http://agathe.gr/democracy/the_athenian_aristocracy.html
The Athenian Aristocracy Before democracy, from the 8th to the 6th century B.C., Athens was prosperous economically but no more significant than many other city-states in Greece. Silver deposits south ... The vase is decorated in the black-figure technique in which the figures are rendered in black on the natural red clay surface of the vase; details are done by incision through the black, or with red and white colors.