The Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna holds a unique collection of Italian maiolica from the 15th to the 18th century, which is now being published almost in its entirety for the very first time. Maiolica tableware, Italy's luxury export, spread to the courts of northern Europe from the early 16th century. Today, the MAK's holdings from former imperial, ecclesiastical, aristocratic, and private ownership enter into a dialogue with maiolica from well-known Austrian and Central European collections. Timothy Wilson, professor emeritus at Balliol College Oxford and former Keeper of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, and Rainald Franz, curator at MAK, together with other experts provide an extensive insight into the development of maiolica in its cultural and historical context. Thus a scholarly exploration of one of the best collections of maiolica in the world has now been scientifically examined for the very first time. With contributions by Rainald Franz, Michael Goebl, Nikolaus Hofer, and Timothy Wilson.

This volume, the second in the series to catalogue the Gallery's collection of decorative arts, mainly draws from the renowned collection of the Widener and Steele families. It focuses primarily on Chinese ceramics from the Qing period, including earthenware, stoneware, and polychrome porcelain. In addition, rugs and carpets from the collection of Peter A.B. Widener are catalogued and published here for the first time.

This book is the last volume of final reports on the excavations at Tel Anafa by the University of Missouri and the University of Michigan between 1968 and 1986. Tel Anafa is at the foot of the Golan Heights in the Upper Galilee of modern Israel. Includes studies of several categories of finds from the excavations: pottery of the Bronze and Iron Ages, imported Attic pottery, medieval pottery, jewellery, equipment related to textile manufacture, figurines, and the stucco wall decoration that inspired the name of the site's main structure: the Late Hellenistic Stuccoed Building (LHSB). The variety of the finds, coupled with the clear chronological context and careful recording techniques employed by the excavators, have made Tel Anafa extremely valuable to all those interested in the Hellenistic world, providing a rare opportunity to study Greek culture in direct contact with Phoenician. Indeed, for many bodies of Hellenistic material, Tel Anafa serves as a typological and chronological "type site," presenting a broader and more closely dated range of material than ever before possible.

The Conservation and Restoration of Ceramics brings together the wide range of current information relevant to the practising conservator. The book opens with a discussion of the fundamental nature of the ceramic medium, information which is of primary importance when selecting treatments or considering preventive conservation measures.
Details on techniques are given in a series of chapters covering the restoration and conservation processes, but the emphasis is on the basic principles involved in the choice of materials and methods. The nature and properties of materials commonly in use are fully discussed and guidance is given on the facilities and equipment needed.
Also covered in the book are old restoration materials and methods, the ethics of ceramics conservation, examination and recording, display treatments and emergency procedures.
Now in paperback, this book will be invaluable to practising conservators and readers of conservation as well as of interest to museum curators and collectors.

The banded agate bowl known as the Tazza Farnese is one of the most famous and admired objects from classical antiquity. That it has survived at all is a miracle. In this, the first book-length account of the "life" of this renowned masterpiece, art historian Marina Belozerskaya takes readers on a fascinating trip through history that spans two millennia and journeys from the court of Cleopatra to the sack of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade, from Samarqand of Tamerlane to Renaissance Florence under Lorenzo de' Medici, from Baroque Rome to Enlightenment Naples. Along the way, the reader encounters the illustrious as well as the shady figures who have come into contact with this prized artifact, from emperors and conquerors, popes and princes, and artists like Botticelli and Raphael, to forgers, thieves, and a disgruntled museum guard who nearly destroyed the Tazza for all posterity. Through the prism of this most precious bowl, Medusa's Gaze brings history vividly and intimately to life.

The life and legacy of brilliant but elusive potter Lucie Rie is investigated through interviews, letters and the analysis of her elegant, modernist vessels Lucie Rie (1902–1995), one of the 20th century's most celebrated and iconic potters, combined an acute understanding of modernism with the skills of her chosen craft. Emmanuel Cooper, a distinguished potter who knew Rie, interviewed many of her friends and acquaintances to produce this complete and detailed account of Rie's life and work. The author was given unrestricted access by the Rie estate to previously unpublished letters and other material, which provide fascinating new insights into her life and work and allowed him to reevaluate Rie's creative output within the broader context of modernism and the emergence of the studio pottery movement in Britain. ‘It [is] unlikely that this biography of Rie will ever be surpassed.’ —Frances Spalding, Literary Review ‘A precious gift, from the only man who could have written it.’ —Glenn Adamson, Crafts Magazine Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

Ceramics had a far-reaching impact in the second half of the twentieth century, as its artists worked through the same ideas regarding abstraction and form as those for other creative mediums. Live Form shines new light on the relation of ceramics to the artistic avant-garde by looking at the central role of women in the field: potters who popularized ceramics as they worked with or taught male counterparts like John Cage, Peter Voulkos, and Ken Price. Sorkin focuses on three Americans who promoted ceramics as an advanced artistic medium: Marguerite Wildenhain, a Bauhaus-trained potter and writer; Mary Caroline (M. C.) Richards, who renounced formalism at Black Mountain College to pursue new performative methods; and Susan Peterson, best known for her live throwing demonstrations on public television. Together, these women pioneered a hands-on teaching style and led educational and therapeutic activities for war veterans, students, the elderly, and many others. Far from being an isolated field, ceramics offered a sense of community and social engagement, which, Sorkin argues, crucially set the stage for later participatory forms of art and feminist collectivism.

An in-depth portrait of the life and work of Shoji Hamada, one of the key figures behind the development of studio pottery in the 20th century, and the legacy he left. Shoji Hamada was one of the seminal figures in 20th century ceramics. Along with the British potter Bernard Leach, he was instrumental in the development of the international Studio Pottery movement in the early 1900s. Their dramatic influences are still felt today, particularly in the United States and Great Britain. Hamada, also a major figure in Japan's folk art revival, was designated a 'Living National Treasure' by the Japanese government in 1955 and awarded the Order of Culture in 1968. Shoji Hamada is an ebullient and fascinating portrait of a great potter, tracing his place in the ceramic tradition and revealing a keen perception of his energetic lifestyle, dazzling work cycle, and intriguing specifics about the firing of his kilns. The text and over 200 new colour photographs from Peterson's stay at Hamada's compound in 1970 present a wealth of detail about techniques and processes. Equally important are the author's insights depicting Hamada's bequest to us: one whose life was concentrated toward the perpetuation and achievement of fundamental, unchanging and universal values and goals. In this completely re-designed and updated version of her classic book, Susan Peterson brings together the East-West connection personified by Hamada and Leach. In a completely new concluding chapter, she assesses Hamada's ongoing legacy to the world of studio pottery. This is an authoritative account of one of the towering figures in the ceramics world by one of the first people to welcome him to America in the early 1950s. The book is a must for anyone interested in the evolvement of hand pottery and the dynamics of ceramics in general.

Celebrating the 400th anniversary of traditional Japanese ceramic culture as interpreted by today's leading designers The art of Japanese porcelain manufacturing began in Arita in 1616. Now, on its 400th anniversary, Arita / Table of Contents charts the unique collaboration between 16 contemporary designers and 10 traditional Japanese potteries as they work to produce 16 highly original, innovative and contemporary ceramic collections rooted in the daily lives of the 21st century. More than 500 illustrations provide a fascinating introduction to the craft and region, while the contemporary collections reveal the unique creative potential of linking ancient and modern masters.

2019 marked the 40th anniversary of Barbara Nanning's graduation in ceramics from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. Over those forty years, Nanning (b.1957) has become an internationally respected artist with work in countless public and private collections in the Netherlands and around the world. Originally, her reputation was due mainly to her pioneering ceramics and installations, which had completely abandoned the container form that had so long dominated studio pottery. But for the last 25 years Nanning has worked chiefly in a different medium: glass, in which she has created an amazing and multi-faceted oeuvre. Each year she spends an extended period in the Czech Republic, where expert glassblowers help her to conjure up the most extraordinary and thrilling objects in that material.

The Pronomos Vase is the single most important piece of pictorial evidence for ancient theatre to have survived from ancient Greece. It depicts an entire theatrical chorus and cast along with the celebrated musician Pronomos, in the presence of their patron god, Dionysos. In this collection of essays, illustrated with nearly 60 drawings and photographs, leading specialists from a variety of disciplines tackle the critical questions posed by this complex hub of evidence. The discussion covers a wide range of perspectives and issues, including the artist's oeuvre; the pottery market; the relation of this piece to other artistic, and especially celebratory, artefacts; the political and cultural contexts of the world that it was produced in; the identification of figures portrayed on it: and the significance of the Pronomos Vase as theatrical evidence. The volume offers not only the most recent scholarship on the vase but also some ground-breaking interpretations of it.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi's exciting exhibition programme explores the enduring dialogue between Eastern and Western artistic expression. Abstraction and Calligraphy brings together a rich array of works, from 10th-century ceramics from Samarkand to paintings and drawings by Kandinsky, Matisse, Miro, Twombly and other modern masters. The ways in which these artists respond to Eastern calligraphic traditions enriches our understanding of the dynamic between modern art in the West and long-established forms from Asia and the Near East.

Originally sold in five-and-ten-cent stores during the 1940s and 1950s, expertly modeled and colorfully decorated Royal Copley figurines, banks, planters, and other items have become one of today's hottest ceramic collectibles. In this first new book on the subject in 10 years, Mike Schneider uses more than 500 color photos to present 875 pieces of Royal Copley, including many previously unknown examples that have never appeared in a book before. Estimated values, based on the current market, are included in the captions, along with measurements and information about marks. Also included is a brief history of the Spaulding China Company, the Sebring, Ohio, pottery that manufactured Royal Copley. Whether you are a collector, historian, or simply someone who would like to take a nostalgic stroll through the decorative accessories of your parents' or grandparents' homes, you will find this latest volume in Schneider's repertoire of books on mid-twentieth century pottery a pleasing and important addition to your library.

Ceramics are an unparalleled resource for women's lives in ancient Greece, since they show a huge number of female types and activities. Yet it can be difficult to interpret the meanings of these images, especially when they seem to conflict with literary sources. This much-needed study shows that it is vital to see the vases as archaeology as well as art, since context is the key to understanding which images can stand as evidence for the real lives of women, and which should be reassessed.
Sian Lewis considers the full range of female existence in classical Greece - childhood and old age, unfree and foreign status, and the ageless woman characteristic of Athenian red-figure painting.

In this book the author explores the work of the fifth-century BC Athenian vase-painter, Sotades, one of the most familiar names in vase painting. Previous scholarship has dealt mainly with questions of attribution, style, and iconographic interpretation, but Dr Hoffman concentrates on inherent meaning: what does the imagery of these decorated vases really signify? He argues that, contrary to widely held conceptions, there is an underlying unity of meaning in Greek vases and their imagery, a unity rooted in the religious beliefs and ritual practices of the society from which they spring. Each chapter discusses a specific aspect of the artist's iconology, placing it in the context of fifth-century BC Greek philosophical and religious thought.

Skin Crafts discusses multiple artists from global contexts who employ craft materials in works that address historical and contemporary violence. These artists are deliberately embracing the fragility of textiles and ceramics to evoke the vulnerability of human skin and - in so doing - are demanding visceral responses from viewers. Drawing on a range of theories including affect theory, material feminism, skin studies, phenomenology and global art history, the book illuminates the various ways in which artists are harnessing the affective power of craft materials to address and cope with violence. Artists from Mexico, Africa, China, the Netherlands and Indigenous artists based in the unceded territory known as Canada are examined in relation to one another to illuminate the connections and differences across their bodies of work. Skin Crafts interrogates ongoing material violence towards women and marginalized others, and demonstrates the power of contemporary art to force viewers and scholars into facing their ethical responsibilities as human beings.

Ancient Greek buildings were renowned for their terracotta roofs, an invention which may have first occurred in prehistoric times and been rediscovered in the seventh century BC. This is the first book to look in detail at the complex variations in tile shape, technical features, and decorative motifs which occurs across Greece, particularly during the Archaic period. Inscriptions refer to Corinthian and Spartan tiles, and two different types of tiles characterizing the roofs of Corinth and Sparta confirm these nomenclatures. A careful analysis of the preserved elements or roofs found in each major city or district, however, reveals considerably more variation, and shows that there were regional styles which distinguished the roofs of north-western Greece. Arcadia, the Argolid, Central Greece, Attica, and the Aegean islands as well. The importance of this new work is not only that it brings a fresh approach to the topic, revealing the regional styles of roofs as of pottery and sculpture, but also that it shows exactly how ancient roofs were assembled, by providing detailed drawings of several characteristic roofs for each regional system. The book is illustrated with numerous photographs, figures, and maps. It should be invaluable for excavators, surveyors, and architectural historians.

An in-depth look at the dynamic cultural world of tea in Japan during its formative period Around Chigusa investigates the cultural and artistic milieu in which a humble jar of Chinese origin dating to the thirteenth or fourteenth century became Chigusa, a revered, named object in the practice of formalized tea presentation (chanoyu) in sixteenth-century Japan. This tea-leaf storage jar lies at the nexus of interlocking personal networks, cultural values, and aesthetic idioms in the practice and appreciation of tea, poetry, painting, calligraphy, and Noh theater during this formative period of tea culture. The book's essays set tea in dialogue with other cultural practices, revealing larger cultural paradigms that informed the production, circulation, and reception of the artifacts used and displayed in tea. Key themes include the centrality of tea to the social life of and interaction among warriors, merchants, and the courtly elite; the multifaceted relationship between things wa (Japanese) and kan (Chinese) and between tea and poetry; the rise of new formats for display of the visual and calligraphic arts; and collecting and display as an expression of political power.

Vibrant colour was essential to the paintings of the American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997), and when he began exploring outdoor sculpture in the late 1970s, vivid hues-often achieved through the use of recently developed industrial paints and coatings-remained an important part of his artistic vocabulary. Today, preserving these remarkable works after they have endured decades in outdoor environments around the world is an issue of pressing concern. This abundantly illustrated volume is based on extensive archival research of his studio materials, interviews with his assistants, and a thorough technical analysis of the sculpture Three Brushstrokes, now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. The book concludes with a chapter showing various options for the care, conservation, and restoration of Lichtenstein's sculptural works, making this an essential resource for conservators, curators, and others interested both in the iconic artist and modern sculpture in general.

The most pervasive gods in ancient Rome had no traditional mythology attached to them, nor was their worship organized by elites. Throughout the Roman world, neighborhood street corners, farm boundaries, and household hearths featured small shrines to the beloved lares, a pair of cheerful little dancing gods. These shrines were maintained primarily by ordinary Romans, and often by slaves and freedmen, to whom the lares cult provided a unique public leadership role. In this comprehensive and richly illustrated book, the first to focus on the lares, Harriet Flower offers a strikingly original account of these gods and a new way of understanding the lived experience of everyday Roman religion. Weaving together a wide range of evidence, Flower sets forth a new interpretation of the much-disputed nature of the lares. She makes the case that they are not spirits of the dead, as many have argued, but rather benevolent protectors--gods of place, especially the household and the neighborhood, and of travel. She examines the rituals honoring the lares, their cult sites, and their iconography, as well as the meaning of the snakes often depicted alongside lares in paintings of gardens. She also looks at Compitalia, a popular midwinter neighborhood festival in honor of the lares, and describes how its politics played a key role in Rome's increasing violence in the 60s and 50s BC, as well as in the efforts of Augustus to reach out to ordinary people living in the city's local neighborhoods. A reconsideration of seemingly humble gods that were central to the religious world of the Romans, this is also the first major account of the full range of lares worship in the homes, neighborhoods, and temples of ancient Rome.

This book, which accompanies an exhibition at the Fondation Baur, explores the intriguing story of porcelain glaze at the end of the 18th century in China, in the 19th century in France, and in the work of two 20th century ceramic artists. Part one investigates the development of opaque glazes for use on porcelain and copper during the 18th century in work from three collections: Alfred Baur's vast collection of imperial ceramics; the Canton glazes of the Zubov Foundation; and export porcelain from the Ariana Museum in Geneva. The second part begins in France, in the 19th century, at the Sevres factory, tracing the various journeys to China to bring back samples of colour, analyse them chemically, and tirelessly attempt to reproduce them. The catalogue ends in the present, with the experiments conducted by the American-born artist Fance Franck (1927-2008) on "sacrificial red" and the work on colour carried out by the Austrian ceramist Thomas Bohle. Text in English and French.

The history of ceramics is rooted in the history of mankind. Jamaican Ceramics: A Historical and Contemporary Survey is a comprehensive examination of the development of ceramics from pre-history to the present day. This visually rich, exciting and authoritative book is an unprecedented survey which sheds light on the fascinating historical and modern contemporary Jamaican ceramics. Norma Rodney Harrack, herself a practicing ceramic artist, offers an expert's insight and provides a valuable resource to ceramists, students, collectors, enthusiasts and users of ceramics. The chapters each focus on key thematic areas - from early ceramic history to the influence of European ceramic practices to the syncreticism and continuity of African Jamaican pottery traditions - with full discussions on how the canon of Jamaican ceramics has developed over centuries. Harrack's many years of teaching and investigation have guided much of the primary research for this project.

Born in 1965 about 100 kilometres from the former imperial porcelain factories of Jingdezhen in China, Bai Ming is a multi-facetted visual artist. A professor and lecturer, he is director of the Department of Ceramics at the Academy of Art and Design of Qinghua University in Beijing, and of the Shangyu Celadon International Art Centre of Contemporary Ceramics. He also heads two workshops, where he boldly mixes ancestral techniques, traditions and practices with those of international contemporary art. The delicacy of his technique in ceramics, painting and lacquer has revitalised Chinese porcelain, freeing it from its archaic forms. His creations have won major Chinese awards and are recognised by collectors around the world. Christine Shimizu, curator of the exhibition devoted to the artist at the Keramis Centre in Belgium, brings together various authors in this book: Mael Bellec, Antoinette Fay-Halle, Jean-Francois Fouilhoux, Catherine Noppe and Ludovic Recchia. All testify, each in their own way, to their perception of Bai Ming's multifaceted work. The book follows an exhibition that will take place at Keramis from 16 November 2019 to 15 March 2020. Text in English and French.

Jun Kaneko, born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1942 and based in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1986, is revered for his role in establishing modern ceramic art, yet he has been equally prolific in a range of other media. This book offers an entirely new and detailed survey and analysis of nearly six decades of Kaneko's work in ceramics, drawing, painting, installation art, and opera design. Tracing the career of this dynamic artist from his early training and subsequent association with the pivotal California Clay Movement to his important public commissions and philanthropic concerns of the present, it focuses in particular on the past 20 years, which have previously not been the subject of a comprehensive volume. Drawing extensively on interviews he has conducted with Jun Kaneko since 2002, Glen R. Brown reflects on the principal concepts that have shaped Kaneko's art, situating them in the space between a Japanese Shinto ethos and the aesthetic tenets of Western Art Informel and Post-Painterly Abstraction. He discusses in-depth Kaneko's art, from the colossal glazed-ceramic Dangos to the sensitive colouristic stage and costume designs for operas. The book provides fascinating insights into Kaneko's unique, relentlessly self-sustaining creative process and the multiple conceptions of space that inform it. Featuring more than 200 colour illustrations and substantial information not previously available in published form, this book offers an up-to-date definitive critical survey of this important artist's life and work.

Just as a single pot starts with a lump of clay, the study of a piece's history must start with an understanding of its raw materials. This principle is the foundation of Pottery Analysis, the acclaimed sourcebook that has become the indispensable guide for archaeologists and anthropologists worldwide. This new edition fully incorporates more than two decades of growth and diversification in the fields of archaeological and ethnographic study of pottery. It begins with a summary of the origins and history of pottery in different parts of the world, then examines the raw materials of pottery and their physical and chemical properties. It addresses ethnographic and ethnoarchaeological perspectives on pottery production; reviews the methods of studying pottery's physical, mechanical, thermal, mineralogical, and chemical properties; and discusses how proper analysis of artifacts can reveal insights into their culture of origin.