Why might have the Ancient Romans adopted Greek sculpture, but didn't adopt Greek pottery?

by GreasedLightning

I understand that there are big differences between ancient Greek and ancient Roman pottery. Yet, when you are looking at their sculptures both cultures seemed to have much more in common.

I was wondering where Rome went with pottery after being introduced to Greek culture.

-Kite-Man-

What are these vases made out of and what was their purpose?

Were the later pieces more rugged, cheaper or easier to mass-produce? Are they both common examples of pottery?

Is their different appearance connected to increasing ease of manufacturing something once novel, and therefore special and more worthy of ornamentation?

canadiancountryboy

So the two pieces you provide pictures of are actually very different vessels of pottery. The Greek vessel is a black figure amphora, probably used for the storage of a liquid either oil or wine. The Roman vessel is a small table vessel it is called Terra Sigillata and has a red slip applied before firing. The specific photo you attached is of a piece made by a guy named M. Perennius Tigranus. Neither of the vessels are Terra Cotta, Terra Cotta means baked earth, and a piece of pottery is only Terra cotta if not made on a potter’s wheel. Both of the vessels you show were made using intensive wheel skill. As a previous answer stated one of the main Roman uses of terracotta was roof tiles(they literally still make roof tiles like this in rural Italy). So with all that out in the open, I’ll try and answer your question as best as possible. The Romans were influenced heavily by the Greeks, but didn’t take Greek culture wholesale. It underwent some change before arriving in Rome. Rome was influenced mostly by the Greek colonies in Magna Graecia(Modern Calabria essentially) and Sicily. These Greek cities had underwent subtle changes as all colonies do (think American vs British culture). The Greeks also influenced the Etruscans through extensive trade, and in turn the Etruscans heavily influenced Rome. While there is an observable difference between the two vessels you provide here, they are not a good example of a comparison. The Amphora probably dates to the Classical period in Greece while the Terra Sigillata vessel was made after 15BCE, a difference of almost 500 years. Style and tastes change over that time period. Also, there is some evidence for Greek influence on Roman pottery. Many samples of Black gloss pottery found has had similar black figure painted designs to the image of the amphora you provide. They samples Also contain mythological scenes, a characteristic of the Greek 5th century vase painting style. So in conclusion, while there are some observable differences in Roman in Greek pottery, the comparison is made when each of the sides were at their peak. There is lots of overlap.

Sources

Tuck, Steven. Roman Art.

Pena, J.T. Evidence for use of Raw Materials in the production of Black Gloss and Italian Sigillata at Arezzo and Volterra.

Oxé and Comfort. Corpus Vasorum Arretinorum.