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Word
Origin
|
- Greek
keramos, meaning earthenware
|
|
Current
Meanings
|
- - the
art and techniques of making and firing
- clay objects the objects themselves
|
|
Storage
|
All
agrarian cultures would have needs for food storage. |
|
Ritual
|
Vessels
and figures are often linked to a community's ceremonies Many
ancient works have been found around and in gravesites. |
|
Art
|
Unless
the culture was very advanced with a strong economy, the luxury
of pieces of beauty was limited to circles of wealth and power. |
|
Earthenware
|
Most
of the earliest found examples of ceramics are earthenware. |
| Can
be fired in simple kilns at low temperatures |
| Still
porous after firing, and requires a glaze to hold liquid |
| In
colonial America, frequently covered with a lead glaze (subsequent
problems with lead poisioning |
| Natural
color often reddish or buff (yellow-white) |
| Commonly
decorated with liquid clay (slip) of contrasting color, through
which designs could be incised. |
|
Stoneware
|
More
durable |
| Waterproof,
good for storage and drinking vessels |
| Fired
at a higher temperature than earthenware |
| Glazed
with ordinary salt thrown into the kiln during firing (salt combines
with the silica and alumina in the clay) |
|
Porcelain
|
Can
only come from special clay (kaolin) |
| Requires
specialized kilns and high firing temperatures |
| White
in color |
| Translucent
after firing |
Imported
Pottery to Colonial America |
|
Dutch
|
- Appearance
- Market
- Immigration
|
|
German
|
- Appearance
- Market
- Immigration
|
|
English
|
- Appearance
- Market
- Immigration
|
|
Greek
|
- Historical
and Cultural Context
- Uses
- Vase
Shapes
- Theme
- Decoration
|
|
Chinese
|
- Historical
and Cultural Context
- Uses
- Appearance
and Decoration
|
|
Japanese
|
- Historical
and Cultural Context
- Uses
- Appearance
and Decoration
|
|
Methods
By Hand
|
|
|
The
Pottery Wheel
|
- Throwing
- Advantages
- Historical
and Cultural Records
|
|
Decoration
|
|
|
Casting
|
|
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