Phase in Greek vase painting. From about 720 bc vase-painters, especially in Corinth and Athens, developed a characteristic style, in which one or more bands of human and animal figures are silhouetted in black against a red background. The red colour is given by the fabric of the pot when fired, but the exact details of the technical process used are still unclear. The delineation of the figures is often heightened by the use of incised lines and the addition of white or purple colouring material. This style was gradually succeeded, from c530 bc, by its inverse, Red-figure.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied