ИСТИНА

The collection of Hellenistic black-glazed pottery from Panticapaeum is rather representative – it consists of more than 450 pieces. These materials gathered during many years of investigation are kept in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. They have been published only partly and the whole collection is still unpublished. The most examples date to the period from the last quarter of the 4th to the middle of the 3rd cent. BC, in general chronology until the middle of the 2nd century BC. The main part of ceramic vessels was imported from Attica. Only in the middle of the 3rd – 2nd century BC imports from Asia Minor (probably, Pergamon) appears, and it’s not a great number of these pots. The largest part of the collection is vessels for food: the Bowls of different forms and Plates (most part of all the vessels), Saltcellars and Small bowls, as well as Fish-plates. The number and variety of forms of vessels for drinking is considerably reduced in comparison with the classical period. Drinking cups are presented by Skyphos, Kantharos of different forms and Hellenistic kantharos. By the way, several fragments of West Slope Amphora, Lekanis, Sauseres, Jugs, Guttuses and Pyxis were found. Hellenistic pottery from Panticapaeum included pots with stamped and painted decoration. The stamped decoration was rather monotonous. Several palmettes within roulletting or just roulletting were the main motifs. Some of the vases were covered with paintings in the style of “West Slope”. The Floral ornaments were more popular. First of all, it was olive and ivy garlands; then – spearhead necklace with ties at ends. Besides, the graphics of Dolphin and Checkerboards adorned the walls of the West Slope Amphoras.