Germany: Salt-Glaze: Rhineland early centre of Roman occupation, pottery traditions. Large scale production by 7th c.; kiln improvements in 9th made for tougher wares. Stoneware (steinzeug) produced between 1000-1200 CE—first in Europe (China: 500 BCE). Area favoured with wood supply, stoneware clays, river transport, population base, bronze-working traditions. Developments relate to brewing industry—introduce hops c. 1500—big upsurge in beer consumption requires hygienic, sturdy wares. Canette--in Germany, short fat pint; Schnelle: ("fast")--tall, tapering mug; Bellarmines (face modelled on neck—satirize Cardinal opposed to drinking).
By the sixteenth century workshops in Siegburg, Raren, Cologne and elsewhere were producing highly artistic wares applied with moulded decoration of mythological and biblical scenes, often based on contemporary engravings, or naturalistic foliate ornament, political images and armorial devices. Siegburg was renowned for the production of an almost white stoneware with delicately modelled relief decoration in the Renaissance style. Merchants from Cologne were granted licence from 1570 to transport and sell Siegburg stoneware to merchants in Hamburg.
Salt glaze--at stoneware temperatures (1100-1200C), salt added to kiln decomposes to form sodium oxide and hydrogen chloride—released as (noxious) gas—sodium fluxes with silica and aluminum in pot surface, forms tough, thin, shiny glaze--colour based on reduction/oxidization and iron content of clay. Salt firings on this scale environmentally bad: chlorine gases unhealthy. (note: many contemporary studio potters use salt glaze, but on a much smaller scale, in which case the environmental effects are less concerning.) Salt glaze likely produced by 1400s, but first dated ware 1539. Control by trade unions, foreigners only for menial tasks, limit supply.
Defining characteristics of Salt Glaze: use of molds; originals cut in fine sandstone, impressions taken in pipe clay--double negative (to protect original mold)--crisp, detailed. Clay mined from shafts, salt imported from Low Countries (used to salt Newfoundland cod). Wares wheel-thrown, profiles crisped up with templates, bone tools. Colour added—"scratch blue" cobalt frit (smalt) rubbed into incised lines. Production of wares stimulated by improvements in beer (addition of hops). Potteries disrupted by Thirty years war (1618-48), relocate. Main centres: Seigburg—throw marks, pie crust foot, elaborate modelled friezes based on engravings, developing print culture, white-burning clays. Raeren brown salt-glaze imitated bronze, often friezes modelled, pious inscriptions around waists.
Jan Emens Mennicken active 1566-1594--best-known-classical scenes, nudes, festival and religious scenes. Wares widely exported. Koln: early centre, dark chestnut pots—dispute with potters; they move to Freschen. Kannenbacherland--land of potters--in Westerwald where potters fled to avoid war—produced Seigburg-style wares—grey or blue-grey, intricate engravings, pious sayings—eventually more geared towards colour (fashions change).
Kreussen (Bavaria): most elaborate, costly salt-glaze—inspired by/compete with maiolica, overglaze enamels—colourful, popular 1620-1750. Salt-glaze wore silverware down, eventually replaced by maiolica, creamwares in 18th c.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
More on Tin Glaze
Netherlands: tiles, pottery first made at Antwerp by Italian émigré potters 16th c. --closely related to Italian traditions. Founding of VOC (Dutch East India Company) introduced Chinese porcelain--Dutch compete with Delftware--get boost from collapse of Ming. Potters admitted to Guild of St. Luke on basis of painting skill--often copy engravings, portraits, landscape, figural works, genre--use quality clays, industrial methods to produce quality product. Tiles popular in kitchens on walls (Spanish, Italians had used on floors)--hygienic, easy to clean.
Flower holders specially designed to accommodate tulips--pyramid shape, interlocking parts with water holders, spout-shaped necks for blooms--pyramids symbolized the “glory of the Prince” (in Emblem tradition--Caesare Ripa)--also called to mind Roman/Egyptian obelisks, Chinese pagodas. Most exuberant examples produced by van Eenhorn family with Adrien Kocks--popular for funerals, weddings, all sorts of celebrations, display. First mentioned in household inventories of wealthy between 1654-1668. Popularized with English court with accession to throne of William and Mary (Glorious Revolution, 1688--Mary huge fan of blue and white porcelain, Delftware.)
Tin-glazed earthenwares had been imported into England from the Mediterranean from the 13th century. They were called galleywares, probably because they were imported on ships. In 1567 Jaspar Andries and Jacob Janson (dates unknown) arrived in England from Antwerp, and in 1571 they applied for permission to establish a maiolica pottery in London, and helped to introduce the tin-glaze technique to England. It involved coating fired earthenware with a layer of glaze that was opacified with oxides of tin. The resulting fragile white surface was ideal for decoration with colours that were fired at the same time as the glaze. This style of pottery, which had spread all over Europe from Italy, is now known as delftware. There were three principal centres for the production of delftware in England in the 17th and 18th centuries: London, Bristol and Liverpool. (Gar.)
England: John Stow’s Survey of London 1603 reports religious refugees from Antwerp making Delftware in London--also made floor tiles, “apothecaries” (drug jars, albarellos, mortar and pestles etc.) Tin-glaze produced in Aldgate (East Anglia) and Southwark (London) by Flemish potters early 17th to late 18th c. --hard to tell Dutch and other foreign examples. Lambeth, Bristol other important centres--exported to Indies, Americas. Many potteries small family businesses; produced figures, decorated plates, puzzle jugs, candle holders etc.--tendency to chip limited use--surviving objects usually for display. Eventually replaced by Staffordshire creamwares late in 18th c.
Flower holders specially designed to accommodate tulips--pyramid shape, interlocking parts with water holders, spout-shaped necks for blooms--pyramids symbolized the “glory of the Prince” (in Emblem tradition--Caesare Ripa)--also called to mind Roman/Egyptian obelisks, Chinese pagodas. Most exuberant examples produced by van Eenhorn family with Adrien Kocks--popular for funerals, weddings, all sorts of celebrations, display. First mentioned in household inventories of wealthy between 1654-1668. Popularized with English court with accession to throne of William and Mary (Glorious Revolution, 1688--Mary huge fan of blue and white porcelain, Delftware.)
Tin-glazed earthenwares had been imported into England from the Mediterranean from the 13th century. They were called galleywares, probably because they were imported on ships. In 1567 Jaspar Andries and Jacob Janson (dates unknown) arrived in England from Antwerp, and in 1571 they applied for permission to establish a maiolica pottery in London, and helped to introduce the tin-glaze technique to England. It involved coating fired earthenware with a layer of glaze that was opacified with oxides of tin. The resulting fragile white surface was ideal for decoration with colours that were fired at the same time as the glaze. This style of pottery, which had spread all over Europe from Italy, is now known as delftware. There were three principal centres for the production of delftware in England in the 17th and 18th centuries: London, Bristol and Liverpool. (Gar.)
England: John Stow’s Survey of London 1603 reports religious refugees from Antwerp making Delftware in London--also made floor tiles, “apothecaries” (drug jars, albarellos, mortar and pestles etc.) Tin-glaze produced in Aldgate (East Anglia) and Southwark (London) by Flemish potters early 17th to late 18th c. --hard to tell Dutch and other foreign examples. Lambeth, Bristol other important centres--exported to Indies, Americas. Many potteries small family businesses; produced figures, decorated plates, puzzle jugs, candle holders etc.--tendency to chip limited use--surviving objects usually for display. Eventually replaced by Staffordshire creamwares late in 18th c.
Bernard Palissy
Bernard Palissy (1510-1590): Amateur scientist, theologian (Hugenot), potter, artist--invented ways of casting from life, developed innovative glazes based on tin and lead. Faced religious persecution most of his life but also produced wares for aristocracy--grottos (for Anne de Montmorency, Catherine de Medici), “rustic wares” (often snakes, crayfish, turtles, lizards, seashells, in marshy environment on large oval basins, platters--also pitchers). Naturalistic grottos actually contain complex allegories of his faith.
Bernard Palissy - artisan to kings, writer, savant, philosopher, lecturer, naturalist, religionist, scientist, and discoverer - was born in 1510. His father was probably an artisan because Palissy was able to draw and paint, skills that were often passed from father to son. A talented student, Palissy learned the arts of portraiture, stained-glass painting, cartography and possibly glassmaking. In the latter 1530s, Palissy settled in Saintes, a small town in southwestern France about sixty-five miles north of Bordeaux. There he married and raised his family of six children. Around 1539 or 1540, he was introduced to ceramics, an event that changed his life. He devoted the next decade to studying and developing a range of white enamel and coloured, lead-based glazes. This was no simple task, as little or nothing was known about chemistry, firing techniques or kilns.
Many colours burnt out while others under-fired. Finding technology that allowed a number of colours to be used on a single piece required extraordinary patience, method and constant experimentation. He and his family were often near starvation.
By about 1550, Palissy developed his "figulines rustiques," or rustic ware style of ceramics (the representation of pond life in naturalistic settings), for which he became renowned. He moulded his subjects: snakes, lizards, frogs, shells, fish, insects, leaves, and ferns--from actual specimens, colouring them with elaborate, multi-coloured glazes. His unique work soon attracted wealthy and powerful patrons, including the high constable Anne de Montmorency, the most powerful man in France next to the king.
France during this time was wracked by religious strife between Catholics and Protestants. In late 1562, the town of Saintes was pillaged by Catholic troops. Palissy's workshop was ravaged by a frenzied mob, his pottery was destroyed and he was arrested. He was saved from execution only by the intervention of Anne de Montmorency and the king, Charles IX. He was appointed Potter to the King and set about designing a garden grotto for Catherine de Medici's Palace de Tuilleries, on the site of the former tileworks. The project was abandonned in 1572 when religious strife again tore through France. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the grotto, but remnants of his studio were found during excavations at the Louvre in the mid-1980s.
Fearing for his life, Palissy left Paris for Sedan, where he continued to make ceramics and study natural history. Encouraged by the Peace of La Rochelle in 1573, he traveled to Paris and invited other scholars, philosophers, scientists and physicians to meet in free discussion. Palissy held the first open lectures on natural history ever delivered in Paris. Around 1576 or 1577 Palissy returned there to live. He continued to be persecuted for his faith and was imprisoned in the Bastille in 1588, where he died at the age of 80, having refused an offer of freedom in return for reverting to Catholicism. He continued to be a figure of speculation and interest, spawning many followers. The highpoint of interest in Palissy came in the 19th c., when interest in natural history and decorative arts led to a revival of Palissy ware.
Bernard Palissy - artisan to kings, writer, savant, philosopher, lecturer, naturalist, religionist, scientist, and discoverer - was born in 1510. His father was probably an artisan because Palissy was able to draw and paint, skills that were often passed from father to son. A talented student, Palissy learned the arts of portraiture, stained-glass painting, cartography and possibly glassmaking. In the latter 1530s, Palissy settled in Saintes, a small town in southwestern France about sixty-five miles north of Bordeaux. There he married and raised his family of six children. Around 1539 or 1540, he was introduced to ceramics, an event that changed his life. He devoted the next decade to studying and developing a range of white enamel and coloured, lead-based glazes. This was no simple task, as little or nothing was known about chemistry, firing techniques or kilns.
Many colours burnt out while others under-fired. Finding technology that allowed a number of colours to be used on a single piece required extraordinary patience, method and constant experimentation. He and his family were often near starvation.
By about 1550, Palissy developed his "figulines rustiques," or rustic ware style of ceramics (the representation of pond life in naturalistic settings), for which he became renowned. He moulded his subjects: snakes, lizards, frogs, shells, fish, insects, leaves, and ferns--from actual specimens, colouring them with elaborate, multi-coloured glazes. His unique work soon attracted wealthy and powerful patrons, including the high constable Anne de Montmorency, the most powerful man in France next to the king.
France during this time was wracked by religious strife between Catholics and Protestants. In late 1562, the town of Saintes was pillaged by Catholic troops. Palissy's workshop was ravaged by a frenzied mob, his pottery was destroyed and he was arrested. He was saved from execution only by the intervention of Anne de Montmorency and the king, Charles IX. He was appointed Potter to the King and set about designing a garden grotto for Catherine de Medici's Palace de Tuilleries, on the site of the former tileworks. The project was abandonned in 1572 when religious strife again tore through France. Unfortunately, nothing remains of the grotto, but remnants of his studio were found during excavations at the Louvre in the mid-1980s.
Fearing for his life, Palissy left Paris for Sedan, where he continued to make ceramics and study natural history. Encouraged by the Peace of La Rochelle in 1573, he traveled to Paris and invited other scholars, philosophers, scientists and physicians to meet in free discussion. Palissy held the first open lectures on natural history ever delivered in Paris. Around 1576 or 1577 Palissy returned there to live. He continued to be persecuted for his faith and was imprisoned in the Bastille in 1588, where he died at the age of 80, having refused an offer of freedom in return for reverting to Catholicism. He continued to be a figure of speculation and interest, spawning many followers. The highpoint of interest in Palissy came in the 19th c., when interest in natural history and decorative arts led to a revival of Palissy ware.
European Tin Glaze
Origins of European Tin-Glaze from Muslim technology Hispano-Moresque: Cordoba centre of Western world during Ummayad period (CE 756-1031). Around 1000, potters began to use tin-glaze on biscuit-fired pots. Lustres applied on third fire. Real upsurge in 13th c. as potters flee Mongol advance and come to Spain. Moslems reduced to southern Spain--cross-fertilization with Christian potters. Wares made at Malaga (Andalusia) and Valencia under Islamic influence. Later, Mudejar style (1450-1700) under Christian rule--fusion of Islamic and Gothic traditions. Often cobalt and lustre patterns--leaves, vines arranged in registers used on albarellos (drug jars)--Portinari Altar by Hugo van der Goes (1478). Crisp profiles, elaborate presentation, communal dining wares--exported in large quantities to Italy in Majorcan ships--possible origin of term Maiolica. Talavera de la Reina in central Spain popularized white glaze as “appetizing.” Royal patronage sent group to Mexico to start tradition.
The Islamic tradition of lustred earthenware was introduced into Europe in the workshops of Malaga, in Islamic southern Spain. By around 1400, the Christian region of Valencia had become the major centre of production. Large quantities were exported to Italy, particularly to the wealthy families of Tuscany, many of whom had trading links with Valencia. Many Italian families commissioned lustreware painted with their arms. Manises is a suburb of Valencia. Some of the finest lusterware ever produced was made here in the 14th and 15th centuries. These pieces incorporated Gothic motifs into Muslim designs, using Muslim technology, and are referred to as mudejares (or mudejar) style.
Italy: Wares from Islamic countries imported from early date--began to use tin-glaze themselves around 1300. Extensive trade between Tuscany and Barcelona. Valencia introduces mudejar style. Early maiolica very decorative—often oak leaf shape in raised, runny cobalt glaze on tin-glaze surface, heraldic animals—found on bulbous 2-handled drug jars. Major pottery centres develop at Castle Durante, Deruta, Cafaggiola, Faenza. Painters apply mineral paints to tin-glaze using popular prints, paintings as motifs--style called istoriato (historiated--narrative subjects)--mythological, religious, patriotic, popular images in orange, yellow, blue, manganese, purple/brown.
Lustres first made at Deruta--possibly introduced by Islamic potters fleeing Christian advance in Spain—only made at a few centres. Cipriano Piccolpasso wrote Three Books of the Potter’s Art—major source of textual and visual references to pottery techniques of the day. Major work produced by largest ateliers—required real skill, division of labour to decorate and fire properly (lots of wasters)--lead poisoning a real occupational hazard. Istoriato goes out of favour with Baroque—often are monochrome blue or yellow with grotesques--called Faience in France (after Faenza).
Religious wars/Reformation saw potters locating north, east --spread tin-glaze to Netherlands, Central Europe (Anabaptists/Haban wares), England. France, Germany, Netherlands. Duc de Berry (owned Très Riches Heures) brought potters from Spain to produce tin-glaze in 1432. Muslim potters fleeing Catholic inquisition come also to southern France--early French wares resemble Italian closely. Traditional maiolica (faience) called “in-glaze” as colours painted on unfired glaze and fuse with it. Covered with coperta (Italian) or kwaart (Dutch)--transparent lead glaze enhances brilliance, seals surface. Range of wares produced in emulation/competition with Chinese porcelain--tureens, stove tiles, decorative plates.
The Islamic tradition of lustred earthenware was introduced into Europe in the workshops of Malaga, in Islamic southern Spain. By around 1400, the Christian region of Valencia had become the major centre of production. Large quantities were exported to Italy, particularly to the wealthy families of Tuscany, many of whom had trading links with Valencia. Many Italian families commissioned lustreware painted with their arms. Manises is a suburb of Valencia. Some of the finest lusterware ever produced was made here in the 14th and 15th centuries. These pieces incorporated Gothic motifs into Muslim designs, using Muslim technology, and are referred to as mudejares (or mudejar) style.
Italy: Wares from Islamic countries imported from early date--began to use tin-glaze themselves around 1300. Extensive trade between Tuscany and Barcelona. Valencia introduces mudejar style. Early maiolica very decorative—often oak leaf shape in raised, runny cobalt glaze on tin-glaze surface, heraldic animals—found on bulbous 2-handled drug jars. Major pottery centres develop at Castle Durante, Deruta, Cafaggiola, Faenza. Painters apply mineral paints to tin-glaze using popular prints, paintings as motifs--style called istoriato (historiated--narrative subjects)--mythological, religious, patriotic, popular images in orange, yellow, blue, manganese, purple/brown.
Lustres first made at Deruta--possibly introduced by Islamic potters fleeing Christian advance in Spain—only made at a few centres. Cipriano Piccolpasso wrote Three Books of the Potter’s Art—major source of textual and visual references to pottery techniques of the day. Major work produced by largest ateliers—required real skill, division of labour to decorate and fire properly (lots of wasters)--lead poisoning a real occupational hazard. Istoriato goes out of favour with Baroque—often are monochrome blue or yellow with grotesques--called Faience in France (after Faenza).
Religious wars/Reformation saw potters locating north, east --spread tin-glaze to Netherlands, Central Europe (Anabaptists/Haban wares), England. France, Germany, Netherlands. Duc de Berry (owned Très Riches Heures) brought potters from Spain to produce tin-glaze in 1432. Muslim potters fleeing Catholic inquisition come also to southern France--early French wares resemble Italian closely. Traditional maiolica (faience) called “in-glaze” as colours painted on unfired glaze and fuse with it. Covered with coperta (Italian) or kwaart (Dutch)--transparent lead glaze enhances brilliance, seals surface. Range of wares produced in emulation/competition with Chinese porcelain--tureens, stove tiles, decorative plates.
Notes on Islamic Ceramics
Arabic Alphabet and numerals
The Arabic alphabet is written from right to left and consists of twenty-eight letters which are created from seventeen different letter shapes. In modern Arabic dots above and below letters help to distinguish them from each other. In early Arabic these dots were frequently omitted. Many of the letters change their shape depending on where they are situated within a word. Arabic numerals were developed in India in the fifth century AD and spread with Islam, replacing Roman numerals. In the ingenious Indo-Arabic method, any quantity could be represented by figures using a decimal point. The numerals, unlike the alphabet, are written from left to right. Their shapes have evolved over the centuries.
Arabic scripts
Following the revelation of Islam in the seventh century AD, Arabic was established as the language and script of the Muslim empire. Muslims must learn the Qur'an in its original Arabic. Therefore Arabic spread with Islam and was eventually used to write languages such as Persian (Iran), Urdu (India and Pakistan), Dari (Afghanistan), Ottoman Turkish (until 1928) and the languages of Indonesia and Malaysia (until recently). There are many different styles of Arabic scripts.
Kufic developed around the end of the seventh century in Kufa, Iraq (from which it takes its name) and other centres. Until about the eleventh century it was the main script used to copy Qur'ans. The simple and elegant forms were embellished over time. There are several variations on kufic script. It was particularly useful for decorative tile work and inscriptions.
As the decorative potential of Kufic was increasingly exploited, it became ever more difficult to read and was gradually abandoned for general use during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Rounded scripts were used since early Islamic times for everyday writing on papyrus for example, whereas Kufic was reserved for more formal public texts.
Naskh is the 'copyists' hand mainly used from the twelfth century for writing government documents and also for copying the Qur'an.
As the decorative potential of Kufic was increasingly exploited, it became ever more difficult to read and was gradually abandoned for general use during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Rounded scripts were used since early Islamic times for everyday writing on papyrus for example, whereas Kufic was reserved for more formal public texts.
Naskh is the 'copyists' hand mainly used from the twelfth century for writing government documents and also for copying the Qur'an.
First major Dynasty, Umayyad, centred in Syria (Damascus)—replaced by Abbasid, who move capital from Mediterranean and Classical influence to Middle Eastern capital at Baghdad. With fall of Umayyad, Egyptian potters bring technology of lead-based glazes to Baghdad—city rivals Constantinople for richness, elegance, sophistication. Harun al-Rashid (r. 786-809) in contact with Charlemagne in West and with T’ang Dynsasty in East. Tin-glaze invented to imitate Chinese porcelain.
The Abbasid made white vessels with simple decoration applied in blue were exported to China, where they inspired a new tradition of ‘blue-on-white’. Today this is perhaps the most characteristic ceramic style associated with China, but originally the Chinese did not know the cobalt-blue pigment, which they called ‘Muhammadan blue’. Over the centuries, this ‘blue-on-white’ tradition brought Europe ‘chinoiserie’ (again through the medium of the eastern Islamic lands – the Safavids were very keen on it!), and ultimately the ubiquitous ‘willow pattern’ (Ashmolean).
Islamic Lustre: Forms based on everyday utilitarian wares. Beauty is in the decoration--long-standing traditions of well-executed designs. All Islamic wares earthenware (including faience/fritware). Tin added to lead glaze to opacify white surface in emulation of imported T’ang Dynasty stonewares, Yuan and later porcelains. First use of cobalt, but design blurs in lead glaze. Lustre requires 2-3 firings: biscuit, tin-glaze, then low-fire (muffle kiln) lustre.
Lustre is mixture of metal oxide plus ochre. Under reduction, thin layer of pure metal deposited on surface. Ochre burnished to remove it. Islamic custom forbade use of gold or silver plates at table--lustreware next best thing. Difficult to control; only certain centres capable of producing it. Technology possibly derives from Egyptian glass making. Samarra: outside Baghdad, Abbasid capital--floral, geometric patterns, exported around Islamic world including Spain.
Production moves from Baghdad to Cairo (Fatimid court) to Spain, to Persia (Kashan wares)--widely traded. Kashan 25 miles south of Tehran, major centre, high technical and aesthetic standards. Lustre applied to artificial body (included glass frit) from 10th to 14th c. White body didn’t require masking slip or tin glaze. Can trace genealogies of potters for 400 years. Survived Mongol invasion because Mongolians liked fine crafts.
Other Iranian/Persian centres at Rayy (often on blue background), Gurgan (huge cache of wares hidden from Mongols in 1221—town decimated—rediscovered in 1942.) Seljuk Turks improved faience body--manual written 1301 discusses addition of quartz pebbles, potash frit and borax to imitate qingbai porcelains. Polychrome wares include minai (overglaze, designs based on manuscripts), haft-rang (over and underglaze colurs). Lustre tiles very popular for mosques, tombs.
The Arabic alphabet is written from right to left and consists of twenty-eight letters which are created from seventeen different letter shapes. In modern Arabic dots above and below letters help to distinguish them from each other. In early Arabic these dots were frequently omitted. Many of the letters change their shape depending on where they are situated within a word. Arabic numerals were developed in India in the fifth century AD and spread with Islam, replacing Roman numerals. In the ingenious Indo-Arabic method, any quantity could be represented by figures using a decimal point. The numerals, unlike the alphabet, are written from left to right. Their shapes have evolved over the centuries.
Arabic scripts
Following the revelation of Islam in the seventh century AD, Arabic was established as the language and script of the Muslim empire. Muslims must learn the Qur'an in its original Arabic. Therefore Arabic spread with Islam and was eventually used to write languages such as Persian (Iran), Urdu (India and Pakistan), Dari (Afghanistan), Ottoman Turkish (until 1928) and the languages of Indonesia and Malaysia (until recently). There are many different styles of Arabic scripts.
Kufic developed around the end of the seventh century in Kufa, Iraq (from which it takes its name) and other centres. Until about the eleventh century it was the main script used to copy Qur'ans. The simple and elegant forms were embellished over time. There are several variations on kufic script. It was particularly useful for decorative tile work and inscriptions.
As the decorative potential of Kufic was increasingly exploited, it became ever more difficult to read and was gradually abandoned for general use during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Rounded scripts were used since early Islamic times for everyday writing on papyrus for example, whereas Kufic was reserved for more formal public texts.
Naskh is the 'copyists' hand mainly used from the twelfth century for writing government documents and also for copying the Qur'an.
As the decorative potential of Kufic was increasingly exploited, it became ever more difficult to read and was gradually abandoned for general use during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Rounded scripts were used since early Islamic times for everyday writing on papyrus for example, whereas Kufic was reserved for more formal public texts.
Naskh is the 'copyists' hand mainly used from the twelfth century for writing government documents and also for copying the Qur'an.
First major Dynasty, Umayyad, centred in Syria (Damascus)—replaced by Abbasid, who move capital from Mediterranean and Classical influence to Middle Eastern capital at Baghdad. With fall of Umayyad, Egyptian potters bring technology of lead-based glazes to Baghdad—city rivals Constantinople for richness, elegance, sophistication. Harun al-Rashid (r. 786-809) in contact with Charlemagne in West and with T’ang Dynsasty in East. Tin-glaze invented to imitate Chinese porcelain.
The Abbasid made white vessels with simple decoration applied in blue were exported to China, where they inspired a new tradition of ‘blue-on-white’. Today this is perhaps the most characteristic ceramic style associated with China, but originally the Chinese did not know the cobalt-blue pigment, which they called ‘Muhammadan blue’. Over the centuries, this ‘blue-on-white’ tradition brought Europe ‘chinoiserie’ (again through the medium of the eastern Islamic lands – the Safavids were very keen on it!), and ultimately the ubiquitous ‘willow pattern’ (Ashmolean).
Islamic Lustre: Forms based on everyday utilitarian wares. Beauty is in the decoration--long-standing traditions of well-executed designs. All Islamic wares earthenware (including faience/fritware). Tin added to lead glaze to opacify white surface in emulation of imported T’ang Dynasty stonewares, Yuan and later porcelains. First use of cobalt, but design blurs in lead glaze. Lustre requires 2-3 firings: biscuit, tin-glaze, then low-fire (muffle kiln) lustre.
Lustre is mixture of metal oxide plus ochre. Under reduction, thin layer of pure metal deposited on surface. Ochre burnished to remove it. Islamic custom forbade use of gold or silver plates at table--lustreware next best thing. Difficult to control; only certain centres capable of producing it. Technology possibly derives from Egyptian glass making. Samarra: outside Baghdad, Abbasid capital--floral, geometric patterns, exported around Islamic world including Spain.
Production moves from Baghdad to Cairo (Fatimid court) to Spain, to Persia (Kashan wares)--widely traded. Kashan 25 miles south of Tehran, major centre, high technical and aesthetic standards. Lustre applied to artificial body (included glass frit) from 10th to 14th c. White body didn’t require masking slip or tin glaze. Can trace genealogies of potters for 400 years. Survived Mongol invasion because Mongolians liked fine crafts.
Other Iranian/Persian centres at Rayy (often on blue background), Gurgan (huge cache of wares hidden from Mongols in 1221—town decimated—rediscovered in 1942.) Seljuk Turks improved faience body--manual written 1301 discusses addition of quartz pebbles, potash frit and borax to imitate qingbai porcelains. Polychrome wares include minai (overglaze, designs based on manuscripts), haft-rang (over and underglaze colurs). Lustre tiles very popular for mosques, tombs.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Ceramics terms, glossaries
Hello,
There are many convenient and easy-to-access ceramics glossaries on the web, so this post will give you a few. Note: every glossary is directed towards a particular audience--amateur, scholar, scientist, professional ceramist, so it might help to consult more than one. When using a definition from an on-line glossary, be sure to cite the source properly. For more help on citing electronic sources, consult the Writing Centre, or check the following helpful website:
Diana Hacker, Research and Documentation Online, http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
From the drop-down menu, check "Humanities/Documenting Sources/ "MLA List of Work Cited."
Here are some helpful sites for ceramics terms:
Glossay of Ceramics Terms
http://www.jnevins.com/glossary.htm
very basic, more for the hobby potter than the historian or scholar (still, helpful first step)
Anth 461/761 Ceramic Analysis Glossary of Ceramic Terms
http://www.tulane.edu/~kidder/Anth%20461/ceramic%20terms.html
excellent, scholarly, cited for source--great for historian and more technical approach to ceramics
Ceramic Terms to know
http://www.pottery.netfirms.com/assignments/docs/ceram_glossary.doc
Usefully broken down into handbuilding terms, decorating terms, firing terms etc. Note: when you arrive at this site, you are asked if you wish to open or save it--just opening it is okay.
There are many convenient and easy-to-access ceramics glossaries on the web, so this post will give you a few. Note: every glossary is directed towards a particular audience--amateur, scholar, scientist, professional ceramist, so it might help to consult more than one. When using a definition from an on-line glossary, be sure to cite the source properly. For more help on citing electronic sources, consult the Writing Centre, or check the following helpful website:
Diana Hacker, Research and Documentation Online, http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/
From the drop-down menu, check "Humanities/Documenting Sources/ "MLA List of Work Cited."
Here are some helpful sites for ceramics terms:
Glossay of Ceramics Terms
http://www.jnevins.com/glossary.htm
very basic, more for the hobby potter than the historian or scholar (still, helpful first step)
Anth 461/761 Ceramic Analysis Glossary of Ceramic Terms
http://www.tulane.edu/~kidder/Anth%20461/ceramic%20terms.html
excellent, scholarly, cited for source--great for historian and more technical approach to ceramics
Ceramic Terms to know
http://www.pottery.netfirms.com/assignments/docs/ceram_glossary.doc
Usefully broken down into handbuilding terms, decorating terms, firing terms etc. Note: when you arrive at this site, you are asked if you wish to open or save it--just opening it is okay.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Good websites for ceramics research
Good Websites on Ceramics AHIS.335/Instructor Amy Gogarty
The web has literally exploded with material on ceramics. Not all of it is useful--much is very commercial--but many universities and museums now have outstanding access to their collections and research on-line. I have listed sites that are useful for research/links and/or presentations. This is anything but comprehensive--we will collect and expand our “bookmarks” as the class goes on.
Classical Wares (Greek, Roman)
http://www.acad.ab.ca/assets/pdf/Programs/Ceramics/ACAD_Ceramics_Newsletter_Fall_2007.pdfUniversity of Colorado at Boulder, Classics Exhibits. Interesting material on pots, uses--“wining, dining and dying in ancient Greece,” good images of pots in collection etc. http://www.colorado.edu/Classics/exhibits/GreekVases/exhibit.htm
Potsherd: Atlas of Roman Pottery. Excellent, useful collection of pages on pottery and ceramics in archaeology, principally of the Roman period (1st cent. BC - 5th cent. AD) in Britain and western Europe. http://www.potsherd.uklinux.net/index.php
Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum--fabulous archive of over 100,000 classical vases in museum collections in Europe--a project of Union Académique Internationale, the Beazley Archive (Oxford U.) and other acadmic institutions. http://www.cvaonline.org/cva/projectpages/cva1.htm
Industrial Archaeology (Early-Modern Europe to 19th c.)
Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland. Good introduction to First Nations/pre-historic and European historic wares in Maryland--scientific analysis, good images shards, descriptions of wares. http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/index.htm
SMU Archaeology Lab Ceramics Database (St. Mary’s University, Nova Scotia). Similar approach to Maryland website, but for Nova Scotia/Canadian ceramics--very detailed, many 17th/18th c. ceramic wares described http://www.smu.ca/academic/arts/anthropology/ceramics/welcome.html
The Potteries.org--Stoke on line. Good introduction to historical archaeology of important site for production of British ceramics. http://www.thepotteries.org/index.html
Contemporary Studio Ceramics
One of the interesting new sites I will include here is for the ACAD Ceramics Newsletter. It comes out several times a year and provides information on professional activities of students, alumni and faculty--it gives a real sense of what fellow Canadian ceramic artists are doing in their field--check it out!
http://www.acad.ab.ca/assets/pdf/Programs/Ceramics/ACAD_Ceramics_Newsletter_Fall_2007.pdf
University of Wales Aberystwyth, Ceramic Collection (excellent for contemporary British studio ceramics). Computer data base for archives (pottery guilds, correspondence, sales, supplies etc.), should you have the opportunity to visit! http://www.aber.ac.uk/ceramics/index.htm
Interesting Chinese conceptual artist who uses ceramics
http://www.galerieursmeile.com/nav/top/artists/works/default.htm?view_ArtistItem_OID=18
Ai Weiwei constructs sculptures from discarded doors from Ming Dynasty houses or furniture, commenting on the way in which China is eating up its past in its rush to modernize. He also works with both new and historical ceramics--check out this good selection of his work at Gallerie Meile.
Miscellaneous:
Yakimono-net. Japanese potters, supplies, tools, books etc. http://www.e-yakimono.net/index.html
Palissy Ware. Good information on this important potter, some images, links, discussion of later manifestations of this type of rustic ware, books. http://www.palissy.com/NEWhistory.html
Museums (Listed are ones with extensive searchable databases of ceramic objects)
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK--Britain’s oldest museum--fantastic ceramics collection. Luck of draw as to what is on-line, but excellent for British, Islamic ceramics--see “Web-Based Teaching Course on Islamic Ceramics”; also check “Potweb--Ceramics online.” http://ashmolean.org/
British Museum, London, UK--Go to the main site and navigate through the “Research” button, using the search tools. It takes a bit of time to get the hang of the search engine, but the British Museum does have excellent collections in addition to the new Percival David Foundation collection of Chinese ceramics (see below).
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK. Fantastic collection--much of which is on-line but hard to search (poorly indexed). Best to try “browse” from Collections/On-Line Collections links.
http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/
Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington DC (part of the Smithsonian complex)--Excellent collections of Asian Art in general, outstanding ceramics in particular. Excellent photos--be sure to look at Korean wares. http://www.asia.si.edu/
Gardiner Museum, Toronto--Canada’s premier museum of ceramic arts--European, Asian, Pre-Columbian and contemporary work. http://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/default_flash.aspx
Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit College, Wisconsin. Excellent material on North American First Nations ceramics--well researched, illustrated. http://www.beloit.edu/~museum/logan/index.html
Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Collections on line--excellent collection of ethnographic artifacts including ceramics from North and South America, Iron Age Europe and numerous historical photographs. http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/col/default.cfm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City--the big one! Reasonably good database of historical ceramics in collection, but not easy to search. Excellent, useful “Time Line” helps orient you historically and geographically. http://www.metmuseum.org/
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, England. This collection was recently folded into the British Museum as an independent entity. While we lost the charming 18th c. building in which it was housed, we gained in accessibility. Go to the British Museum site and click on "Research." An option to search the collection will come up--click on that and type in "Percival David Foundation." You might want to click "images only" to avoid a lot of text without images. Here is the website: http://www.britishmuseum.org/default.aspx The images are beautiful and the infomration useful.
This next is a personal website from Terrance Frank Lazaroff, Information and Program Officer in Canada for the Sanbao Ceramics Studio. In addition to many fascinating photographs, Terrance has a lot of information about residencies in China, and is a good contact for those wishing to travel to China for a ceramics residency.
http://clayart.ca/.
Electronic Resources (available online using your ECUAD student id)
· Groves Dictionary of Art OnLine--detailed analysis of arts of Asia, Africa, Americas, Pacific and Europe--good links to images.
· Art Full-Text--better for contemporary and “fine arts,” but can find useful articles/abstracts for over 450 periodicals.
· Art Museum Image-Gallery (AMIG)--Over 96,000 digitized images from major museums. Some areas of ceramics well represented--others less so.
The web has literally exploded with material on ceramics. Not all of it is useful--much is very commercial--but many universities and museums now have outstanding access to their collections and research on-line. I have listed sites that are useful for research/links and/or presentations. This is anything but comprehensive--we will collect and expand our “bookmarks” as the class goes on.
Classical Wares (Greek, Roman)
http://www.acad.ab.ca/assets/pdf/Programs/Ceramics/ACAD_Ceramics_Newsletter_Fall_2007.pdfUniversity of Colorado at Boulder, Classics Exhibits. Interesting material on pots, uses--“wining, dining and dying in ancient Greece,” good images of pots in collection etc. http://www.colorado.edu/Classics/exhibits/GreekVases/exhibit.htm
Potsherd: Atlas of Roman Pottery. Excellent, useful collection of pages on pottery and ceramics in archaeology, principally of the Roman period (1st cent. BC - 5th cent. AD) in Britain and western Europe. http://www.potsherd.uklinux.net/index.php
Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum--fabulous archive of over 100,000 classical vases in museum collections in Europe--a project of Union Académique Internationale, the Beazley Archive (Oxford U.) and other acadmic institutions. http://www.cvaonline.org/cva/projectpages/cva1.htm
Industrial Archaeology (Early-Modern Europe to 19th c.)
Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland. Good introduction to First Nations/pre-historic and European historic wares in Maryland--scientific analysis, good images shards, descriptions of wares. http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/index.htm
SMU Archaeology Lab Ceramics Database (St. Mary’s University, Nova Scotia). Similar approach to Maryland website, but for Nova Scotia/Canadian ceramics--very detailed, many 17th/18th c. ceramic wares described http://www.smu.ca/academic/arts/anthropology/ceramics/welcome.html
The Potteries.org--Stoke on line. Good introduction to historical archaeology of important site for production of British ceramics. http://www.thepotteries.org/index.html
Contemporary Studio Ceramics
One of the interesting new sites I will include here is for the ACAD Ceramics Newsletter. It comes out several times a year and provides information on professional activities of students, alumni and faculty--it gives a real sense of what fellow Canadian ceramic artists are doing in their field--check it out!
http://www.acad.ab.ca/assets/pdf/Programs/Ceramics/ACAD_Ceramics_Newsletter_Fall_2007.pdf
University of Wales Aberystwyth, Ceramic Collection (excellent for contemporary British studio ceramics). Computer data base for archives (pottery guilds, correspondence, sales, supplies etc.), should you have the opportunity to visit! http://www.aber.ac.uk/ceramics/index.htm
Interesting Chinese conceptual artist who uses ceramics
http://www.galerieursmeile.com/nav/top/artists/works/default.htm?view_ArtistItem_OID=18
Ai Weiwei constructs sculptures from discarded doors from Ming Dynasty houses or furniture, commenting on the way in which China is eating up its past in its rush to modernize. He also works with both new and historical ceramics--check out this good selection of his work at Gallerie Meile.
Miscellaneous:
Yakimono-net. Japanese potters, supplies, tools, books etc. http://www.e-yakimono.net/index.html
Palissy Ware. Good information on this important potter, some images, links, discussion of later manifestations of this type of rustic ware, books. http://www.palissy.com/NEWhistory.html
Museums (Listed are ones with extensive searchable databases of ceramic objects)
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK--Britain’s oldest museum--fantastic ceramics collection. Luck of draw as to what is on-line, but excellent for British, Islamic ceramics--see “Web-Based Teaching Course on Islamic Ceramics”; also check “Potweb--Ceramics online.” http://ashmolean.org/
British Museum, London, UK--Go to the main site and navigate through the “Research” button, using the search tools. It takes a bit of time to get the hang of the search engine, but the British Museum does have excellent collections in addition to the new Percival David Foundation collection of Chinese ceramics (see below).
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK. Fantastic collection--much of which is on-line but hard to search (poorly indexed). Best to try “browse” from Collections/On-Line Collections links.
http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/
Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington DC (part of the Smithsonian complex)--Excellent collections of Asian Art in general, outstanding ceramics in particular. Excellent photos--be sure to look at Korean wares. http://www.asia.si.edu/
Gardiner Museum, Toronto--Canada’s premier museum of ceramic arts--European, Asian, Pre-Columbian and contemporary work. http://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/default_flash.aspx
Logan Museum of Anthropology, Beloit College, Wisconsin. Excellent material on North American First Nations ceramics--well researched, illustrated. http://www.beloit.edu/~museum/logan/index.html
Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Collections on line--excellent collection of ethnographic artifacts including ceramics from North and South America, Iron Age Europe and numerous historical photographs. http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/col/default.cfm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City--the big one! Reasonably good database of historical ceramics in collection, but not easy to search. Excellent, useful “Time Line” helps orient you historically and geographically. http://www.metmuseum.org/
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, England. This collection was recently folded into the British Museum as an independent entity. While we lost the charming 18th c. building in which it was housed, we gained in accessibility. Go to the British Museum site and click on "Research." An option to search the collection will come up--click on that and type in "Percival David Foundation." You might want to click "images only" to avoid a lot of text without images. Here is the website: http://www.britishmuseum.org/default.aspx The images are beautiful and the infomration useful.
This next is a personal website from Terrance Frank Lazaroff, Information and Program Officer in Canada for the Sanbao Ceramics Studio. In addition to many fascinating photographs, Terrance has a lot of information about residencies in China, and is a good contact for those wishing to travel to China for a ceramics residency.
http://clayart.ca/.
Electronic Resources (available online using your ECUAD student id)
· Groves Dictionary of Art OnLine--detailed analysis of arts of Asia, Africa, Americas, Pacific and Europe--good links to images.
· Art Full-Text--better for contemporary and “fine arts,” but can find useful articles/abstracts for over 450 periodicals.
· Art Museum Image-Gallery (AMIG)--Over 96,000 digitized images from major museums. Some areas of ceramics well represented--others less so.
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