What Is Ceramic Art?

Ceramic art uses clay or other ceramic materials. It includes pottery, tiles, figurines, and sculptures. While some pieces qualify as fine art, many serve decorative or industrial purposes. Whether crafted by a lone artist or made in a factory, ceramic art blends skill and creativity.

Origins of the Word “Ceramics”

The term comes from the Greek keramikos, meaning “pottery,” which in turn derives from keramos, or “potter’s clay.” Traditionally, clay is shaped and fired to harden it. That method still applies to most tableware and decor today. In modern ceramic engineering, the focus is on heat-treated inorganic, non-metallic materials, excluding glass and glass mosaics.

Key Forms of Ceramic Art

Ceramic works emphasize three main elements:

1) Shape - form and structure of the piece.

2) Decoration - painted, carved, or otherwise adorned surfaces.

3) Glazing - glassy coating that seals and beautifies the object.

Ancient Roots Around the World

Ceramic art dates back thousands of years across multiple civilizations. In many extinct cultures, pottery is the only surviving form of artistic expression. Notable examples include:

- Nok culture in Africa (over 3,000 years ago)
- Ancient China, Crete, Greece, Persia, the Maya
- Japan and Korea
- Long-standing traditions in Europe and North America

Pottery arose independently in East Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East, and the Americas.

Revival in Britain and America

In the early 20th century, the Arts and Crafts movement reignited interest in handcrafted pottery. Artists and designers pushed for:

- Traditional, non‑industrial techniques
- Deep respect for natural materials
- The skills of individual artists
- Functional and simple designs
- A shift away from Victorian excess

This led to modern ceramic craft, where authenticity and utility took center stage.

Why Ceramic Art Matters

Ceramics offer insight into past cultures and human creativity. They reveal:

- Historical design and aesthetics
- Cultural values through utility and decoration
- Technical progress in material science and artistic skill

From ancient pots to contemporary sculptures, ceramics connect us across space and time.

Discovering Ceramic Art

If you're exploring ceramic art - whether as a hobby or a collector - consider:

- Learning traditional techniques like wheel-throwing and hand-building
- Studying glaze chemistry and finishing methods
- Examining pottery styles from different cultures: Chinese celadon, Greek black-figure, or Korean Buncheong, for example

Each piece reflects the richness of history and craft.

And speaking of history, let's get to it...

 

1. Paleolithic Pottery (c. 20,000 BCE)

The earliest pottery vessels come from East Asia and the Russian Far East between 20,000 and 10,000 BCE. Sites like Xianrendong Cave in China’s Jiangxi province reveal fragments dating back 20,000 years. Invented by mobile hunter-gatherers during the Late Glacial Maximum, these pots were simple and used for cooking - many show scorch marks.

Stone Containers Before Pottery (12,000 - 6,000 BCE)

In Western Asia, long before pottery and agriculture, people crafted containers from stone. From 12,000 to 9,500 BCE, the Natufian culture made fine mortars. By 8,000 BCE, artisans in eastern Syria (like at Bouqras on the upper Euphrates) shaped alabaster or granite vases and fragments using sand polishing. They angled veins in the material for visual effect - early markers of Mesopotamian art.

Examples include:

- Venus of Dolní Věstonice, before 25,000 BCE
- Xianrendong pottery fragments, 20,000 - 10,000 BCE
- Natufian stone mortar, 12,500 - 9,500 BCE
- Calcite tripod vase, around 6,000 BCE
- Alabaster pot from 6,500 BCE

2. Neolithic Pottery (6,500 - 3,500 BCE)

In the Neolithic era, the coiling method was common. Adding coils of clay and smoothing them created the pot’s walls. By the 4th millennium BCE, Mesopotamia likely invented the potter’s wheel. The technique then spread across Eurasia and Africa but was unknown in the Americas before Europeans arrived.

Pottery decoration also advanced. Incised lines and painted patterns - first geometric, later figurative - became widespread.

Archaeologists named several prehistoric cultures after their pottery styles:

- Linear Pottery culture
- Beaker culture
- Globular Amphora culture
- Corded Ware culture
- Funnelbeaker culture

These run from about 7,000 to 1,800 BCE in Europe and represent where pottery defines the culture.

Influence of Other Arts on Ceramics

Ceramics often mirrored styles from sculpture and metalwork. For example:

- Shang dynasty Chinese pottery mirrored bronze forms

- Ancient Roman and Persian ceramics imitated metal vessels

- European Rococo ceramics borrowed from silver design

Pottery wasn’t just functional: bowls, vases, amphorae, plates, but also figurines and decorative forms.

Why Early Pottery Matters

Pottery tells us about early technology, art, and daily life. From cooking pots in ancient caves to ornamental vases and figurines, ceramic objects show ingenuity, design, and cultural exchange across time and space.

 

Egyptian Faience: Blue-Green Brilliance

Glazed Egyptian faience emerged around the third millennium BCE. Even before that, in predynastic Naqada times, potters painted unglazed pottery. Faience techniques advanced quickly. Craftsmen used moulds, hand‑modelling, and later the potter’s wheel. They experimented with various glazes, but stuck mostly to blue-green tones for decoration.

Minoan Pottery on Santorini

On Santorini, archaeologists unearthed early Minoan ceramics dating back to the third millennium BCE. The original settlement at Akrotiri traces to the fourth millennium BCE. Excavations are still underway. In some homes, large storage jars called pithoi were found, used to hold grains, oil, or wine.

Greek and Etruscan Vase Painting

Greek and Etruscan potters excelled at painting figurative pottery. Two major styles stand out: black-figure and red-figure. They also made small terracotta figurines, especially around Tanagra. Initially, mostly religious, these figures later depicted everyday life, serving mainly as decoration.

Roman Mass‑Production: Amphorae and Lamps

Roman pottery, like Samian ware, wasn’t as refined as earlier Greek pieces. It drew shape inspiration from metalwork, though produced in vast numbers. These wares spread across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

A famous example is Monte Testaccio in Rome - a massive mound of broken amphorae once used for storing and shipping liquids and goods.

Decorative Roman Pottery and Lamps

While few Roman pottery pieces rank as high art, hundreds of small figurines exist, often built into oil lamps and similar items. These frequently carry religious or erotic themes - sometimes both, a hallmark of Roman taste.

Roman Elite and Eastern Influences

Romans usually didn’t include pottery in graves, so fewer high-end pieces survive. Unlike their fondness for luxury glass tables and vessels, fine pottery was rare. When it did appear, it often featured molded relief rather than painted designs. In the Eastern Empire, local ceramic traditions continued, often merging with Roman techniques and styles.

 

 

3. Pottery Origins in Sub‑Saharan Africa

Pottery emerged independently in Sub‑Saharan Africa around the start of the Holocene. In central Mali’s Ounjougou site, archaeologists found pottery fragments dating back to at least 9,400 BCE. Similar early ceramics come from the Eastern Sahara, Central Sahara, and Nile Valley, dated between the 10th and 9th millennia BCE.

Traditional West African Ceramic Methods

In West Africa, pottery is hand‑built using the coil method and fired at low temperatures. One standout culture is the Nok of northern Nigeria (500 BCE - 200 CE), known for finely detailed figurines - often heads with triangular eyes, expressive faces, and decorative hair. Other ceramic traditions followed, including those of Djenne-Djenno and Benin in Nigeria.

In Niger’s Aïr Region, pottery shards dated to about 10,000 BCE have been found.

Modern examples include Ladi Kwali, a Nigerian potter whose large incised pots blend Gwari tradition with Western styles, and Magdalene Odundo, a Kenyan‑born British artist who crafts and polishes hand‑built, burnished ceramics.

 

4. Indigenous Pottery in the Americas

Pottery in the Americas dates back at least 7,500 years. It served many purposes: cooking, storage, ritual, masks, pipes, musical instruments, toys, and sculptures. Ceramics survive well, so archaeologists use them to learn about pre‑Columbian cultures.

Amazon Basin Beginnings

The earliest known American ceramics come from Brazil’s Amazon Basin. At Caverna da Pedra Pintada near Santarém, shards date between 7,500 - 5,000 BCE. Nearby Taperinha samples go even further back to 8,000 - 7,000 BCE. Some shards were tempered with shells, which allowed direct radiocarbon dating. These early pot‑makers were fishers and shellfish gatherers.

Spread across South & Central America

Pottery then spread northward:

- Alaka (Guyana): 6,000 - 4,500 BCE
- San Jacinto (Colombia): around 4530 BCE
- Puerto Hormiga (Colombia): around 3794 BCE
- Valdivia (Ecuador): ~3200 BCE
- Pandanche (Peru): ~2460 BCE

Mesoamerica & North America

In Mesoamerica:

- Panama’s Monagrillo: ~2140 BCE
- Costa Rica’s Tronadora: ~1890 BCE
- Mexico’s Soconusco (Barra): ~1900 BCE
- Central Mexico’s Purrón: ~1805 BCE
- North‑central Mexico’s Chajil: ~1600 BCE

In what is now the southeastern United States, ceramic evidence is older than expected:

- Stallings Island (Georgia/SC): ~2888 BCE
- Florida’s Orange/Norwood: ~2460 BCE
These predate ceramics found north of Colombia.

Elsewhere in North America, pottery appears later, by 4000 BCE in southern Florida, 3700 BCE in Missouri’s Nebo Hill, and 3400 BCE at Louisiana’s Poverty Point.

Pottery Preparation & Cultural Practice

Clay gathering and preparation are labor-intensive and often involve cultural or ceremonial steps. Methods vary by tribe:

- Pueblo artisans (e.g., Acoma) first grind dry clay to powder, remove impurities by hand, sift it, add temper, and then mix water.

- Potters then wedge the clay to remove air and humidity. After shaping, the clay must cure before it's ready for firing.

 

What Is Ceramic Coiling?

Coiling is the main way Indigenous peoples in the Americas shaped pottery before European influence. To coil, a potter rolls clay into long strands and stacks them to form walls. Each layer is smoothed so no seams or weak spots remain. Wheels weren’t used before Europeans arrived, and only a few Native artists use them today. Small items, like pinch pots, were made by hand.

Paddle-and-Anvil & Mold Techniques

In the American Southwest - used by Hohokam potters and their descendants - another method called paddle-and-anvil was popular. One hand held an anvil inside the pot while the other beat the outside with a paddle to smooth it.

In pre-contact South America, pottery was mass-produced with molds to speed up production.

Applying Slip to Ceramics

Slip is liquid clay mixed with minerals used before firing. Common colors include red, buff, white, and black. In Peru, the Nazca culture created 13 different slip colors around 500 BCE and painted them using a hand-turned turntable, still in use today. Slip can be applied broadly with cloth or in fine detail with brushes made from slightly chewed yucca leaves, which separate fibers for painting in the American Southwest.

Negative Painting

A special technique called negative painting was used by Mississippian potters in the Eastern Woodlands, Mayan potters, and others. They covered a pot in beeswax or another resist, carved designs into it, and then applied slip. During firing, the resin burns off, revealing the design in contrasting colors.

Surface Decoration & Texture

Before firing, potters added decoration in several ways:

- Carving designs on soft clay.
- Impressing clay with cords, textiles, baskets, or corncobs to both decorate and improve heat distribution in cooking pots.
- Using carved wooden or ceramic paddles to stamp repeating designs in the Southeastern Woodlands.
- Adding extra clay elements onto the pot to build up designs.

Burnishing, Greasing & Glazing

Potters polished green (unfired) clay using smooth stones to create a sheen. They sometimes rubbed grease onto pots. Glazes were rare among Indigenous ceramic artists.

Firing Methods: Pit vs Kiln

Before European contact, most pottery was open-air or pit-fired. In some parts of Mexico, kilns were used. Pit firing involves placing pottery in a shallow earth pit, covering it with wood, brush, or dung, and setting it on fire. Temperatures could reach 1,400 °F or higher. After firing, the surface was often polished with smooth stones. Today, many Native American artists use modern kilns.

What Is Temper and Why Use It?

Temper is non-clay material mixed into the clay. It stops vessels from cracking or shrinking as they dry and fire. Common tempers include:

- Bone
- Chaff
- Charcoal
- Wood ash (cariapé)
- Grit
- Sand or crushed sandstone
- Crushed limestone
- Volcanic rock, feldspar, mica
- Grog (crushed fired clay)
- Plant fiber
- Crushed mollusc shells (freshwater or marine, sometimes fossilized)
- Freshwater sponge spicules

 

Understanding Pottery Temper in Indigenous American Ceramics

Many Indigenous artists across North America shaped their pottery using temper (materials added to clay to enhance durability). Some clays, though, already contain natural tempers and need no additives.

- Pure Kaolin Pottery: Several Hopi potters work with kaolin clay that’s naturally strong enough to hold shape and heat.

- Naturally Tempered Clays:
* Hopi, Taos Pueblo, and Picuris Pueblo pottery can contain mica or sand.
* St. Johns culture ceramics included sponge spicules - tiny spiky structures - resulting in their famous chalky ware.

How Temper Identifies Archaeological Cultures

Archaeologists track cultural identity partly by examining the type of temper used in pottery. Here's how different cultures stand out:

- Hohokam Tradition: Added schist with silver mica. That shimmer gave plainware a unique, almost magical look.

- Ancestral Pueblo & Southwestern Practices: Mixed grog (crushed old pottery), sand, or sandstone into their ceramics.

- Texas Sites: Some pots included crushed bone as temper.

- Southeastern US Evolution:
* Began with plant fibers like Spanish moss and palmetto leaves.
* Switched to grog, then shell.
* Florida and coastal Georgia transitioned from fiber to sand.
* St. John's culture later used freshwater sponge spicules.

- Lucayan Pottery (Bahamas): Local wares used crushed conch shell, distinct from quartz-sand-tempered pots from Hispaniola.

These changes often reflect available resources. But they also hint at trade and cultural exchange. For example, the rise of shell-tempered pottery marks the late Woodland and early Mississippian eras across the Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast.

Inuit Utilitarian Pottery of the Arctic

Some Inuit communities - like the Netsilik, Sadlermiut, Utkuhiksalingmiut, and Caribou Inuit - crafted simple ceramic vessels mainly for food storage.

-  Rankin Inlet Revival:
In Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, ceramics became a community project after the local mine closed. A Canadian national exhibit showcased their work in Toronto in 1967. The project later stalled, but local support kick‑started interest in Inuit ceramics in the 1990s.

Major Ceramic Traditions Across North America

- Hopewell Pottery (200 BCE - 400 CE): Linked to the Hopewell tradition in the Midwest and Southeast.

- Mississippian Pottery (800 - 1600 CE): Defined by shell-tempered vessels across similar regions.

Geological Clay Sources in the Southeast

The southeastern U.S. is geologically rich in high-quality clay deposits - kaolins and ball clays - ideal for pottery.

- Formation and Distribution:
Clay deposits formed during the Late Paleocene to Early Miocene along the Gulf Coastal Plain.

- Regional Abundance:
Most of the Southeast has plentiful clay, except much of South Florida and parts of central-west Florida. These findings align with U.S. Geological Survey data.

 

Early Fiber‑Tempered Ceramics (2500 BCE Onwards)

Around 2500 BCE, Late Archaic hunter‑fisher‑gatherers along the Atlantic coastal plains of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina began crafting fiber‑tempered pottery near shell midden sites. The initial known examples come from the Stallings culture near the middle Savannah River.

In northeast Florida, the Orange culture’s fiber‑tempered ceramics date to about 2000 BCE. This pottery style, similar to Stallings, later spread along coastal and river valleys across the Southeastern U.S., reaching:

- Northwestern Florida (Norwood culture) and the Gulf Coast by 1300 BCE
- The interior Middle South by 1100 BCE
- Poverty Point area by 1000 BCE

Thom’s Creek: A Regional Variation

Thom’s Creek pottery looked like Stallings ware but included more sand and less fiber as temper. These ceramics coexisted with Stallings and Orange traditions, though never predated Stallings. Thom’s Creek dominated areas north of the Santee River, extending into North Carolina.

Theories on Origins and Cultural Connections

The resemblance between Stallings ceramics and the earlier Puerto Hormiga pottery from coastal Colombia led archaeologist James A. Ford and others to suggest a possible trans‑American influence. They noted similarities and ocean currents that could have supported maritime contact.

However, critics argue:

- There’s no archaeological trail from Colombia to Florida dating to that era.
- Southeastern cultural traditions show no major shifts after pottery appeared.

This suggests fiber‑tempered pottery likely developed locally, without large‑scale migration or exchange, just the isolated adoption of ceramic methods.

Later Ceramic Traditions in the Southeast

After the Archaic period, pottery continued to evolve:

- Mississippian Culture Pottery (800 - 1600 CE): Shell‑tempered, in the Mississippi River valley

- Weedon Island Pottery (c. 200 - 900 CE): Ceremonial wares traded along the Gulf

- Swift Creek & Santa Rosa Ceramics (post‑Deptford, NW Florida): Decorative pottery around 1000 CE

- Glade & Belle Glade Pottery (500 BCE - 1700 CE): Crude fiber or sand‑tempered wares from South-Central Florida, classified into four periods

- Alachua Culture Pottery: Protohistoric wares from North‑Central Florida

- Plaquemine Culture Pottery: Made by the Natchez people of Southwestern Mississippi

- Fort Walton Culture Ceramics (from c. 1000 CE): Developed from Weedon Island traditions; found in the Florida Panhandle

 

Great Basin Pottery: From Baskets to Brown Ware

Indigenous peoples in the Great Basin initially adapted their basketry traditions into pottery making.

Fremont Culture (700 - 1300 CE)

- Central Utah’s Fremont people adopted farming, then developed pottery to support settled life.

Paiute and Washoe Traditions

- These groups independently created plain, utilitarian ceramics.

- Their pottery was unburnished and sometimes featured simple red painted motifs.

- Owens Valley Brown Ware: Used for cooking, storing food, and carrying water. Often included clay handles designed for straps.

 

Mesoamerican Pottery: Origins and Innovation

Pottery in ancient Mesoamerica stands out for its variety across regions and eras. It traced its roots back to central South America before spreading north.

Olmec Beginnings (c. 1500 - 1350 BCE)

- The Olmec culture, centered in San Lorenzo, shows the earliest pottery by 1350 BCE.
- San Lorenzo acted as a production hub, distributing pottery across Mesoamerica.

Techniques: Coil-and-Scrape Method

1) Clay was prepared and shaped into long coils.

2) Coils were stacked to form the vessel’s structure.

3) The surface was smoothed by scraping to create a solid shape.

4) Molds were sometimes used to shape vessels and sculptures.

5) This method allowed the creation of simple pots, bowls, or intricate figurines.

Decoration with Slip

- Slip (thin clay mixed with water) was applied to pottery for waterproofing and decoration.

- It came in various colors to create designs: Naturalistic animals/ Geometric patterns/ Symbolic or religious imagery

Olmec Figurines and Baby‑Face Motifs

- Archaeologists have found small Olmec figurines - often chubby, seated figures with infant-like faces.

- Details include puffy eyes, downturned mouths

- Some have elongated heads or helmet-like shapes

- Most are nude or wear minimal clothing and lack genitals

- Many are in dynamic seated poses

- The “baby‑face” design, with almond-shaped eyes and upturned mouth, is a hallmark of Olmec ceramic art.

These figures may reflect ritual use, possibly honoring infants or those with special traits.

Cultural Influence and Spread

- Olmec pottery styles, especially the baby‑face motif, influenced other cultures.

- Pottery techniques and designs spread to the Maya, Mixtecs, and broader Mesoamerican societies.

- These styles help archaeologists track cultural exchange and influence across regions.

 

Teotihuacan Terracotta Figurines

Teotihuacan’s urban landscape yielded thousands of terracotta figurines. These come in two main types: hand-built and mold-made. The widespread use of molds shows how important these objects were.

Purpose and Placement

Most experts believe figurines were used in household or personal rituals. They turn up in residential zones, hinting at everyday spiritual use.

Designs and Meaning

The figurines display a range of poses, clothing, and headgear. Their variations likely carried symbolic weight, signaling family ties, social role, or status.

Slab-Footed Tripod Vessels: Teotihuacan Pottery

Another hallmark of Teotihuacan ceramics is the slab-footed tripod vessel.

Forms and Sizes

These vessels feature a pot on three legs and come in sizes from drink cups to large basins. Some are plain, while others are richly decorated. Some include lids, though it's unclear how common that was.

Uses and Contents

They were probably used for drinking cacao. But there are images showing them holding food, too.

Regional Influence

These vessels appear at many Mesoamerican sites, suggesting active trade. The Maya adopted and adapted the form, turning simple leg supports into decorative pillars. These pottery travels tell us how Mesoamerican cultures interacted and influenced each other.

 

Early Antilles Pottery: Saladoid and Barrancoid

Ceramics first appeared in the Antilles with the Saladoid culture, which came from Venezuela’s Orinoco Basin.

Timeline and Spread

- Saladoid began in Trinidad around 500 BCE, reaching Puerto Rico by 250 BCE.
- Cedrosan Saladoid, an early type in Trinidad, continued to mirror coastal Venezuelan styles into later periods.

Cedrosan Saladoid Features

These pots have a bell shape and decorative cross-hatched zones. They often use white-on-red paint and, later, other colors like purple, black, yellow, and orange. The ceramics are known for being fine, light, and elegant.

Other Styles: Barrancoid & Huecan

- Barrancoid trade pottery, originally from Orinoco around 1000 BCE, shows up in southern Antilles such as Trinidad, Tobago, and St. Vincent.
- Huecan variety, a Saladoid offshoot, stretches from Venezuela’s north coast to Puerto Rico.

Ceramic Styles as Cultural Threads

The pottery styles in both regions do more than show artistic skill. They map out ancient networks of trade, travel, and influence.

- In Teotihuacan, mold-made figurines and tripod vessels show how pottery shaped local rituals and social roles.

- Across Mesoamerica, similar pottery forms link Teotihuacan to other cultures like the Maya.

- In the Antilles, Saladoid and Barrancoid ceramics mark waves of migration and exchange from South America to the Caribbean.

 

Early Fiber-Tempered Pottery in Colombia & Venezuela

Emergence and Sites (c. 3100 BCE)

Hunter-fisher-gatherers in early Northwest South America crafted fiber-tempered pottery by around 3100 BCE. This innovation appeared in Colombian sites like Puerto Hormiga, Monsú, Puerto Chacho, and San Jacinto.

- Monsú pottery dates back ~5940 radiocarbon years before present.

- Puerto Hormiga vessels are simple, molded from one lump of clay.

- San Jacinto pottery is more refined, suggesting skill and care.

- At Puerto Horrible, archaeologists found sand-tempered, coiled ceramic pieces.

Contemporary Colombian Pottery Centers

Ráquira, Boyacá

Ráquira is Colombia’s key ceramics hub. Artisans blend indigenous methods with European influences to make mostly practical pots built on Chibcha traditions. Decorative items - like ceramic mobiles, nativity scenes, and animal figurines - are also popular. Ceramic horses stand out as a signature of Colombian pottery.

La Chamba, Tolima

In La Chamba, women artisans are renowned for blackware pottery. They also craft pieces in rich brown and red tones, showing regional craftsmanship and style.

 

Andean Preceramic to Initial Period Pottery

Preceramic Era and Early Ceramics (c. 1800 - 2100 BCE)

Though Andean civilizations date back millennia, clay pottery emerged in the Initial Period. These early ceramics were likely used for boiling crops.
Radiocarbon dates place initial ceramic use around 1800 BCE, though some estimates suggest as early as 2100 BCE. Sites with early pottery include Las Haldas, Huarmey, other Casma River settlements, and areas around Lima.

Iconic Andean Ceramic Traditions

Chavín (900 - 200 BCE)

Chavín potters on Peru’s coast created thin-walled stirrup-spout vessels. These included:

- Cupisnique style: matte blackware with glossy finish and thicker walls
- Santa Ana style: red and black ware featuring stylized fanged heads
These vessels often represent humans, plants, or animals and influenced later Andean pottery.

Paracas Culture

On Peru’s desert south coast, Paracas artisans painted intricate ceramics after firing. They used colors like warm yellow, olive green, red-orange, white, and black, mixed with resin binders. They introduced notable vessel forms like the double spout-and-bridge and masks showing a supernatural "Oculate Being" - a mix of human, owl, and serpent imagery.

Nasca Culture

Nasca potters used slip-painting before firing and achieved a palette of thirteen colors - the widest in Pre-Columbian America. They featured rare hues like pale purple, maroon, and bluish-grey. Their repertoire includes ceremonial bowls, beakers, effigy jars, panpipes, and stepped-fret vessels. They combined bold black-outlined curvilinear designs with sculptural shapes, often painted using revolving turntables.

Moche Civilization (1 - 600 CE)

On Peru’s north coast, the Moche culture perfected ceramic art tied to religious symbolism. They produced highly lifelike portrait vessels, depicting individuals at different life stages. Their molded pieces, made with two-press molds, had consistent shapes, but each was unique thanks to individualized paintings. These ceramics often tell dynamic, narrative scenes.

Moche Ceramics: Stirrup Spouts & Whistling Vessels

Tens of thousands of Moche ceramic artifacts remain today. The stirrup-spout vessel was their most common form. But artists also made bowls, dippers, long-necked jars, spout-and-handle vessels, and double-chambered vessels that whistled when poured. Many vessels are effigies with detailed scenes.

A fineline painting style emerged, echoing Greek black-figure pottery. A massive 29,000-square-foot workshop with many kilns was found at Mayal mountain in the Chicama Valley. That workshop focused on crafting female figurines.

Tiwanaku & Wari Pottery: High Andes Ceramics (500 - 1000 BCE)

Tiwanaku Ceramics

The Tiwanaku civilization, around Bolivia’s Lake Titicaca, featured a staff-bearing deity in their art. They made naturalistic portrait vessels in clay.

Wari Ceramic Style

Wari ceramics borrowed imagery from textiles and metalwork - like llamas and alpacas. The production hub was Qunchupata in Peru, where pit kilns and firing rooms stood on stone floors with rounded depressions for large pots. Some palaces had attached kilns. Broken potsherds served as molds and scrapers. Pots were often ritually broken.

Late Intermediate Period Pottery (900 - 1400 CE)

Four major cultures - Chancay, Chimú, Lambayeque, and Ica - produced ceramics for the middle class and nobility. Mold-made pieces began to overtake handcrafted forms.

Lambayeque (Sicán)
Known for blackware ceramics with press-molded relief designs.

Chimú
Also blackware, often with zoomorphic appliqués of monkeys or seabirds. They perfected double-chambered whistling vessels.

Chancay
Coastal culture known for sand-tempered pots with black-on-white designs. They made unique female effigies and elongated oval jars, roughly painted and unpolished.

Ica
Southern coastal ceramics were high-quality and handmade. They used many polychrome slips: black, maroon, orange, purple, red, white, and shimmering deep purple. Designs were abstract and geometric.

Inca Empire Pottery: Unified Style & Function

The Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyo) stretched 3,500 miles and became the largest empire by 1500 CE. They merged regional pottery styles into unified forms. Inca ceramics were clean and geometric, but colors reflected regional differences.

- Urpu: standard clay jar with long neck, handles, pointed base - used for maize and chicha.

- Qirus: drinking vessels made of wood, metal, or ceramic.

Pottery was mass-produced in standard sizes and measurements.

Timeline: Andean Cultural Horizons

Time Period	Date Range	Cultures / Sites
Lithic	10,000 - 3,000 BCE	Guitarrero Cave
Cotton Pre-Ceramic	3000 - 1800 BCE	Norte Chico, Huaca Prieta, Las Haldas
Initial	1800 - 800 BCE	Chinchorro, Las Haldas
Early Horizon	800 - 200 BCE	Cupisnique, Paracas, Chavín, Pukará
Early Intermediate	200 BCE - 500 CE	Moche, Nasca, Recuay, Huarpa, Tiwanaku
Middle Horizon	500 - 900 CE	Moche, Lambayeque, Ica, Wari, Tiwanaku
Late Intermediate	900 - 1400 CE	Chancay, Chimú, Lambayeque, Ica, Inca
Late Horizon	1400 - 1534 CE	Inca
Historical	1534 - 1950 CE	Viceroyalty of Peru, Indigenous Andean peoples
Contemporary	1950 - present	Modern Indigenous peoples of the Andes

 

Gran Chaco Ceramics: Utility and Ritual

Two Key Types: Na’e and Yapepó

Guaraní pottery falls into two main types: na’e (dishes) and yapepó (pots, pans, and storage containers). Both served everyday needs and ritual purposes.

European Influence

Before Europeans arrived, Guaraní ceramics followed their own traditions. Colonization introduced new forms - pitchers, cups, and other vessels - which reshaped local pottery practices.

Who Makes the Pots?

According to Josefina Pla, Guaraní pottery is almost exclusively made by women. You won’t find male-associated animals or symbols on their pottery.

Pottery Centers in Paraguay

- Tobatí (near Asunción): Known for floor tiles and jars shaped like women’s torsos, nicknamed Las gorgas. Potters often use a reddish-brown slip called tapyta, with black-coated pottery less common. A notable artist there is Don Zenón Páez (born 1927), famed for saintly figurines.

- Itá: Famous for whimsical ceramic hens. Here, Rosa Brítez (born 1941) gained UNESCO recognition for her lively ceramic art.

Museo del Barro, Asunción

The Museo del Barro (Museum of Clay) displays a wide range of pottery, from Pre-Columbian Guaraní wares to modern mestizo designs.

 

Amazonian Pottery: Antiquity to Folk Tradition

The Oldest in the Americas

- Pedra Pintada, Brazil: Its pottery dates back to 5630 BCE and was in use for around 2,500 years.
- Near Santarém, at Taperinha, sand-tempered bowls and cooking pots from 5130 BCE resemble gourds.

Regional Styles and Materials

- Traditions like Mina and Uruá‑Tucumã used shell and sand tempering, some painted red.
- Around 1000 CE, new geometric and linear polychrome styles appeared - red and black on white. Ceramics featured sculpting, incising, excising, and grooving.
- In central and upper Amazon, potters added bark from Licania octandra (caraipé tree) as temper.

Terra Preta and Ceramics

In the terra preta (rich “black earth”) regions, broken potsherds were worked into the soil to enhance fertility. These leftovers also fortified mounds, raising houses and tombs above flood levels.

Island of Marajó and Amazonian Phases

- Marajó Island, at the Amazon’s mouth, was home to the Marajoara Phase (circa 400 - 1300 CE): polychrome, grog-tempered ceramic art featuring effigies of humans, birds, and reptiles. Urns like these carried cremated remains.
- The Mancapuru Phase (or Incised Rim Tradition) began in the 5th century CE in the central Amazon.
- Today, Marajó artists still draw on these ancient themes.

Women: The Ceramists

Across Amazonia, pottery has been primarily made by women. Anthropomorphic vessels often depict female forms.

Tanga Vessels and Cultural Rites

Tangas are small triangular ceramic pubic coverings, worn with strings during puberty rites by girls in several Amazon tribes. These items remain culturally significant today, especially among Panoan speakers.

 

 

5. Asia

The first glazed bricks appeared in the Elamite Temple at Chogha Zanbil around the 13th century BCE. In Mesopotamia, craftsmen used colored and glazed bricks to create low-relief designs, best known through Babylon’s Ishtar Gate (575 BCE). Some of its segments now reside in Berlin. Persian rulers later imported these artisans to design glazed elements for palaces like Persepolis.

Persian and Islamic Tilework Tradition

After Persia’s Islamic conquest, glazed and painted bricks and tiles became central features in architecture. This aesthetic spread across the Islamic world, with a high point in Turkey under the Ottoman Empire, especially the famed Iznik pottery of the 16th - 17th centuries.

Lusterware in the Great Mosque of Kairouan

In Tunisia’s Great Mosque of Kairouan, built between 862 - 863 CE, the upper section of the mihrab wall boasts polychrome and monochrome lusterware tiles. These pieces likely originated in Mesopotamia.

European Adaptations: Azulejos, Delftware, and Porcelain Rooms

The Islamic tile tradition reached Spain and Portugal, evolving into Azulejos - large painted tile murals prominent during the Baroque era. In the Netherlands, Delftware tiles, often featuring small painted scenes, gained popularity from the 16th century onward. Many Northern European palaces in the 18th century had entire rooms lined with porcelain tiles, such as those at Capodimonte (Naples), Madrid, and Aranjuez. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, ornate ceramic stoves were common in middle- and upper-class Northern European homes.

Continued Tile Traditions: Morocco and East Asia

Morocco still produces vibrant mosaics known as zellige tiles - tiny, colorful glazed pieces. Meanwhile, except for rare structures like Nanjing’s Porcelain Tower, glazed bricks and tiles are uncommon in East Asia.

Ancient Pottery Vessels: East Asia

Some of the world’s earliest pottery vessels (simple and utilitarian) date back 10,000 - 20,000 BCE in China, Japan, and the Russian Far East. At sites like Xianrendong Cave in Jiangxi, China, archaeologists found pottery shards as early as 20,000 years ago. We'll talk more about China shortly.

Pottery in Pre-Angkor and Angkorian Cambodia

Prehistoric and Pre-Angkorian Pots

Excavations at Angkor Borei in southern Cambodia uncovered prehistoric ceramics. Most artifacts, however, date to the pre-Angkorian era. These are mainly pinkish terracotta pots - either hand-built or wheel-thrown - with incised pattern decorations.

Glazed Ware of Roluos and Khmer Sites

Glazed ceramics emerged around the late 9th century at the Roluos temple group near Angkor, including green-glazed fragments. By the early 11th century, brown-glazed pottery became widespread in northeast Thailand’s Khmer ruins. From the 11th to 13th centuries, ceramics often featured animal shapes. Toward the end of the Angkor era, local pottery production dwindled while Chinese ceramics flooded the area.

Khmer Ceramics in Daily Life

Bas-reliefs carved into Khmer temples show the everyday and ritual uses of pottery vessels. These include cookware, storage jars, liquid containers, and vessels for herbs, perfumes, and cosmetics, indicating a broad domestic and ceremonial use of ceramics.

Early Chinese Pottery (20,000+ years ago)

Archaeological finds in Jiangxi’s Xianrendong Cave (about 20,000 years old) and Yuchanyan Cave (17,000 - 18,000 years old) show some of the earliest known pottery in the world.

Neolithic Ceramics (c. 5000 - 1500 BCE)

By the Middle to Late Neolithic, farming communities across China were crafting practical yet decorative pottery. These vessels were large, often painted in bold abstract or animal-style motifs, like the stylized fish seen at Banpo near rivers.

Majiayao and Yangshao Cultures

- The Majiayao pottery featured orange clay, black painted patterns, fine paste, thin walls, and glossy finishes, indicating careful quality control.

- The Yangshao culture, especially the Banshan phase, is noted in Western museums. Banshan urns typically have wide shoulders, narrow bases and necks, two ring handles, and slip-painted purple-black and plum-red designs. These often include four circles linked by flowing lines.

Early Kiln Technology

China’s ceramic progress was driven by steady improvements in kiln design:

- By 2000 BCE, Chinese artisans built updraft kilns (often sunken) that could reach about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F).

- Around 200 CE, two kiln styles emerged and remained standard for centuries:
* Dragon kilns, long and sloped, using wood fuel, found in southern China's hills.
* Mantou kilns, shorter and round, used on northern plains.
Both could reach the high temperatures needed for porcelain (around 1,300 °C/2,370 °F).

Advances in Porcelain and Late Ming Innovation

The exact origin date of Chinese porcelain is debated. Some date it to the late Eastern Han (100 - 200 CE), others to the Three Kingdoms (220 - 280 CE), Six Dynasties (220 - 589 CE), or Tang dynasty (618 - 906 CE).

In the late Ming era, Jingdezhen potters developed the zhenyao (egg-shaped) kiln. This hybrid design blended features from the dragon and mantou kilns. Inside, it offered varied firing zones and better control, while mainly remaining localized to Jingdezhen.

Why Kiln Design Matters

Kiln type determined firing temperature, atmosphere, fuel efficiency, and consistency - key factors for creating strong, refined porcelain. The emergence of high-fired kilns allowed for thinner, whiter, glass-like ceramics that define true porcelain.

Coastal vs Central Chinese Ceramics

Ceramic traditions on China’s east coast - Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang - followed a different path than Central China. Coastal cultures like Dawenkou, Longshan, Majiabang, Songze, and Hemudu focused on sophisticated wheel-thrown pottery. Their work stood out for its thin walls, sleek shapes, and burnished black surfaces.

Dawenkou Culture and the Fast Wheel (c. 3000 BCE)

Around 3000 BCE, Dawenkou potters introduced the fast wheel. They shaped distinct vessels from less-refined red clay. Their forms were precise; early prototypes of bronze ding tripods emerged here. Trilobed gui ewers from the mid- to late Dawenkou era are direct ancestors of metal vessels. Many featured high stems and feet decorated with pierced patterns - a style echoed in Longshan black pottery.

Black Pottery and the Rise of White Wares

Black pottery from Dawenkou was burnished, sometimes etched, never painted, giving it a metal-like sheen. Toward the end of Dawenkou, white- and yellow-bodied wares appeared. Longshan potters refined these into early metal-inspired shapes, some with rivet-like details. These hinted at the shift from stone tools to metal, and are forebears of white porcelain. Most finds come from burials, like at the ritual site Niuheliang, where half‑life‑size figurines were uncovered.

Early Bronze Age: Pottery Meets Metal

As bronze use spread in the Shang and early Zhou periods, pottery technology evolved. Earthenware firing and kiln control improved, and pottery wheels became common. By the 13th century BCE, China produced its first high-fired stoneware - an entirely new ceramic type previously unseen elsewhere. These furnace-like kilns were placed in production hubs near clay, fuel, and water sources.

Regional Differences in High-Fired Pottery

- Southern China (Zhejiang/Jiangsu): Potters reached temperatures around 1200 °C, achieving stoneware without true glaze. They struggled with diverse clay and vessel forms.

- Northern China: Under Shang rule, white pottery appeared using kaolinite-rich clay. Firing at about 1000 °C produced clean, white ceramics - not true porcelain, but a key step. This peaked in the Shang era and faded in Western Zhou times, replaced by molded stoneware and proto-porcelain.

Ceramic Innovation: From Pottery to Porcelain

The coastal fast wheel, black and white wares, and stoneware kilns all contributed to China’s shift toward porcelain. The coastal Neolithic cultures led early technical innovation. Then Shang and Zhou advancements in kiln design and material control set the stage for true porcelain centuries later.

 

Hard Pottery in the Shang Dynasty

Potters in the Shang era created hard pottery with geometric patterns. This ware was fired at around 1,100 °C, giving it a tougher texture than ordinary pottery. The high temperatures almost achieved full sintering. Some pieces even showed a subtle sheen, similar to a thin glaze.

Emergence of Proto-Porcelain

Another innovation was proto-porcelain, defined by:

- Firing at 1,100 - 1,200 °C or higher
- A true glazed surface
- Use of kaolinite clay

Early glazes came from kiln flux: kiln debris, like wood ash, naturally melted into the clay surface at high heat. This led potters to deliberately mix burned plant ash with watered kaolinite, brushing the mix onto shaped but unfired ware.

Proto-Celadon Glaze - The First Celadon

These ash-glaze ceramics contained plant ash and iron. In an oxidizing kiln, they fired to yellow‑brown tones. In reducing conditions, they turned blue or bluish‑green. This is the earliest form of celadon glaze, and those wares are called proto-celadon. It was rare in Shang times but became widespread in the Zhou dynasty.

Shared Production and Decoration Techniques

In Zhou-period sites, archaeologists found both hard pottery and proto-porcelain made in similar kilns. The decoration methods overlapped. Craftsmen learned to improve surfaces further by adding a clay-and-lime coating to proto-porcelain. They also adjusted iron-oxide levels to change glaze color.

By the Eastern Zhou, regions in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi gained prominence for producing proto-porcelain. Meanwhile, southern potters still favored unglazed stoneware.

Rise of Pottery in Burial Practices

Starting in the Spring and Autumn period, people began burying pottery replicas of bronze vessels. In Eastern Zhou tombs, archaeologists discovered ceramic versions of ritual bronzes (like ding vessels).

During the Warring States period, pottery painting emerged. Artists fired plain greenware, painted it afterward, and skipped further firing. These paints were fragile. They faded or flaked easily, making the pieces suitable only for burial, not everyday use.

Figurine Offerings & Terracotta Army

Zhou-era burials also included clay or wooden human figure models. These small figures were common funerary tokens. The Qin dynasty took this to a grand scale: the life‑size Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Over time, tombs filled with dozens or even hundreds of ceramic figures.

 

Origins of True Porcelain

In Eastern Han China (25 - 220 CE), the first true porcelain emerged in Zhejiang. Kiln shards fired between 1,260 - 1,300 °C (2,300 - 2,370 °F) show a breakthrough in heat and material control. Yet, “porcelaneous” wares - early proto-porcelain made from kaolin at lower temperatures - date back to 1000 BCE. The distinction between proto-porcelain and true porcelain is fuzzy, but archaeological finds push porcelain origins firmly into the Han period.

Funerary Art: Han “Soul Jars” and Hunping

Late Han artisans created hunping, or “soul jars,” funerary vessels topped with sculptural designs. These jars gained popularity during the Jin dynasty (266 - 420 CE) and the Six Dynasties period for use in tombs.

Tang Dynasty Tomb Figures & Lead-Glazed Sancai

In Tang times (618 - 907 CE), tomb figures and model animals were commonplace. These often featured green-lead glazes, part of the sancai (“three-color”) tradition. Made solely for burials - never for daily use - the figures may have once sported vibrant glazes, though many have faded. By Sui - Tang, both low- and high-fired ceramics flourished, including significant earthenwares with lead-glazed sancai finishes. Lead toxicity made them unsuitable for foodware, so they appeared almost exclusively in tombs.

Underglaze Painting at Changsha

At the Changsha Tongguan kiln in southern China, potters pioneered underglaze painting. Their pieces - decorated beneath a clear glaze - traveled along trade routes, even reaching Islamic lands. Despite this innovation, underglaze painting remained rare for centuries.

Yue Celadon and Northern Porcelain

Two star wares defined the era:

- Yue ware (southern China): high-fired lime-glazed celadon known for its subtle beauty and courtly patronage.

- Xing ware (northern China): pure white, translucent porcelain from Henan and Hebei kilns. It met both Western and Chinese standards for true porcelain.

Foreign travelers noticed these wares’ quality. In 851 CE, Arab merchant Suleiman wrote:

“They have in China a very fine clay with which they make vases which are as transparent as glass; water is seen through them…”

Switch to Simplicity After Tang

Sancai’s colorful glory faded after Tang. The rise of Neo‑Confucianism favored subtlety over flash. The grand polychrome style gradually gave way to muted tones and simplicity in later dynasties.

 

The Song Dynasty’s Ceramic Excellence

During the Song dynasty, pottery gained legendary status in China, especially pieces from the Five Great Kilns. Craftsmen focused on simple, elegant shapes and understated glazes. Decoration, when used, was usually shallow relief - initially carved by hand and later made with moulds, though this shift reduced artistry. Painted designs appeared mainly in Cizhou ware. Underglaze blue was avoided, deemed too ornamental by Confucian aesthetics that valued simplicity.

Popular Ceramics: From Celadons to Monochromes

Song-era pottery included:

- Celadon/glazed green ware: Highly prized in China and abroad. Yue ware evolved into Northern Celadon and later, Longquan celadon.
- White and black stonewares: Notably in Cizhou ware.
- Polychrome pieces, though court and elite tastes favored monochrome works focused on form and glaze finish.

Kiln centers like Ru, Jun, Southern Song Guan (official ware), Jian, and Jizhou each developed unique styles. Porcelain also advanced: Ding ware improved, and the lighter-blue qingbai porcelain emerged to succeed it.

Influence from Conquerors: Liao, Xia, Jin

Northern dynasties like the Liao, Xia, and Jin - ruled by nomadic, usually non-literate conquerors - continued Chinese pottery traditions. They introduced new aesthetic touches by blending local artistic styles with Chinese techniques.

Materials & Techniques

Most fine Song ceramics were stoneware or porcelain, fired at high temperatures. Earthenware was also made, as it was cheaper and supported richer glazes. Craftsmen often used local clay, including kaolinite. When clay was dark or coarse, they applied white slip under a fine glaze. Stoneware was favored for its color and workability.

Yuan Dynasty: Birth of Blue-and‑White Porcelain

The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty reshaped ceramics. They moved artisans across their empire, bringing Islamic artistic influence, especially cobalt underglaze painting, to Chinese porcelain. This fusion is often called the last major ceramic innovation.

Though underglaze painting existed in Chinese Cizhou ware (with black slip designs), it was not court-approved. Yuan blue-and-white style featured vibrant colours and intricate patterns borrowed from Islamic metalwork, but decorated with Chinese flora and animal themes. It began for export but soon became fashionable at court.

Industrial Change: Jingdezhen’s Rise

Yuan rule also unified China and improved transport, making porcelain production more efficient. Factories clustered near kaolin sources like Jingdezhen, which became China’s top porcelain center. Production scaled up with commercial syndicates, labor division, and kiln networks - early forms of industrialization. Yet traditional styles like Longquan celadon and Cizhou ware remained strong.

 

Ming Dynasty Ceramic Breakthroughs

During the Ming dynasty, kilns pushed ceramic design further than ever. They tried bold shapes, bright colors, and painted decorations. They even borrowed styles from Islamic metalwork. The Yongle Emperor (1402 - 24 CE), eager to explore foreign influence, evidenced by Zheng He's voyages, encouraged unusual vessel forms inspired by other cultures.

Xuande Period: Sharpened Cobalt Blueness

From 1426 to 1435 (Xuande Emperor), potters refined underglaze blue. Before, cobalt was bright but prone to bleeding in the kiln. By adding manganese, artisans achieved sharper lines and calmer hues. Today, Xuande porcelain ranks among the best of the Ming era.

Chenghua Porcelain: Elegant Enamel

Under the Chenghua Emperor (1464 - 87), enamel techniques - especially for wine cups - were perfected. These cups became so collectible by the late 1500s that they were sold for prices rivaling Song dynasty antiques. However, literati critics like Wen Zhenheng and Gao Lian rejected this painted style as “vulgar.”

Ming Trade: Jingdezhen’s Global Rise

In the late Ming, porcelain production shifted toward commercial trade. Jingdezhen became the main export site under the Wanli Emperor (1572 - 1620). Potters mixed equal parts kaolin and pottery stone. Kaolin added strength and whiteness, while pottery stone allowed firing at 1,250 °C - important for large kilns with uneven temperatures.

Transition from Ming to Qing: Changing Tastes

Between 1620 and 1680, civil wars disrupted imperial control of kilns. Potters turned to new buyers. Transitional porcelain emerged - looser blue-and-white scenes featuring landscapes and figures, influenced by other art forms. Meanwhile, Europe began to import Chinese ware more extensively.

Qing Dynasty: Color Explosion & Export Strength

Under the Qing, porcelain styles multiplied. Craftsmen expanded the range of overglaze enamels and produced both lively polychrome wares and refined monochromes for court use. They revived Song-style glazes and shapes, while court taste also welcomed bright painted scenes. Jingdezhen maintained high technical quality until the mid-1800s.

By the 18th century, however, decorative styles became more ornate and new innovations slowed. The Qing era favored refinement over radical changes; the Ming period is still seen as the high point in Chinese ceramic art.

 

Jesuit Accounts: d’Entrecolles’s Jingdezhen Letters

In 1712, Jesuit missionary Père François Xavier d’Entrecolles lived in Jingdezhen, China’s porcelain heart. He penned letters detailing pottery production for a European audience. He explained how artisans crushed pottery stones, refined them into small white bricks called petuntse, and processed kaolin clay. He also described glazing and kiln techniques. D’Entrecolles said:

“Nothing but my curiosity could ever have prompted me to such researches, but it appears to me that a minute description of all that concerns this kind of work might be useful in Europe.”

His correspondence provides rare, first-hand insight into Qing dynasty porcelain techniques.

Imperial Record: Tang Ying’s Memoir

During the Qianlong Emperor’s reign, imperial supervisor Tang Ying wrote the 1743 memoir Twenty Illustrations of the Manufacture of Porcelain. While the original illustrations are lost, the detailed text survives. It offers an inside look into state-sponsored porcelain production in the Qing era.

Diplomatic Gifts and East Asian Ceramics Influence

Qing emperors used ceramics as diplomatic gifts, often in large quantities. These exchanges helped spread Chinese porcelain styles to Japan and Korea, shaping their own ceramic traditions.

European Porcelain: From Imitation to Innovation

Early Imports and Common Failures

Before the 16th century, only a few precious Chinese porcelain pieces reached Europe. Early European attempts to copy this Chinese ware, such as soft-paste versions and Florence’s Medici porcelain, largely failed.

Meissen’s Breakthrough and the Rise of Hard-Paste Porcelain

The turning point came in 1710 when Germany’s Meissen factory, near Dresden, invented a working recipe for true hard-paste porcelain. This breakthrough kicked off a porcelain boom in Europe.

Spread of European Hard-Paste Manufactories

Within decades, other European centers followed:

- Capodimonte (Naples, 1743)
- Nymphenburg (Bavaria, 1754)
- Many more factories built by local rulers across the continent

These plants used the Meissen method, producing porcelain that finally rivaled Chinese originals.

We'll talk more about Europe in the final part of this article.

 

 

Introduction to Japanese Pottery

Japanese pottery dates back to the Neolithic period (around the 11th millennium BCE), marked by the creation of early soft earthenware.

Jōmon Pottery (c. 6000 - 300 BCE)

- Origins & Techniques:
Potters in the early Jōmon period (6th millennium BCE) used clay coils, shaping vessels by stacking clay ropes and smoothing them by hand.

- Decoration:
These pots featured rope-impressed patterns - hence the name “Jōmon,” meaning “rope‑patterned.”

- Style Evolution:
Over time, Jōmon pottery reached an elaborate peak before simplifying in later phases. All pottery was fired in open fires.

Yayoi Pottery (c. 4th - 3rd century BCE)

- Design & Aesthetic:
The Yayoi period introduced pottery with simpler or no decoration, yet used similar earthenware techniques as Jōmon.

- Comparison of Styles:
Though they shared firing methods, Jōmon, Yayoi, and later Haji ware differed in decorative style.

Technological Advances: Kiln & Wheel (3rd - 4th centuries CE)

- New Methods:
Around the 3rd to 4th centuries CE, Japan adopted the anagama kiln and the potter’s wheel.

- Origins:
These innovations arrived in Kyushu from the Korean peninsula.

Materials and Local Clay Use

- Local Resources:
Japanese potters relied on local clay, especially kaolin-rich clay in Kyushu. Traditional kilns were built near clay deposits.

- Clay Characteristics:
From Jōmon to Yayoi, potters used iron-bearing shale and alluvial clays. Early Jōmon pieces sometimes mixed in organic matter; later work favored sand or crushed stone.

- Studio Potters Today:
Modern artisans continue to use local clays, tailoring glazes and decoration to each region’s material.

Chinese Influence: Nara and Heian Techniques (8th - 9th centuries CE)

- Refined Materials:
Chinese influence during the 8th and 9th centuries CE led Japanese potters to use white, refractory clays.

- Levigation:
They refined clay by washing, creating finer vessels for both Nara three-color wares and Heian ash-glazed pieces.

Sue Stoneware and the Anagama Kiln (5th - 14th century)

- High-Temperature Firing:
The anagama kiln allowed stoneware creation (1200 - 1300 °C).

- Accidental Effects:
Introducing plant materials in a low-oxygen phase created natural glaze effects.

- Timeline & Spread:
Sue pottery began in the 5th century and spread across Japan until the 14th century.

- Consistency & Function:
Despite regional differences, Sue remained stylistically uniform. Its uses changed:
* Kofun period (CE 300 - 710): funerary vessels
* Nara (710 - 794) & Heian (794 - 1185): elite tableware
* Later periods: everyday utensils and Buddhist altar vessels

Earthenware: Haji Ware & Haniwa Objects

- Parallel Styles:
Haji ware and funerary haniwa sculptures continued the earthenware tradition, echoing Yayoi techniques in their design and firing.

Lead-Glazed Techniques and Temple Wares (Heian Period)

- Three-Color Glaze Arrival:
Inspired by Tang dynasty China, a three-color lead glaze was introduced in the 8th century.

- Temple Production:
Official kilns during the Heian period (c. 800 - 1200) produced basic green lead glazes for use in temple ceramics.

Regional Styles: Kamui, Atsumi, and Tokoname Wares

Distinct Traditions:
The Heian period also saw the rise of regional names such as Kamui ware, Atsumi ware, and Tokoname ware, each rooted in local clay and kiln practices.

 

Unglazed Stoneware for Daily Life (Until 17th Century)

Until the 1600s, most Japanese pottery was unglazed stoneware. It served practical uses - funerary jars, storage jars, kitchen pots - for a farming society.

Some kilns gained prominence by refining their work. These became known as the “Six Old Kilns”:

- Shigaraki
- Tamba
Bizen
- Tokoname
- Echizen
- Seto

Seto Kiln and the Start of Glazed Ceramics

- Origins: Seto, in Owari Province (now Aichi Prefecture), stood out by mastering glaze.

- Legend of Katō Shirozaemon: Around 1223, Katō Shirozaemon Kagemasa (also called Tōshirō) is said to have studied in China and brought back high-fired glazed ceramics to Seto.

- Chinese Imitation: Seto kilns copied Chinese wares and produced ash brown, iron black, feldspar white, and copper green glazes.

- Legacy: So common were these wares that “Seto-mono” became a phrase for ceramics in Japan.

- Unglazed Work: They also made unglazed stoneware.

In the late 1500s, civil wars forced many Seto potters to flee to Mino Province (Gifu Prefecture). There, they created:

- Yellow Seto (Ki-Seto)
- Shino ware
- Black Seto (Seto-Guro)
- Oribe ware

Chinese Ceramics and the Tea Ceremony

- Gifts from China: In 1406, the Yongle Emperor of Ming China gifted ten Song dynasty Jian ware bowls to shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358 - 1408), ruler in the Muromachi period.

- Monks and Imports: Japanese monks brought back Chinese pieces. These became popular in tea ceremonies.

Five southern Song dynasty vessels are now designated National Treasures of Japan. Jian ware inspired Japanese tenmoku, a prized tea-ceremony stoneware.

Continued Imports (11th - 16th Century)

From the 1000s to the 1500s, Japan imported:

- Chinese celadon greenware
- White porcelain
- Blue-and-white ware
- Korean and Vietnamese ceramics

Wealthy patrons ordered custom Chinese wares. High-end imports also came from Luzon (known as Rusun-yaki) and Annam (northern Vietnam).

Rise of Wabi-Sabi and Japanese Tea Ceramics (Late 16th Century)

- Buddhism & Tea: In the late 1500s, Buddhism influenced tea aesthetics. Tea masters began favoring simple, rustic ceramics - especially imperfect Korean tea bowls - over polished Chinese porcelain.

- Sen no Rikyū: The key figure, he praised the “rugged spontaneity” of humble pottery, a major change in Japanese ceramics.

- Raku Ware: The Raku family began producing brown-glazed earthenware tea bowls.

- Domestic Kilns: Mino, Bizen, Shigaraki, Iga, and more supplied tea utensils.

- Master Potter: Hon’ami Kōetsu crafted several tea bowls, now deemed masterpieces.

 

Korean Potters and the Birth of Japanese Porcelain (1592)

During Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s 1592 invasion of Korea, Korean potters were captured and brought to Japan as slaves. One of these, Yi Sam-pyeong, is credited with discovering porcelain clay near Arita. He produced Japan’s first porcelain. These potters introduced the noborigama - or “rising kiln” - built into hillsides, allowing firing at 1,400 °C. Soon, kilns in Satsuma, Hagi, Karatsu, Takatori, Agano, and Arita opened.

Chinese Conflict and Arita’s Porcelain Boom (1640s - 1740)

In the 1640s, war between Ming China and Manchus disrupted Chinese kilns. From 1656 to 1684, the Qing closed ports, leading Chinese potter refugees to bring refined porcelain techniques and enamel glazes to Arita.

- From 1658, the Dutch East India Company sought blue-and-white porcelain from Japan.
- Though early Kakiemon kilns struggled to meet demand, production expanded rapidly.
- Between 1659 and 1740, Arita kilns exported large quantities to Europe and Asia.

As Chinese kilns recovered, they created colorful enamel styles - famille rose, famille verte - that matched European tastes. Around 1720, Chinese and European workshops began copying Imari-style wares. By 1740, Japan’s export porcelain boom had mostly ended.

Arita also produced domestic ceramics, including Ko-Kutani enamelware.

Japanese Porcelain in China and Europe

Some Japanese porcelain was sent to China, where merchants sold it on to European East India companies that couldn't trade directly with Japan. Chinese buyers preferred Kakiemon ware over Imari, creating differences in early European collections - Dutch collectors favored Imari, while English, French, and German collectors leaned toward Kakiemon.

Imari port exported much of this, so blue-and-white pieces became known as “Arita,” while those with blue, red, and gold designs were called “Imari.” Both types often came from the same kilns. In 1759, the dark red bengara pigment became industrially available, reviving the orange Ko-Imari style of the 1720s.

Luxury Porcelain: Nabeshima and Hirado Wares (1675 Onward)

In 1675, the ruling Nabeshima family of Arita created their own kiln for top-tier enamelware porcelain. Known as Nabeshima ware, it featured traditional Japanese motifs inspired by textiles, distinct from Chinese-style Arita wares.

Hirado ware was another high-end porcelain developed for elite use. It is noted for its ultra-fine white body and detailed blue painting - artists skilled in scroll painting were hired. Unlike Nabeshima, Hirado later became an important export product in the 19th century.

Kyoto’s Overglazed Beauty: Kyōyaki Porcelain (17th Century)

In Kyoto, Japan’s imperial capital, potteries made clear lead-glazed wares in a southern China style. Potter Nonomura Ninsei innovated opaque overglaze enamel. His temple-sponsored studio refined many uniquely Japanese designs. His apprentice, Ogata Kenzan, took Kyoto ceramics (Kyōyaki) further with his own arts-and-crafts style.

Porcelain bodies arrived later, thanks to Okuda Eisen. But overglazed pottery remained popular. His students - Aoki Mokubei, Ninami Dōhachi, and Eiraku Hozen enriched Kyōyaki’s style.

 

Origins of New Porcelain Kilns in Japan

In the late 1700s to early 1800s, Japan discovered new deposits of white porcelain clay. This led to freer movement for potters and increased domestic trade. Local lords and merchants began opening kilns, such as Kameyama and Tobe, to profit from this new resource. Established centers like Seto reopened as porcelain producers. These “New Kilns” spread Arita-style porcelain beyond elite circles to everyday consumers.

Meiji Period and the Export of Japanese Decorative Arts

With Japan opening to the world during the Meiji period, Japanese arts found new audiences abroad. Traditional support from daimyō diminished, leaving many artisans without income. The government stepped in to promote art exports, showcasing Japanese crafts at international fairs, starting with the 1873 Vienna World’s Fair. The Imperial Household also got involved, appointing official artists and commissioning decorative pieces as diplomatic gifts. Most exported works were in the decorative arts, including pottery.

Rise and Transformation of Satsuma Ware

Originally made in Satsuma Province, Satsuma ware featured intricate overglaze enamels and gold detailing. While Western audiences fell in love with it, the style was heavily influenced by imported pigments and Western tastes - and designed specifically for export. Many workshops rapidly produced cheaper versions outside Satsuma. Over time, “Satsuma ware” became synonymous with lower-quality export ceramics. But artists like Yabu Meizan and Makuzu Kōzan defied this trend. They maintained high artistic standards, won international awards, and in Meizan’s case, used copper plate techniques to apply up to a thousand motifs per piece.

Meiji-Era Porcelain Innovation

By Meiji’s start, Japan had a strong porcelain base - but much of it lacked finesse. Between the 1880s and early 1900s, that changed. Makuzu Kōzan led the transformation. He merged technical skill with traditional artistry, pioneering a style that blended multiple underglaze colors. In the 1890s, he refined these underglazes, and between 1900 - 1910, he reshaped forms and decoration under Western influence. His work redefined global views of Japanese design and elevated porcelain into one of Japan’s most successful decorative art exports.

 

Bernard Leach: Shaping British Studio Pottery Through Japan

Bernard Leach (1887 - 1979), often dubbed the “Father of British studio pottery,” lived in Japan from 1909 to 1920 during the Taishō period. He became the leading Western voice interpreting Japanese ceramics. His time in Japan informed his own craft and guided numerous artists worldwide.

The Mingei Movement: Elevating Commoner Pottery

In Japan’s early Shōwa era (late 1920s - 1930s), the mingei (民芸) folk‑art movement emerged. Founded by Yanagi Sōetsu (1889 - 1961), mingei saved simple utilitarian pots from Edo and Meiji eras as Japan urbanized.

Key figures include:

- Shōji Hamada (1894 - 1978): He put Mashiko on the map by leading Mashiko ware.
- Kawai Kanjirō (1890 - 1966) and Tatsuzō Shimaoka (1919 - 2007): Both revived old glazing techniques to preserve traditional wares.

War-Time Ceramics: Survival & Continuity

During the Pacific War, resources were diverted to the war effort. Pottery production halted or slowed, and markets collapsed. In response, the Cultural Properties Protection Division stepped in to safeguard traditional kilns and styles.

Village Pottery: Tradition in Everyday Use

- Tamba kilns near Kobe: These kilns still produce Tokugawa‑style daily ware, adapting traditional forms discreetly.

- Kyūshū’s Korean‑origin kilns: Locations like Koishiwara and Onta continue using 16th‑century Korean peasant styles.

- Okinawa: Village pottery flourished under masters like Kinjo Jiro, recognized as a ningen kokuho (Living National Treasure).

Traditional Kilns & Living Treasure Potters

Active traditional kilns include those in Shiga, Iga, Karatsu, Hagi, and Bizen. Notable ningen kokuho include:

- Yamamoto Masao (Toushuu) of Bizen, and
- Miwa Kyusetsu of Hagi.

They were recognized for their mastery in kiln‑ware and decoration. By 1989, only six potters or groups held this honor.

Kyoto, Mino & Porcelain Heritage

- Raku family in Kyoto continued making rustic tea bowls beloved since Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s era.

- In Mino, potters reproduced Momoyama‑period glazes like Oribe’s copper‑green and Shino’s creamy glaze.

- Ceramic education at Kyoto and Tokyo arts universities, led by masters like Fujimoto Yoshimichi (a ningen kokuho), pushed modern reinterpretations of traditional porcelain.

- In Kyūshū’s Arita region, kiln lineages like Sakaida Kakiemon XIV and Imaizumi

Imaemon XIII - once tied to the Nabeshima clan - upheld mukei bunkazai status (intangible cultural assets).

Western & Global Potters Adopting Japanese Influence

British artist Lucie Rie (1902 - 1995) blended Japanese techniques and Leach’s influence, earning acclaim in Japan.
Edmund de Waal (b. 1964) studied Leach and lived in Japan to learn mingei style.
Canadian potter Thomas Bezanson also drew inspiration from mingei principles.

Studio Pottery’s Evolution Since the 1980s

By the late 1980s, many potters abandoned ancient kilns. They continued traditional styles in new ways across Japan.

- In Tokyo, Tsuji Seimei worked with clay from Shiga, creating modern interpretations.

- Artists sought to recreate Chinese-style glazes:
Blue‑green celadon, watery‑green qingbai, and chocolate‑brown tenmoku - popular in Japan for its wabi (rustic simplicity).
The tenmoku glaze links to Zen traditions and influenced global potters. For example, Japanese‑born Hideaki Miyamura in the U.S. creates tenmoku‑glazed wares reflecting Zen aesthetics.

 

 

Introduction to Korean Pottery History

Korean pottery has roots stretching back to around 8000 BCE. From those early earthenware days, the craft evolved through Neolithic, Mumun, Samhan, Silla, Goryeo, and Joseon periods. Each era shaped its own techniques, forms, and styles, making Korean pottery a lasting treasure.

Neolithic Beginnings (~8000 - 7000 BCE)

- The oldest Korean earthenware dates to about 8000 BCE.

- Mesolithic Pit - Comb Ware (Yunggimun) spread across the peninsula, even reaching Jeju Island.

- Jeulmun (“comb-pattern”) pottery appears around 7000 BCE, particularly in west‑central Korea. It shows design links to pottery across Eurasia.

Mumun Period Pottery (3000 - 400 BCE)

- Named after smooth, flat-bottomed pots found in dolmens.

- Often discovered with bronze daggers and tools shaped like Korean harps (bipa).

- These jars had twin side‑handles and helped support the rise of rice farming - early versions known as Misongri Togi.

Samhan Period and Gimhae Pottery

- In the Samhan era, potters fired gray vessels at roughly 900 °C.

- Many discoveries come from Gimhae shell‑midden sites.

- These pots marked a technical jump from Mumun styles.

Later Silla & Gaya Influence (668 - 935 CE)

- Silla potters drew on Gaya design for goopdari (stand-stools).

- They added three-dimensional details: antlers, horns, horse figures, even depictions of Romans, Arabs, anteaters, and elephants - implying awareness of distant lands.

Goryeo Dynasty and Celadon (918 - 1392)

- Goryeo celadon - famed for its jade-green tone - is widely hailed as a peak of Korean pottery.

- Craftspeople created intricate shapes and refined inlay techniques using white clay.

- The result: a distinctly elegant ceramic style with floral and geometric patterns.

Early Joseon White Porcelain

- As the Joseon dynasty succeeded Goryeo, pure white porcelain rose to prominence.

- It adopted minimalism, aligning with Joseon philosophical values.

- Native forms like the moon jar and Buncheong sagi flourished - Buncheong acting as a bridge between earthenware and porcelain.

Korean Pottery’s Influence on Japan

- During Japanese invasions, skilled Korean potters were taken to Japan.

- Yi Sam‑pyeong helped start Arita ware, launching Japanese porcelain.

- Others like Dang‑gil Shim and Pyeong‑ui Park founded Satsuma ware.

- The Shim family - now in its 14th generation - uses the same name across centuries and was honored as a Namwon citizen for their lineage.

Key Ceramic Styles and Terms

Period / Style	Description
Jeulmun / Comb Pattern	Neolithic ware with stamped designs, 7000 BCE
Mumun	Smooth, flat-based pots, often with handles, 3000 - 400 BCE
Gimhae	Samhan gray-fired pottery from around 900 °C
Later Silla / Gaya	Decorative stand-stools, three-dimensional motifs
Goryeo Celadon	Jade-green glazed ware with inlaid white designs
Buncheong Sagi	Transitional style between earthenware and porcelain, minimalist texture
Joseon White Porcelain	Pure white, minimalist philosophy reflected in elegant forms
Moon Jar	Iconic round white porcelain vessel from the Joseon era

 

How Temples Sparked Celadon Innovation

Buddhist temples increased demand for celadon-glazed wares (cheongja). This led craftsmen to develop more organic forms and decorative motifs - birds, animals, and foliage. Though celadon isn’t rooted in Buddhism, jade artifacts like gokok pendants date back to Korea’s Stone and Neolithic ages. In Silla crowns, these jade pieces symbolized cosmic creativity, showing how valued such motifs were.

Celadon Production Methods

To create cheongja, potters mixed a bit of iron powder into refined clay. After shaping, they coated pieces with glaze, added another touch of iron, and fired them. This process produced durable, shiny, and glossy surfaces, richer than traditional white wares.

Goryeo Dynasty Excellence (918 - 1392)

Under Wang Geon, the Goryeo dynasty unified Korea. This era produced what many consider the highest achievements in Korean ceramics.

Sanggam Inlay Breakthrough

In the early 12th century, potters invented sanggam inlay. They carved patterns in celadon, filled them with white or black clay, then glazed and fired the pieces. The result was intricate designs - key-fret, floral scrolls, stylized fish, birds, insects, and geometric panels.

Advanced Glaze Styles

Celadon glazes varied from translucent jade greens to darker stoneware tones. Some glazes were nearly transparent, revealing the inlay below. Late in the period, Korean artisans also developed "jinsa" underglaze red using copper oxide. This technique later influenced Yuan dynasty ceramics.

Diverse Forms for Use and Ceremony

Common shapes included broad-shouldered jars, shallow dishes, cosmetic boxes, and slip-inlaid cups. Buddhist items featured melon-shaped vases, chrysanthemum cups on lotus-stand bases, lotus flower-head forms, and alms bowls with inward-curving rims. Wine cups often rested on tall stems set in dish-shaped bases.

Rise of Baekja White Porcelain

Baekja ceramics used highly refined white clay, coated with feldspar glaze, and fired in controlled large kilns. Despite precision, variations appeared due to clay properties and kiln conditions. The glazes ranged from snowy white to milky tones, sometimes with faint blue or yellow hints.

Transition into Joseon Porcelain

Joseon artisans inherited Goryeo baekja traditions. Early in the dynasty, soft white porcelain flourished. By mid‑Joseon, hard white porcelain became the standard, reflecting advancements in materials and kiln technologies.

 

The Peak of Baekja Ware Before Joseon

Korean white porcelain, known as baekja, reached its peak in the late Goryeo period, just before the Joseon Dynasty began. Recently, high-quality pieces were uncovered near Wolchil Peak by Mount Kumgang. These transitional white wares bore Korean calligraphy and often celebrated victories. They were used in formal settings by Confucian scholars, nobility, and royalty.

Joseon Dynasty Ceramics: Kilns & Quality

From 1392 to 1897, the Joseon Dynasty became known for top-tier ceramics produced in royal, city, and provincial kilns. Provincial kilns also served export markets. A long era of craftsmanship growth followed, and many of these fine pieces still survive today.

Influence of Chinese Ceramics with Korean Flair

Joseon ceramics mirrored Chinese methods in color, shape, and technique, adopting celadon, white porcelain, and storage pottery styles. But they had distinct local tweaks: altered glazes, carved designs, floral patterns, and lighter forms. Blue-and-white porcelain borrowed Ming Dynasty cobalt glazes, but lacked the vibrant phthalo blue and deep color saturation seen in Chinese works.

Celadon & Buncheong: From Religious to Rustic

Early Joseon celadon retained Buddhist themes - like lotus flowers and willow trees - and pear-shaped bottles were common. Glazes became thinner, and neutral finishes appeared on buncheong stoneware.

Buncheong ceramics, often decorated, were plain and practical, crafted using the sanggam inlay technique. Unlike ornate Goryeo celadon, they offered a natural aesthetic. Over time, buncheong lost favor and was replaced by white porcelain, disappearing by the late 1500s. Yet, it found appreciation in Japan as Mishima ware.

Joseon White Porcelain: Reflecting Neo-Confucian Values

White porcelain became the hallmark of Joseon ceramics. Its minimal decoration aligned with scholarly tastes and Neo-Confucian ideals. Unlike the vivid Qing-style enamels, Korean potters preferred simplicity and restraint, valuing purity over lavish decoration.

Three Phases of Joseon Ceramic Production

Scholars divide Joseon ceramics into three eras:

1) Early period (1300 - 1500)

2) Middle period (1500 - 1700)

3) Late period (1700 - 1900/1910)

Each phase witnessed tweaks in glaze styles, regional motifs, and technical refinements, distancing the ceramics from earlier Scythian and Chinese influences.

Impact of the Japanese Invasion (1592)

The 1592 Japanese invasion devastated Korea’s pottery culture. Many potter villages were uprooted, and craftsmen were forced to rebuild their skills without their masters. This disrupted ceramic traditions for decades.

20th Century Revival & Modern Trends

A celadon revival began in the early 1900s. A key figure, Living National Treasure Yu Geun-Hyeong, is featured in the 1979 short film Koryo Celadon.

In modern times, practical ceramics found renewed appeal. Companies like Hankook and Haengnam Porcelain emerged. Buncheong-style wares, with their earthy, minimalist vibe, gained popularity again, perfect for today’s eco-conscious tastes.

 

 

Origins of Islamic Pottery (8th - 9th Centuries)

Islamic pottery began around the rise of Islam in 622 CE and expanded after 633 when Muslim armies entered Persia, Byzantium, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, and later al-Andalus. Early pottery from this era is rare today - most pieces vanished unless preserved as architectural tiles in mosques and buildings.

Inherited Ceramic Traditions

Muslim potters inherited strong traditions across regions like Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, and North Africa. Egypt, in particular, had been producing glazed pottery since the 4th millennium BCE. Before Islam, these ceramics often featured figurative designs, but Islamic culture shifted toward geometric and plant-based decoration. Tile panels became especially popular.

Development of Tin-Glazed Ceramics

By the 8th century in Basra, Islamic potters introduced tin-opacified glazing, especially on blue-painted ware. This made surfaces bright and ideal for bold decoration. By the 9th century, a distinguishing Islamic style had emerged in Iraq, Syria, and Persia, using white tin-glaze as a base. Earlier pieces are harder to trace due to limited surviving examples from the Umayyad period - excavations at Khirbat Al-Mafjar in Palestine revealed only a few unglazed items.

Chinese Motifs and Figurative Scenes

Thanks to trade and contact with China, Islamic ceramics began adopting Chinese decorative motifs. In Persia, under more lenient figurative rules, painted scenes - sometimes with human or animal figures - became popular. Unlike strict religious art limits on wall painting, pottery allowed more freedom, though ornament remained largely abstract or floral.

Role in Tableware and Religious Guidelines

Islamic teachings discouraged using gold and silver vessels for eating and drinking, unlike ancient Rome, Persia, Christian Europe, or Byzantium. As a result, Islamic elites turned to pottery and glass for dining and hospitality. This practical choice drove technical advances in pottery production and decoration.

Regional Centers and Styles

- Basra (8th Century): Blue-detailed tin-glazed pottery began here.

- Iraq, Syria, Persia (9th Century): White tin-glaze became widespread; a key moment in defining Islamic ceramic style.

- Samarkand (9th - 10th Century): Under the Samanid dynasty, potters focused on calligraphy. Their "epigraphic ware" featured highly stylized script and is considered among the finest Persian pottery.

The Art of Epigraphic Ware (9th - 11th Centuries)

East Persian pottery developed a refined style using elegant inscriptions. These pieces, often undecorated except for script, are seen as some of the most sophisticated ceramics in Islamic art history.

Cultural and Geographic Influence

Islamic pottery stood between Chinese ceramics and those of Byzantium and Europe. Its aesthetic success influenced European and Byzantine potters. Architectural constraints against figurative wall art pushed ceramicists to innovate with geometry, calligraphy, and arabesque designs - defining features still admired today.

 

Abbasid Pottery and Tin-Glazed Ware

During the Abbasid era, pottery production grew rapidly. Craftsmen mainly used opaque white tin glazes. Historians like Arthur Lane credit this boom partly to Chinese influence. Abbasid manuscripts - such as Akhbar al‑Sin wa al‑Hind (c. 851) and Ibn Kurdadhbih's Book of Roads and Provinces (846 - 885) - highlight strong trade ties with China. Lane also mentions a text by Muhammad ibn al‑Husayn al‑Baihaki (c. 1059): Khurasan’s governor, ‘Ali ibn ‘Isa, gifted Caliph Harun al‑Rashid (786 - 809) “twenty pieces of Chinese Imperial porcelain… and 2,000 other pieces of porcelain.”

Three Phases of Chinese Influence

According to Lane, Chinese pottery impacted Islamic ceramics in three key stages:

1) 8th Century (Battle of Talas, 751):
After the Arab victory over China, Chinese potters and papermakers may have been taken as captives. They brought their skills to the Islamic world.

2) 9th Century:
Abbasids gained access to Chinese stoneware and porcelain.

3) 12th - 13th Centuries:
The Seljuk decline and Mongol invasions reignited interest in Chinese pottery traditions across Islamic regions.

Lustreware and White Wares Inspired by Tang Ceramics

Mesopotamian potters - especially those in Samarra - created lustreware influenced by Tang dynasty ceramics. Archaeologists also found early white wares in Samarra, Nishapur (modern Iran), and Samarkand (modern Uzbekistan).

Fritware & Imitation Porcelain

By the 12th century, the Islamic world began copying Chinese porcelain using fritware - a mix of clay and quartz. While not as refined as Korean imitations, Islamic fritware gained popularity and competed with Chinese imports. These local versions tried to match the look and feel of Chinese porcelain.

Celadon & Blue‑and‑White Export Trends

Chinese celadon dishes - beloved in the Middle East - were often larger than those used domestically in China, tailored for Islamic tastes. These dishes were prized for their rumored ability to detect poison by sweating or cracking.

The Islamic world also played a crucial role in the early export of blue-and-white porcelain. Yuan dynasty artisans borrowed Islamic designs - arabesques and plant scrolls - particularly from metalwork and Islamic decoration. Chinese painters applied these motifs densely on export wares, though they didn’t use the same stylings back home.

Cobalt blue pigment, essential for these wares, came from Persia. Muslim merchants living in Quanzhou and other southern Chinese ports managed the export business, connecting Jingdezhen kilns to Islamic markets.

 

Ming Dynasty Trade Ban and its Effects

As we may have mentioned earlier, in 1368, early in the Ming dynasty, the emperor issued a trade ban against foreign commerce. This decree wasn’t fully effective and was repeated multiple times. Despite the ban, the court continued to send out grand diplomatic gifts, especially silk and porcelain. For example, in 1383, about 19,000 porcelain items were gifted. While this didn’t completely halt exports, it did slow them considerably.

The policy loosened after 1403, under the next emperor. But by then, Islamic regions had already begun producing pottery closely modeled on Chinese styles. The quality was so good that Europeans sometimes mistook it for Chinese work.

Cross‑Cultural Style Exchange

Islamic potters often mirrored designs from the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties . By the early 1500s, Chinese artisans started creating pieces with clear Islamic influences. These items even featured pseudo‑Arabic inscriptions, likely made for Chinese Muslims and at the emperor’s court, influenced by the Zhengde Emperor’s (1505 - 1521) interest in Islam.

Islamic Ceramics: Glazing and Stoneware

Between the 8th and 18th centuries, Islamic regions deeply embraced glazed ceramics, especially in fine pottery :

- Tin‑opacified glazes led to early tin‑glazed pottery. Petrographic studies later showed some glazes used quartz and feldspar to reach opacity, not tin alone.
- The earliest opaque glaze appears in 8th‑century Basra, notably blue‑painted ware.
- Around the 9th century in Iraq, artisans developed stoneware - a hard, dense ceramic featuring fired clays, with a semi‑glass finish.

Key centers of ceramic innovation included:
- Fustat (975 - 1075)
- Damascus (1100 - 1600)
- Tabriz (1470 - 1550) 

Lusterware: From Mesopotamia to Europe

9th‑century Mesopotamia saw the birth of decorative lusterware, which then spread to Persia and Syria. Under the Fatimids in Egypt (10th - 12th centuries), lusterware production thrived. Later, Islamic-inspired luster techniques made their way to Europe, appearing in Spain (Hispano‑Moresque ware in Málaga and Valencia) and Italy, where it enhanced maiolica ceramics.

The Albarello: Islamic Roots in Italian Jars

The albarello, a slender jar for pharmacy use, originated in the Islamic Middle East. Brought to Spain, then to Italy, its earliest Italian forms appeared in Florence during the 15th century.

Fritware: Composition & Technique

Fritware, also known as “stoneware” or “faience,” first appeared in the Near East between the 1st and 2nd millennia CE. Around 1300 CE, Abu’l Qasim recorded a fritware recipe using a 10:1:1 ratio of quartz, frit‑glass, and white clay.

Baghdad’s 9th‑century proto‑stoneware includes glass fragments that, when fired, formed tiny crystals in the clay. These fragments weren’t just for show: they acted as flux to lower firing temperatures and improve hardness and density.

 

Early Islamic Decorated Tiles and Lustre Pottery in Kairouan

By the early 11th century, a unique Islamic tradition of richly decorated wall tiles had taken shape in Kairouan, alongside evolving vessel pottery. Ibn Naji, writing around 1016, mentions that the Caliph sent “a man from Baghdad” along with tiles to help create lustre-work for the mihrab of the Great Mosque - still intact today. Scholar Georges Marçais speculated that Iraqi craftsmen played a part in establishing a ceramic workshop in Kairouan. While this theory makes sense, there’s no definitive evidence yet confirming an Iraqi ceramic center in the city.

Change of Ceramic Centers After the Fatimid Collapse

When the Fatimid rule fell in 1171, ceramic production shifted to new regions, mirroring earlier movements in Iraq. Persia emerged as a major revival hub under Seljuk rule (1038 - 1327). As the Seljuks extended their dominion over Persia, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Anatolia, and Asia Minor, they revitalized long-standing ceramic centers.

Seljuk Innovation: Tin, Lustre, and Faience

Under Seljuk influence, artists and potters flocked to Persia, even from Egypt. They continued to refine versions of tin-glazed and lustre ceramics. Crucially, they introduced a new type called “Faience”: a hard white frit paste covered with a clear alkaline glaze. Tiles, vessels, and decorative objects benefited from this fresh technique, reshaping Islamic ceramic art.

Hispano‑Moresque Ware in Medieval Iberia

In the 13th century, Muslim potters fleeing the unstable post‑Fatimid period brought lustreware to Al‑Andalus. This birth of Hispano‑Moresque ceramics kicked off in Málaga with traditional Islamic designs. Soon, the focus shifted to Valencia and nearby Manises and Paterna - cities under Christian rule where Muslim and Morisco artisans adopted European visual influences. These wares became highly prized by Christian royalty across Europe.

14th‑Century Faience Techniques from Kashan

A rare manuscript from Kashan, compiled by Abulqassim in 1301, details faience production precisely:

- Frit = 10 parts powdered quartz, 1 part clay, 1 part glaze mix.

- Adding more clay improved wheel-throwing ease and workability.

- The glaze mixed ground quartz and alkaline desert plant ashes, acting as a flux to vitrify quartz at manageable temperatures.
These methods closely resembled the later French pâte tendre. The result: better handling, more refined carvings, and a variety of items - bowls, jugs, lamps, incense burners, tiles, candlesticks, and trays. The Seljuks especially refined the carved decoration process throughout the 12th century.

Lajvardina: Iconic Frit Ware under the Ilkhanids

A distinctive type of frit ware from the Ilkhanid period is Lajvardina. It’s known for deep blue underglazes and intricate patterns - an enduring marker of excellence in medieval Islamic ceramics.

Sgraffito: Carved Decoration in Early Islamic Ceramics

From the 9th century, Islamic potters used sgraffito - an engraving technique. They applied white slip over red earthenware, carved designs to expose the red body, then glazed the piece. This method produced fine contrast and detail in vessels, blending utility and artistry.

Seljuk Silhouette Wares: Black Slip and Carving

The Seljuks introduced silhouette wares: white fritware coated in thick black slip, carved to reveal the white beneath, then glazed with clear or colored coating (typically blue or green). Lane notes that a simpler version appeared in the 9th-10th century in Samarkand, using colored clay slip instead of frit. This technique created dramatic, elegant designs.

Chinese Influence: Blue‑and‑White Porcelain and Ottoman İznik

Chinese Yuan and Ming blue‑and‑white porcelain greatly influenced Muslim potters. Ottoman İznik pottery, produced from the 15th century near İznik in Anatolia, drew on its floral motifs. Craftsmanship peaked in the 16th century with quartz‑frit body, slip, and glaze. These frits, containing lead oxide and soda, reduced thermal expansion. Microscopic analysis shows leaded frit creates interstitial glass among quartz particles. İznik’s bold red and elegant forms later inspired European maiolica.

Hispano‑Moresque & Safavid Persian Pottery in the 15th - 16th Centuries

Valencia became a hub of fine Hispano‑Moresque ware in the 15th century, made by Muslim artisans in a Christian realm. Málaga’s earlier industry had declined by mid-century. Meanwhile, Safavid Persia embraced Chinese blue‑and‑white porcelain from around 1502. Court tastes favored imported porcelain, making 16th-century native Persian ceramics rare.

Southeast Asian Trade: Chinese and Japanese Wares

Islamic Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia) became a major export market for Chinese and later Japanese ceramics, aided by European traders like the Dutch East India Company. Buddhist regions also bought large communal dishes, such as Kraak and Swatow wares. Local pottery remained modest due to import dominance.

Porcelain Imports and Decline of Islamic Factories

The medieval Islamic world never produced true porcelain but craved it. From the 17th century, Chinese and Japanese export porcelain flooded the market. In the 18th century, European factories - Vienna in particular - supplied up to 120,000 items annually to the Ottoman Empire, including small cups and saucers for Turkish coffee. Islamic potteries, unable to match this volume and quality, shifted towards traditional craft production.

 

 

6. Early Ceramics in Europe

The oldest known ceramic objects in Europe date back to the Upper Paleolithic, around 29,000 - 25,000 BCE. Notably, the Venus of Dolní Věstonice in what's now the Czech Republic was shaped from clay mixed with powdered bone, then molded and fired. Many similar “Venus figurines” appear across Europe and Asia from this era. Historians still debate their exact purpose or meaning.

Tin-Glazed Pottery and Faience

Tin-glazed pottery, known as faience, originated in 9th-century Iraq. It soon traveled to Egypt, Persia, and Spain. By the Renaissance, Italian maiolica was flourishing, followed by Dutch Delftware in the 16th century, and then craftsmanship spread to England, France, and beyond.

Hispano-Moresque Ware

During the High Middle Ages in Al-Andalus (southern Spain), Hispano-Moresque ware became the most advanced ceramic art in Europe. This pottery featured elaborate designs and introduced tin-glazed techniques that inspired Italian maiolica in the Renaissance.

Dutch & English Delftware

From the 16th to the 18th century, Dutch potters produced millions of tin-glazed household items, decorative objects, and tiles. These were often decorated with cobalt-blue patterns on white backgrounds. The craft also spread to Britain, where English Delftware was produced between about 1550 and 1800.

French Faience Centers

In France, tin-glazed faience began around 1690 in Quimper, Brittany. Soon after, factories opened in Rouen, Strasbourg, and Lunéville, creating regional styles of faience.

Decline and Modern Use

By the late 18th century, innovations like white-firing creamware (notably by Josiah Wedgwood) and porcelain reduced the popularity of tin-glazed pottery. Today, tin oxide is still used in low-temperature studio pottery and specialist applications - Picasso himself made tin-glazed pieces.

European Efforts to Imitate Chinese Porcelain

Before the 16th century, only small and costly shipments of Chinese porcelain reached Europe. Europeans tried to replicate it, creating soft-paste porcelain and the Medici porcelain in Florence.

In 1712, French Jesuit father François Xavier d’Entrecolles revealed many of China’s porcelain-making methods in his letters published in Lettres édifiantes et curieuses de Chine.

Soon after, in Dresden around 1710, craftsmen at Meissen developed a recipe for hard-paste porcelain and began selling it by 1713.

In the following decades, porcelain factories opened across Europe - Naples’s Capodimonte in 1743 and Bavaria’s Nymphenburg around 1754 were notable examples. Many were backed by local rulers eager to foster fine ceramic art.

 

Soft-Paste Porcelain in France

In the 1680s, soft-paste porcelain appeared in Rouen. But real production took off at Saint-Cloud after receiving letters-patent in 1702.

- In 1730, the Duc de Bourbon founded the Chantilly factory at Château de Chantilly.

-Mennecy opened another soft-paste factory soon after.

-Workers from Chantilly started the Vincennes factory in 1740. It moved to larger facilities in Sèvres by 1756.

-Sèvres soon made the finest soft-paste porcelain in Europe during the late 18th century.

 

England’s Porcelain Beginnings

England began soft-paste production around 1742, using the Saint-Cloud recipe. In 1749, the first bone china patent appeared. Josiah Spode later perfected it. Major 18th-century English producers included Chelsea, Bow, St James's, Bristol, Derby, and Lowestoft.

Rococo Design & Master Modelers

Porcelain’s smooth form suited the Rococo style of the day. Porcelain pieces from this era are still highly valued and pricey. Two star artists:

- Johann Joachim Kaendler at Meissen
- Franz Anton Bustelli at Nymphenburg

Both were trained sculptors who made detailed models for moulding.

Porcelain as a Status Symbol

By the late 1700s, owning porcelain tableware and decorative pieces became essential for Europe's middle class. Most European countries had factories, many of which still run today. These pieces included:

- Tableware
- Decorative figures of people or animals

These figures often told a story and were brightly painted. The idea followed traditions like China’s blanc de Chine religious figures, but leaned secular and colorful.

Stoke‑on‑Trent: England’s Pottery Heart

From the 17th century, North Staffordshire - especially Stoke‑on‑Trent - became Britain’s pottery hub. Pioneering factories included:

- Wedgwood
- Spode
- Royal Doulton
- Minton

Local coal and clay made pottery production easier. The Trent and Mersey Canal enabled the transport of china clay from Cornwall, supporting creamware and bone china production. What set Stoke‑on‑Trent apart was long-term experimentation and innovation, led by Josiah Wedgwood.

Josiah Wedgwood & Industrial Pottery

Wedgwood revolutionized pottery manufacturing. He insisted on high standards - if a piece was flawed, he’d break it, saying, “This will not do for Josiah Wedgwood!”

He embraced scientific methods and developed new glazes. His signature jasperware, with its matte finish in two-tone colors, fit the era’s Neoclassical taste. He mimicked Roman engraved gems, creating pieces like the Gemma Augustea and a copy of the Portland Vase.

Mastery of Transfer-Printing in Pottery

In the mid-1700s, England introduced transfer-printing - a method inspired by book printing. By century's end, this technique largely replaced hand-painting for detailed designs, except in luxury ceramics. It remains the standard in decorated pottery today.

Josiah Spode Perfects the Technique

Josiah Spode I refined underglaze transfer printing. Early attempts used thick paper with limited detail. Around 1804, thinner printing papers emerged. These allowed finer tonal variations to show on ceramics. This ease of detail gave Spode a dominant edge.

Wedgwood’s Hesitation

Although Josiah Wedgwood was aware of underglaze printing, he delayed using it. Painters in his workshop preferred traditional methods. Wedgwood finally adopted it only after Spode’s competitively priced, richly decorated ware began drawing customers away.

Stoke-on-Trent: The Pottery Capital

Stoke-on-Trent became the hub of British ceramics. It attracted well-known artists like Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper, Lorna Bailey, Charlotte Rhead, Frederick Hurten Rhead, and Jabez Vodrey. The city became synonymous with high-quality, creative pottery.

British Studio Pottery: A Movement in Clay

Studio pottery refers to pieces made individually or in small batches, with the same artisan handling all production stages. While found around the world, Britain became a major center for this craft.

Bernard Leach: East Meets West

Bernard Leach (1887 - 1979) is seen as the father of British studio pottery. He blended influences from East Asian and medieval English traditions. After working with earthenware, he focused on high-fired stoneware in large wood or oil kilns. His style shaped mid-20th-century British pottery.

Lucie Rie: Modernist Glazes

Austrian-born Lucie Rie (1902 - 1995) pioneered modernist ceramics. Working in Britain, she created delicate, brightly colored bowls and bottles, experimenting with new glazes.

Hans Coper: Sculptural Pottery

Hans Coper (1920 - 1981) focused on sculptural, non-functional forms. His pieces often went unglazed, emphasizing pure shape over utility.

Post-War Studio Pottery Boom

After World War II, Britain restricted decorative factory pottery. Combined with the modernist wave from the Festival of Britain, this sparked a revival in studio pottery. Simple, functional designs aligned with modernist ideals.

Elizabeth Fritsch: Breaking Tradition

Elizabeth Fritsch (born 1940) studied under Hans Coper at the Royal College of Art (1968 - 1971). She became part of a new generation of ceramicists. Fritsch moved beyond conventional pottery by using a hand-built, flattened coil method in stoneware. She shaped precise forms and decorated them with dry matte slips in unusual tones, creating highly individual works.

 

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In the end, ceramic art has shaped human culture for millennia. It’s a record of function, form, and creativity. Ceramics offer a tangible link between art, utility, and tradition.