 years. Provenance research is also part of the project; here, compositions of fragments inside and outside the respective collection are expected. New findings based on investigation or restoration are to be elaborated at a workshop, presented in an exhibition, and published on a separate project homepage. Workshop and exhibition will focus on technical aspects of the production of Greek and Etruscan vessels, i. e. on traces left during pottery making, painting and firing. Especially during the processing and restoration, new results are expected in the field of production as well as the later fate of a vessel by both autopsy and digital recording methods. At the end of the project, a print-ready manuscript will be presented, which can subsequently be published as a new Austrian CVA volume Vienna, University Collections.

The project, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), was carried out from June 1, 2021, to July 31, 2025, at the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Greek and Etruscan ceramic vessels in two collections at Vienna University were examined, which have been produced in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece, and Etruria. They date from the mid-10th to the early 5th century BCE. While the ancient vessels and fragments in the "Studiensammlung des Institutes für Urgeschichte und Historische Archäologie" have never been published, the Archaeological Collection of the Institute of Classical Archaeology already holds a volume of the Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum (CVA) series published in 1942 but since then the number of vessels increased significantly. Each vessel and vessel fragment has been examined and measured, described in a structured manner, drawn, and photographed. The scientific commentary provides to the shape of the vessel, ornamental and figurative representations, in order to achieve a dating and an attribution to a painter or workshop. Profile drawings were taken either digitally by laser scan or by hand drawing from each bottom and rim fragment. The volume was measured for intact vessels by filling them with lentils or rice, and for fragmented vessels extrapolated on the basis of profile drawings. The region of production could not be determined macroscopically for some fragments, so neutron activation analysis was performed on eight samples. Restoration was a key part of the project, since many of the vessels and fragments had to be cleaned, restored, or reassembled. The provenance, i. e., the history of an object from the time of its production to the present, was examined for all objects and traced as completely as possible. During the project period, the principal investigator participated in five national and international conferences, gave eight lectures, and presented one poster. She prepared an exhibition on traces on ceramic vessels that were created during pottery making, painting, and firing; this exhibition was on display in the Archaeological Collection for four months. She also organized a two-day workshop at which 13 specialists from four countries presented results of their current research. This third-party funded project is dedicated to basic research: 170 complete or fragmented pottery vessels from both university collections have been comprehensively scientifically analysed. The results will be published in print as a new CVA volume as well as online in a database (www.cvaonline.org). Due to the consistent structure of the descriptive texts, the new publication can then serve as a source for vase specialists around the world to conduct their own research but offers also important insights for all archaeologists interested in the production and use life of Greek pottery and the history of university collections.