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Ancient Athenian Ceramics:
Through the Eyes of a Conservator
Ancient Athenian Ceramics: Through the Eyes of a Conservator
In 1965, Joseph Veach Noble’s book The Techniques of Painted Attic Pottery transformed the study of painted ceramics from ancient Athens. His careful examination of the structures and surfaces of these renowned and iconic objects continues to be one of the most cited scholarly references even today. In the sixty years since that publication, new scientific and technical insights have both enhanced and challenged Noble’s study, bringing us even closer to the craft, creativity and technical genius of the potters and painters who produced ceramics in Athens thousands of years ago. This lecture re-examines Noble’s work, this time by looking through the eyes of a conservator. New perspectives from the fields of experimental archaeology, materials science and art conservation allow us to glimpse the working lives of these ancient makers with even more clarity than before. Integrating these innovative new understandings of the ancient potters’ and painters’ artistic expertise and technical know-how also lets us see this broad range of ancient people in their fuller humanity.
Lectures are offered free with the cost of daily admission:
- Art+ Museum Members: Free
- Not-Yet-Members: $25
- College Students: Free
Sanchita Balachandran is the director of the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI), a national research center dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage. She is an art conservator whose research explores how the technical study and conservation of archaeological items brings us closer to the lived experiences of ancient people. Before joining the Smithsonian in 2024, Balachandran was Director of the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum and Associate Teaching Professor at Johns Hopkins University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Pomona College, a master’s degree in art history and an advanced certificate in art conservation from New York University, and a doctorate in preservation studies from the University of Delaware. Balachandran is a fellow of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) and the recipient of the AIC’s Rutherford Gettens Award for outstanding service. Her research has been recognized through a James Marsden Fitch Residency at the American Academy in Rome; the Bard Graduate Center’s Iris Outstanding Mid-Career Scholar Award; a Conservation Guest Scholar residency at the Getty Conservation Institute, and a Fulbright Award to India.
Image Caption: Woman with Oil Flask at Tomb (detail). White-ground lekythos (ceramic oil flask); attributed to the Inscription Painter; Attica, Greece; Archaic period, ca. 460-450 BCE. Tampa Museum of Art, Joseph Veach Noble Collection, Museum Purchase in part with funds donated in memory of Dorothy M. Mosely, 1986.079