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This paper provides an update on occurrence patterns and mineral composition of pottery in the so-called “South Coast” fabric, a fabric with a self-explanatory provenance ascription that is characterized by a buff matrix and coarse water-worn ophiolitic sand inclusions. Based on the collation of published data supplemented by new geological, petrographic, and archaeological results, this paper offers evidence for pottery production in a similar fabric in northeastern Crete, most probably around the site(s) of Malia and/or Chersonissos, during at least Middle Minoan II and Late Minoan III. These results provide new perspectives on an archaeological problem related to the hitherto assumed importance of the site of Myrtos, on the southeastern coast of Crete, in the production and trade of such pottery. They stress the importance of thorough geological fieldwork involving sediment sampling, while also calling for caution regarding some interpretations of pottery technology that can be inferred from textural and mineralogical properties of the fabrics analyzed in thin section.

Parce qu’ils sont consideres comme l’une des formes les plus communes d’echange de cuivre brut en Mediterranee de l’Âge du Bronze Recent, la question des regions de provenance et des modes d’utilisation des lingots dits « peau-de-bœuf » attise depuis longtemps deja l’interet des chercheurs. Au sein de ce commerce « international » avant la lettre, la premiere place fut souvent attribuee a Chypre, en raison de l’intense activite d’extraction qui y est reconnue des le Bronze Ancien ; et ceci, plus encore pour les lingots trouves en Crete : l’absence de ressources cupriferes sur l’ile, la necessaire importation de metal qui en resulte, ont forge l’idee d’un systeme d’echange de ceramiques minoennes contre des lingots peau-de-bœuf chypriotes dans l’archeologie traditionnelle. Calting apporta des nuances essentielles a ce modele (1979), suivi par Knapp (1990). L’objectif de ces quelques pages est de s’inscrire dans cette continuite, en apportant precisions et verifications aux theories anterieures, par le biais d’un examen des donnees de provenance et de contexte jusqu’ici publiees pour les lingots peau-de-bœuf « cretois ».

International audience; Lead antimonate (Pb2Sb2O7), or Naples Yellow, is one of the most common yellow pigments found in Renaissance majolica wares and European paintings. The knowledge for its recipe is considered as being transferred to Venice via the migration of eastern Mediterranean glass artists in the early 1500s (Dik et al. 2005). Naples Yellow is also the most ancient synthetic pigment used for colouring and opacifying glass, as evidenced by findings from Egypt (around 1450 BC, Wainwright et al. 1986) and Mesopotamia (1300-1000 BC, Hedges 1976). It was used by Roman glassmakers until a shortage of imported lead antimonate yellow glass from the East probably forced a switch to the use of tin-based yellow pigments in the 4th century (Tite et al. 2008). Later on, iron oxides were used as the main yellow colorant in Byzantine lead-rich glazed pottery (Palamara et al. 2016) even though a very small percentage of lead antimonate occurs in some Late Byzantine sgraffito wares from Macedonia (Tanevska et al. 2009) and western Anatolia (Kimirzi et al. 2012). With this background in mind, we present results obtained from the integrative analysis of 35 samples of 14th-century sgraffito wares found at the cities of Corinth and Thebes, mainland Greece. Aside from the local production of yellow-glazed sgraffito wares in both cities, a significant number of yellow-glazed wares was imported from northern Italy (Liguria, Veneto, Po Valley) and from the Marche. Yellow-glazed pottery in late Byzantine styles was imported from Thessaloniki, as well as from the Venetian colony of Negroponte/Chalkida. The use of iron oxides was systematic among these productions, in concentrations varying from workshop to workshop. In addition, antimonate-based yellow pigments are detected in several Greek productions of Byzantine tradition (Chalkida, Corinth, Thessaloniki) and in Venetian ceramics, whereas lead-tin yellow pigments were used in Greek workshops under Frankish (Thebes) and Catalan (Thebes, Corinth) rules. Our results suggest that Greek workshops might have had a particular importance in production and diffusion processes of Naples Yellow pigments in the Byzantine world, either through primary ore extraction, trade of processed materials (glass), or transmission of pigment recipes. Moreover, they provide new insights into the way Naples Yellow recipes may have reached Venice during, or even before, the early Renaissance period. We also explore the possibility of a Latin origin for the use of tin-based yellow pigments, thereby exploring political changes and state organization as potential catalysts for the diffusion of craft traditions.