Here is a sweeping survey of the popular spongeware ceramics produced in Scotland, England, Europe, and North America for one hundred years, illustrated with over 975 color photographs. Often associated with Pennsylvania German folk art, these tablewares, serving pieces, tea sets, children's sets, and vases are decorated in colorful patterns achieved primarily through the simple, yet engaging, sponge-printing technique. Included are a thorough definition of spongeware, identifications of the patterns and potters, their marks, and a bibliography. Current market values are provided in the captions.

The identification of English white ironstone plates is made far easier through this new book. Organized according to the shape names, the 327 color photographs and 252 drawings of plates, rims, potters' marks and registry marks are easy to compare. Copper Lustre and Tea Leaf decorations are included. Because few written records from the manufacturers are available to help analyze these plates, made in large quantities for export primarily to the United States between about 1840 and 1890, this study will be an important reference for identification and comparisons. It is both comprehensive and easy to use, providing an important tool for collectors, dealers, curators, designers, auctioneers, and historians for analyzing Victorian cultural history.

A beautifully illustrated showcase of the rich and varied ceramic tradition of Iran Featuring a broad selection of objects from one of the most distinguished collections of Iranian art, this volume brings together over 1,000 years of Persian Islamic pottery. With more than 500 illustrations, authoritative technical treatises, and insightful commentary, Ceramics of Iran assembles a collection of rarely seen treasures from the Persian world and presents a collective history of its renowned ceramic tradition. Included among its comprehensive catalogue entries are numerous translations of the object's inscriptions, providing readers with a richer and more detailed understanding of the cultural heritage from which these items are derived. In addition, the book contains new research and material from previously unknown sites. Featuring all new photography of nearly 250 objects, Ceramics of Iran brings the extraordinary contributions of Persian art into a wider historical context, along with a wealth of images to demonstrate the full scope of its intricate beauty. Distributed for the Sarikhani Collection

An exclusive tour of one of the most diverse and high-quality collections of Scottish Wemyss Ware. Lavish illustrations cover an impressive range of Wemyss subjects - animals, flowers, insects, birds and more. Includes an essay on Wemyss production by historian Carol McNeil, as well as an introduction by collection owner George Bellamy. Wemyss Ware is an evocative name to anyone with an interest in pottery. It conjures grinning cats and pot-bellied pigs, jugs and plates and other items of tableware, often decorated with an intricate pink cabbage rose or other such bucolic scenes. Produced in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, from 1882 to 1930 (and in Bovey Tracy, England, 1930-1952), Wemyss Ware has an illustrious history. From the Wemyss family, the patrons of this pottery line; to the Queen Mother and Prince Charles, Wemyss Ware has caught the eye of many individuals of note. Among these was George Bellamy, now a legendary collector of Scottish Wemyss, who has been seeking out his pieces since 1976. A treasure trove of Wemyss Ware, this book catalogues a collection lovingly compiled over decades. Carol McNeil's essay traces the history of the Fife Pottery where Wemyss Ware saw its debut, while Bellamy's introduction guides the reader through several of the key figures involved in the locating and preserving of these works of art. Scottish Wemyss Ware 1882-1930 celebrates the labour, design and artistry that poured into each hand-decorated pot. Often inspired by the Fife countryside where they first originated, these characterful creations are just as delightful now as when they were first produced. This book was produced with the invaluable assistance of John Mackie, Director of Lyon & Turnbull.

The ultimate guide to the potential of ceramic transfer printing as a creative medium. This book is ideal for anyone wishing to combine ceramics with print and transfers, a very exciting area which has enormous scope for creativity. Ceramic transfers or decals are one of the prime methods of decorating industrially-made ceramics. They also offer exciting creative potential for studio-based artists or designer-makers. A ceramic transfer is traditionally made by printing ceramic ink onto a special paper and allows pictures, patterns or text to be transferred onto ceramic forms - 2D and 3D. Importantly, print can achieve distinct aesthetic effects on ceramics that are not possible by using other decoration methods such as hand painting. Drawing on over twenty years of experience, Kevin Petrie offers a focused analysis of the potential of ceramic transfer printing as a creative medium. Discover the specific materials and techniques for making versatile screen-printed ceramic transfers - from the 'low tech' to the more sophisticated. In this book, you can also explore other approaches by artist researchers as well as recent developments with digital transfers. A range of case studies shows the potential and diversity of the transfer printing approach in this area, which extends beyond ceramics to include printing on enamel, metal and glass.

This innovative book narrates the history of a single object--a tea-leaf storage jar created in southern China during the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries--and describes how its role changed after it was imported to Japan and passed from owner to owner there. In Japan, where the jar was in constant use for more than seven hundred years, it was transformed from a humble vessel into a celebrated object used in chanoyu (often translated in English as tea ceremony), renowned for its aesthetic and functional qualities, and awarded the name Chigusa.

Few extant tea utensils possess the quantity and quality of the accessories associated with Chigusa, material that enables modern scholars and tea aficionados to trace the jar U s evolving history of ownership and appreciation. Tea diaries indicate that the lavish accessories--the silk net bag, cover, and cords--that still accompany the jar were prepared in the early sixteenth century by its first recorded owner.

Louise Allison Cort is curator of ceramics, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. She received the 2012 Secretary U s Distinguished Research Lecture Award, Smithsonian Institution, and the 2012 Koyama Fujio Memorial Prize for her research on historical Japanese ceramics. Andrew M. Watsky is professor of Japanese art at Princeton University. His book, "Chikubushima: Deploying the Sacred Arts in Momoyama Japan," received the John Whitney Hall Book Prize (Association for Asian Studies) and the Shimada Prize (Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution)."

From drippy and crackle to ash and lichen glazes, experienced ceramicist Linda Bloomfield guides you through the world of special effect glazes. Beautifully illustrated with pieces from both emerging and established potters that showcase stunning copper oxide-blues, metallic bronzes and manganese-pink crystal glazes, Special Effect Glazes is packed full of recipes to try out: from functional oilspot glazes using iron oxide, to explosive lava glazes. In this informative handbook discover how you can create these fantastic effects and learn the basic chemistry behind glazes in order to adjust and experiment with your unique pieces. Discussed are materials and stains, how to find them and how they affect the colour and texture of the glaze, alongside practical fixes to familiar glaze-making problems. Special Effect Glazes is essential for any ceramicist interested in creating eye-catching glazes and wanting to develop their knowledge of glaze-making, or experiment with their own formulas to achieve the perfect finish.

The original designer of Josef Originals, Muriel Joseph George, is introduced for the first time through family photographs and interviews with family members. This book gives valuable insight into the life and times of this talented artist through written historical accounts depictions of her work. Josef Originals have long since been favored by collectors as they explode with color and sparkle with life. Unique designs of dogs, cats, people, and more are featured throughout this book, making it a wholly enjoyable collector's guide. This is new information Josef enthusiasts have been seeking for years. Over 600 color photos of 850 figurines made from the 1940s to the 1980s, an informative text, descriptions, and current value ranges provide the reference no figurines collector can be without.

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.

The practice of ceramics is steeped in history and tradition. For thousands of years humans have exploited the versatile qualities of clay as a material to produce items ranging from humble utilitarian vessels integral to family living, right through to exquisite works of art. Ceramics Masterclass explores this diverse discipline by showcasing 100 of the most innovative and inspiring artists past and present, analysing the techniques and methods used to create the works, and the concepts which underpin their creative process. It shows how to recreate intricate still-life dioramas like 15th-century artist Bernard Palissy, explore narrative like Grayson Perry and convey sensitivity to material like Phoebe Cummings. Arranged thematically, Ceramics Masterclass includes chapters on vessels, batch production, sculptures, figurative works, installation and expanded field. Perfect for students, amateur ceramicists and professionals, this book represents a global perspective of historical and contemporary approaches to clay and be a catalyst for discovery and intrigue.

"This splendid catalog serves as the most current and magnificently illustrated introduction to Islamic ceramics now available. Essential."--"Choice"
Islamic pottery--the fine ceramics made in the lands of Islam, from the Arab world and Turkey through Iran and into Central Asia--is one of the hidden treasures of world ceramics. It has often been overshadowed by the ceramic legacy of China and Europe, yet it cedes nothing to these great traditions in technical inventiveness and beauty of design. Through close trading links and cultural interchange, Islamic potters have played a crucial role in the development of these other ceramic cultures.
A catalogue of the al-Sabah collection in Kuwait--one of the few truly great collections in private hands--this richly illustrated volume presents a comprehensive history of ceramics from Islamic lands and portrays the unfolding story of Islamic pottery over its thousand-year history.
Over four hundred pieces are described, providing both an examination of individual items and an overall history of the subject. Clear and informative introductory essays cover the study and collecting of Islamic pottery over the past hundred years, and trace its technical and chronological history, from the first fine wares made in the eighth century to the destructive impact of European industrialization in the nineteenth century. The individual objects, illustrated with some nine hundred color pictures, are grouped by type and geographically. A "Choice" Outstanding Academic Title. 921 color illustrations.

This exquisite gift book explores the phenomenon of 'garnitures', or matching sets of ceramic vases. From the 1650s such sets were used in elite European interiors as an integral part of the decorative scheme; displayed on chimney-pieces, cupboards, tables or over doors, they 'garnished' the interior and so enhanced the status of the owner. The fashion began in Europe using mismatched Chinese porcelain beakers and jars. As imports of Chinese porcelain ceased between 1657 and 1683, European potters at Never and Delft copied the originally exotic forms, unifying the sets with matching patters, or with metal mounts. The fashion continued throughout the 1700s, with almost every ceramic manufactory producing examples, but came to its conclusion during the Arts and Crafts period, when the singular vase became the rage and many sets were broken up and dispersed. This book brings together some of the National Trust's most important sets of garnitures, showing them in their historic context, many have never been published before.

Learn the key techniques, tips, and tricks for pit, barrel, raku, and wood firing. Fall in love with flames, wood, and the effect that unique firing methods have on pottery. Move beyond the electric kiln and explore the dramatic surfaces of raku, the flashes of salt firing, and the rustic look of ash rivulets. In this book, Lindsay Oesterritter provides a crash course in the most accessible methods of alternative firing. Raku firing requires minimal equipment and can easily be fueled with a standard propane tank. Likewise, pit and barrel firing do not require much in the way of initial investment. Yet all these techniques provide an immediate glimpse into the magic of firing. Bright reds and blues, dramatic black and white crackle, even metallic luster are instantly possible. For more experienced potters and studios looking to offer more, Oesterritter also explores wood-fired kilns. Drawing on years of experience and extensive interviews with fellow wood-fire potters, there is no comparable resource on the market. Features on top potters working today get to the heart of specialty techniques and asides show firing variations and traditional kilns in different cultures around the world. A gallery of showstopping work from a diverse group of artists round out the package and inspire you to get started. The Mastering Ceramics series is for artists who never stop learning. With compelling projects, expert insight, step-by-step photos, and galleries of work from today's top artists, these books are the perfect studio companions. Also available from the series: Mastering Hand Building and Mastering the Potter's Wheel.

Pottery tells us about religion, daily life, humour, trade, sex, folklore and creativity. Bearing the imprint of their maker more than any other crafted object, ceramics give us a unique physical link to the past, often the only evidence of long-forgotten civilizations that have otherwise crumbled to dust. From ancient Egyptian canopic death jars to ethereally beautiful porcelain, and from lewd Renaissance novelties to sleek contemporary vessels, Around the World in 80 Pots is an eclectic journey across time and cultures. Expertly selected from the unrivalled collection of the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, this compendium shows that humankind's oldest craft is the perfect prism through which to view human history.

Originally published in 1937, this book surveys the underlying scientific principles that produce the chief glaze effects on Chinese ceramics. Hetherington provides a general introduction on the nature of a glaze before describing how glazes with various chemical contents can be manipulated to produce striking effects in terms of colour and texture. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Chinese ceramics and the history of art.

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.

An in-depth analysis of Frans Wildenhain and his role in mid-century studio ceramics. Steeped in modernist ceramic aesthetics, Frans Wildenhain studied under Gerhard Marcks and Max Krehan at the Bauhaus pottery workshop in Dornburg, Germany. There, Wildenhain met another potter, Marguerite Friedlaender, his futurewife. Following World War II, Wildenhain emigrated to the U.S. Earning prizes for his art at the 1939 International Exposition in Paris and the 1958 Brussels World's Fair, Wildenhain also received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1958,became a Fellow of the American Crafts Council and his work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Everson Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. This book features archival images as well as more than 150rich, color photographs of the ceramics exhibited in 2012 at the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY. Six chapters offer contributions to scholarship on the artist, mid-century studio pottery and modern design, monetizing and commercial acceptance of mid-century handcrafted art at an innovative artists' cooperative, university education at the School for American Craftsmen, and an interview with collector Robert Johnson who donated his Wildenhain collection to RIT. The book is an essential document of the exhibition and an excellent reference for those interested in ceramics, crafts, mid-century design and art entrepreneurship.

An exceptionally thoughtful and well-written biography of one of the most influential studio potters in Britain Widely recognized as the father of studio pottery, Bernard Leach (1887-1979) played a pioneering role in creating an identity for artist potters in Britain and around the world. Born in the East (Hong Kong) and educated in the West (England), throughout his life Leach perceived himself as a courier between the disparate cultures. His exquisite pots reflect the inspiration he drew from East and West as well as his response to the basic tenets of modernism-truth to materials, the importance of function to form, and simplicity of decoration. This outstanding biography provides for the first time a vivid and detailed account of Leach's life and its relation to his art. Emmanuel Cooper, himself a potter of international reputation, explores Leach's working methods, the seams of his pottery, his writings and philosophy, his recognition in Japan and Britain, and his continuing legacy, bringing into sharp focus a complex man who captured in his work as a potter the "still center" that always eluded him in his tumultuous personal life. Distributed for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art

The colorful country patterns of spongeware and spatterware pottery, a traditional favorite of the public, remains enormously popular with today's many collectors of antique ceramics. This revised and expanded identification and price guide provides those collectors with an expansive pictorial cross-section of eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth century spongeware and spatterware. Additionally, the detailed text offers clear insight into the history and development of these attractive, desirable wares. Over two hundred examples of spongeware and spatterware are illustrated in this book with full color photographs and complete information, including a price guide.

This illustrated history highlights the diversity and innovation of American ceramics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as artists responded to historical precedents and emerging modernist styles around the world Between the early 1880s and the early 1950s, pioneering American artists drew upon the rich traditions and recent innovations of European and Asian ceramics to develop new designs, decorations, and techniques. With splendid new photography, this book showcases these American interpretations of international trends, from the Arts and Crafts and Art Deco movements, through the modernism of Matisse and the Wiener Werkstatte, to abstracted, minimalist styles. Illustrations of more than 180 exemplary works-some of these never before published-accompany engaging essays by two of the foremost experts on American art pottery. The featured makers include Rookwood, Grueby, and Van Briggle potteries, as well as artists including Maija Grotell, George E. Ohr, Frederick Hurten Rhead, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Rockwell Kent, Adelaide Alsop Robineau, and Leza McVey. A vivid and accessible overview of American ceramics and ceramists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, this publication reveals how diverse and global sources inspired works of astonishing ingenuity and variety by artists working in the United States. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (October 2021-October 2022)

This book explores the great interest that Pablo Picasso had in ceramics, which he certainly didn't consider a minor art, but a means of artistic expression in its own right, like sculpture, painting and graphics. In Vallauris, at the Madoura ceramic laboratories, Picasso dedicated himself to working clay for a period of 25 years, from 1946 to 1971, producing thousands of unique pieces. This volume retraces this exceptional chapter of the Picasso's art, through 50 ceramics from the Picasso of the Musee National Picasso in Paris - a core of inestimable value, which represents almost half of the museum's large collection - placed in a fertile and unprecedented dialogue with the direct sources of his inspiration: classic ceramics with red and black figures, the Etruscan buccheri, Spanish and Italian popular ceramics, 15th century Italian graffiti, and examples of the Mediterranean area with iconographies of fish, fantastic animals, owls and birds, as well as terracottas from Mesoamerican cultures. A chapter is dedicated to the relationship between Picasso and Faenza through unpublished documents from the historical archive of the MIC, and to the historical video by Luciano Emmer of 1954 (Picasso a Vallauris). Text in English and Italian.