Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum

The Original Project

Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum is the oldest research project of the Union Acad?mique Internationale.

The first meeting to organise the project was held in Paris in 1919.

Edmond Pottier (1855 -1934) initiated it and produced the first fascicule for the Louvre in 1922.

Pottier's role in developing CVA is the subject of "A corpus of ancient vases" in Revue Arch?olgique 2004.

Pottier had become a curator in the Louvre in 1884, two years before all of its ancient pottery was incorporated into the Department of Oriental Antiquities. 

When the Louvre purchased several thousand ancient vases from the Campana Collection it became the largest collection of ancient pottery in the world. Many types were represented, for example Proto-Elamitic pottery which Pottier had been the first to publish in 1912.
Pottier's vision of the types of pottery in CVA was broad - all ancient pottery from Europe, the Mediterranean, the Near East and the Middle East. 

Pottier's vision of publishing every example of so many different types of ancient pottery was ambitious and not easily realised.

In 1956 it was suggested that Greek and related wares only should be published; these now dominate CVA. By 2004 more than 300 fascicules have been published by more than 120 collections in 26 countries.

CVA Online