Pottery is one of the oldest and most widespread arts practised by humankind and its history can be traced back to the Stone Age. Changes in styles and types occurred in response to changing social, economic and technical demands, so that vessels and other objects made in clay can reveal much about the societies in which they were produced. This highly illustrated and readable account 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 Wedgwood and de Morgan, from twentieth-century Africa and India to Scandinavia and Australasia, with a final chapter on the newest work of studio potters today. The illustrations, drawn from museums, collectors and practising potters around the world, 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.
Introduction 1 Early Beginnings 2 The Ancient World: Cyprus, The
Cyclades, Greece, Italy 3 The Oriental World: China, Korea, Japan, South-East
Asia 4 The Islamic World 5 Continental European Earthenwares and Stonewares:
Byzantium, Italy, Spain and Portugal, Germany, France, The Low Countries,
Scandinavia 6 Britain: c. 200 BC until AD 1800 7 European Porcelain: Germany,
France, Italy and Spain, Scandinavia, The Low Countries and Russia, Britain
and Ireland 8 American-Indian Pottery 9 Living Traditions: Modern Tribal and
Indigenous Societies 10 Modern America 11 Craft into Industry: Britain
1750-1900 12 The Arts and Crafts Movement: Britain, North America, Germany
and Austria, Scandinavia, The Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, 1850-1920 13
Artist-Potters 14 Studio Ceramics Today: Frivolity, Self-Expression, Content
Glossary of Technical Terms, Museum and National Collections of Pottery
Bibliography, Illustration References, Index of Names
Emmanuel Cooper OBE is internationally known as a potter, writer, critic and broadcaster and as Editor of the influential international magazine Ceramic Review. He is Visiting Professor of Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art and a member of the Arts Council of England. He has written widely on both modern and historical ceramics and was a contributor to Pottery in the Making. His History of World Pottery sold over 25,000 copies in three editions and he is the author of numerous practical books including A Handbook of Pottery, Taking Up Pottery and Glazes for the Studio Potter. He has also written books on Bernard Leach and Lucy Rie.
