Ten Thousand Years of Pottery by
Pottery is one of the oldest and wost widespread arts practised by human kind and its history can traced back to the Stone Age. Changes in styles and types occurred in response to changing social, economic and technical demands. This account of the history of pottery begins with the early civilizations of the Near and Middle East and traces the production of ceramics throughout the cultures of the globe, from the Mediterranean and the Orient to Islam and ancient America, from neolithic Britain to Wedgewood and de Morgan, from 20th-century Africa and India to Scandanavia and Australia, with a final chapter on the newest work of studio potters today. The illustrations provide representative examples of the major styles, materials and forms of all periods, allowing the reader to make comparisons and see relationships between the works of cultures which may be widely separated in space and time.
A History of World Pottery by East African (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, southeastern Sudan) - Kansyore pottery, Tana pottery
The Origins and Use of the Potter's Wheel in Ancient Egypt by
The invention of the wheel is often highlighted as one of humankinds' most significant inventions. Wheels do not exist in nature, and so can be viewed entirely as a human-inspired invention. Machinery too, was relatively rare in the ancient world. The potter's wheel is arguably the most significant machine introduced into Egypt, second only perhaps to the drill, the loom and the bellows for smelting metal. In Predynastic Egypt (c3500 B.C.), the traditional methods of hand-building pottery vessels were already successful in producing pottery vessels of high quality on a large scale for the domestic market, so it would seem that the potter's wheel was a rather superfluous invention. However, the impact of this innovation would not just have affected the Egyptian potters themselves learning a new skill, but also signalled the beginnings of a more complex and technologically advanced society. Despite many years work on the technology of pottery production it is perhaps surprising that the origins of the potter's wheel in Egypt have yet to be determined. This present project seeks to rectify this situation by determining when the potter's wheel was introduced into Egypt, establishing in what contexts wheel thrown pottery occurs, and considering the reasons why the Egyptians introduced the wheel when a well-established hand making pottery industry already existed.
East Asia (China, Japan, Korea)
Keywords: celadon ware (1000-1600 CE),
Southeast Asia
Central Asia
Handmade Culture by
Handmade Culture is the first comprehensive and cohesive study in any language to examine Raku, one of Japan's most famous arts and a pottery technique practiced around the world. More than a history of ceramics, this innovative work considers four centuries of cultural invention and reinvention during times of both political stasis and socioeconomic upheaval. It combines scholarly erudition with an accessible story through its lively and lucid prose and its generous illustrations. The author's own experiences as the son of a professional potter and a historian inform his unique interdisciplinary approach, manifested particularly in his sensitivity to both technical ceramic issues and theoretical historical concerns. Handmade Culture makes ample use of archaeological evidence, heirloom ceramics, tea diaries, letters, woodblock prints, and gazetteers and other publications to narrate the compelling history of Raku,
Yakimono by
Treasures of Japanese Ceramics celebrates the 120th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawaii. It presents a wide range of exceptional Japanese ceramic ware from a number of institutions in Japan, representing a broad time span, different aesthetics, and multiple techniques. The earliest objects are two middle Jomon period earthenware (c. 25th-15th century bce). Both show strong sculptural forms and mysterious designs. Yayoi and Haji ware (c. 2nd-4th century ce) demonstrate simpler and more functional designs. Sue ware (c. 6th-8th century ce) are examples of the first Japanese stoneware dervied from Korean techniques. Ceramics from the Nara and Heian periods (c. 7th-12th century ce) display early glaze techniques employed by Japanese craftsmen. Objects are included from all six old kiln sites (Tokoname, Seto, Echizen, Tamba, Bizen, and Shigaraki), dated from c. 12th to 15th century ce. Other exceptional examples of Japanese ceramics are from the Momoyama period through contemporary time (c. 16th-20th century ce).
Ceramics in Hawaii : a look at the development of ceramics in the islands since 1947 by 
Salute to the potters by
British potters - Staffordshire pottery - Wedgwood ware
Pottery by American Indian Women by
This book provides a very personal look at three generations of American Indian women who made--and are still making--the 20th century's most beautiful and important traditional pottery. Primarily a women's art, American Indian pottery reflects a heritage of powerful social, religious, and aesthetic values. Even now, modern American Indian women use the clay, paint, and fire of pottery making to express themselves, creating designs that range from dutifully traditional to strikingly original. This book--written in conjunction with one of the most important exhibitions of American Indian pottery ever mounted--provides an in-depth look at a unique North American art form. The text and lavish illustrations focus on the American Indian women who have maintained and expanded the art in the twentieth century: the craft's six well-known matriarchs (including Lucy M. Lewis and Maria Martinez), family members who followed in their footsteps, and women working in the avant-garde. The author-herself a potter, with longstanding personal ties to the century's most important American Indian clay artists-personally introduces these remarkable women. In informal interviews, they explain their working methods and their aesthetic visions, allowing rare and surprisingly intimate glimpses into the fulfillment they gain from working the stuff of the earth into beautiful new forms. Featuring specially commissioned color photographs of the exhibition works and the contemporary artists, as well as archival photo-graphs of ancient pots and potters now lost to us, this book is sheer delight. With its thorough discussion of the cultural history of Indian pottery and a detailed explanation of traditional pottery-making processes, it is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in the vibrant (and still-flourishing) tradition of American Indian pottery. Susan Peterson began establishing personal friendships with American Indian potters during the 1930s. She is the author of The Living Tradition of Maria Martinez, Lucy M. Lewis: American Indian Potter, Sho-ji Hamada: A Potter's Way and Work, and The Craft of Art and Clay. She has also produced a critically acclaimed television series for CBS called Wheels, Kilns, and Clay. A practicing potter herself and an expert in the craft's history, she has developed ceramics departments and taught classes at many institutions. She frequently exhibits in group and one-woman shows, and recently retired as a professor of ceramic art from Hunter College in New York City. She now lives and works in rural Arizona. 130 colour illustrations & 20 archival photos
Ceramic Production in Early Hispanic California by
In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, much of what is now the southwestern United States was known as Alta California, a remote part of New Spain. The presidios, missions, and pueblos of the region have yielded a rich trove of ceramics materials, though they have been sparsely analyzed in the literature. Ceramic Production in Early Hispanic California fills that lacuna and reinterprets the position of Alta California in the Spanish Colonial Empire. Using both petrography and neutron activation analysis to examine over 1,600 ceramic samples, the contributors to this volume explore the region's ceramic production, imports, trade, and consumption. From artistic innovation to technological diffusion, a different aspect of the intricacies of everyday life and culture in the region is revealed in each essay. This book illuminates much about Spanish imperial expansion in a far corner of the colonial world. Through this research, California history has been rewritten.
Mexico keywords: Maya (Mayan) ceramics
Peru keywords: Moche ceramics
Windward Community College Library