7.1 Introduction

The main purpose of this Chapter is to provide sufficient information so that subsequent chapters can be followed and reasonably understood. Chapter 11 covers a little more of the technology and brings it up-to-date.

Pottery was the first synthetic material to be made by man. From the earliest times of civilization the potter has held a unique place in the social structure, serving his community by making essential vessels for storage, cooking, drinking and ritual. The earliest pottery was relatively crude and primarily functional, but as time went on and technology improved, the clay walls became thinner, forms more consistent, and vessels stronger. It went on to provide a medium for the potter to reflect the social and artistic views of the time and region in an almost everlasting medium. It also allowed him to express the latest skills he had developed.

Jacquemart, a famous French art collector of the 19th century, remarked that “A philosopher seeking among the products of human industry the one which would best enable him to follow through the course of ages, the progress of intelligence, and give him the approximate measure of the artistic tendencies of men, would select incontestably the work of the potter. Clay from its plastic nature lends itself to the idea of modelling, and gives scope alike to the liveliest flights of imagination and the more persevering efforts of industry. Abundant in its variety, easily procured, and consequently devoid of intrinsic worth, it derives its value solely from the elegance of form imposed upon it by the potter, or from the richness of decoration given to it by the artist.”

Another fan, Ser Ristoro of Arezzo wrote in 1282 AD about recently excavated Mediterranean Roman pottery “the most noble and miraculous artefact….vases were made for many occasions by the most noble and skilled craftsmen of old….great quantities of pieces of vases were found, buried for over 1000 years so colourful and fresh, as if just made, so as to confound the experts with pleasure, as if they were sacred objects, amazed that human nature could rise to such a delicacy….those craftsmen were divine or the vases came down from heaven”

To appreciate the way pottery has developed in each region (geographic) or culture (geographic and temporal), it is important to recognize the requirements of the time. Whether the end product was a household or ritualistic item, the demands of progress threw up difficulties that the potters had to solve. So the technology for the body material (or fabric), kiln design, shape (or form) and decoration of a pottery item had to develop together. As an example, “stoneware” is a greatly improved body over “earthenware”, but using it imposed serious limitations on decoration. “Ware” is used as an all-embracing term for a set of distinguishing features of a product or range including body, shape, decoration and/or manufacturer.

Basically the role of potters, or more broadly ceramicists, is to meet the requirements of their customers. Rarely was clay transported far in the early days, so the potter had to discover for himself how to manage his local clays. Making successful pots was not easy as the heaps of broken ones (known as sherds) around potter’s sites indicate. In Jerusalem there was a gate known as the “Gate of Potsherds”, and the Ancient Greek and medieval potters sought the aid of the Gods, the latter offering special prayers.

A summary of the sequence of operations carried out by the potter is: to prepare the raw materials suitable for the end product; to shape the resultant “potter’s clay” into the vessel required; to dry the body and to fire it at the appropriate temperature and time, and to decorate it to meet the customer’s wishes. The process is similar to baking a cake in that the prepared ingredients are mixed, shaped, exposed to heat and decorated. Decoration could be applied before or after firing, depending on the technology available at the time.