Artists and Signatures in Ancient Greece

The practice of signing works of art, which begins in the eighth century BCE, sets the Greeks apart from most other peoples of the ancient world. This book offers insight into Greek conceptions of art, the artist, and artistic originality by examining the phenomenon of artists' signatures in ancient Greece.

The Greeks inscribed their works of art and craft with labels identifying mythological or historical figures, bits of poetry, and claims of ownership. But no type of inscription is more hotly debated or more intriguing than the artist's signature, which raises questions concerning the role and status of the artist and the work of art or craft itself. In this book, Jeffrey M. Hurwit surveys the phenomenon of artists' signatures across the many genres of Greek art from the eighth to the first century BCE. Although the great majority of extant works lack signatures, the Greek artist nonetheless signed his products far more than any other artist of antiquity. Examining signatures on gems, coins, mosaics, wall-paintings, metalwork, vases, and sculptures, Hurwit argues that signatures help us assess the position of the Greek artist within his society as well as his conception of his own skill and originality.