Ceramics

The first worldwide survey of traditional ceramics including raw materials, techniques, types of decoration, and uses. Anasazi bowls, Delft tiles, Indian shrines, Japanese Satsuma-ware teapots, English bird whistles, German hunting-scene jugs, Spanish zellij, Italian Majolica plates, Nepalese lamps, Romanian colanders, Danish stoneware teapots, French faience soup bowls, Moroccan tagines, Yemeni water pipes, Balinese roof tiles...the diversity of ceramics is astonishing. This comprehensive survey of traditional ceramics is organized into eight main sections, with over seventy topics:

• The Raw Materialfrom the excavation and preparation of the materials to descriptions of the different materials available
• Forming Techniquesmodeling, pinching, throwing, press molding, and many others
• Prefired Decorationfrom applique and incising to impressing and sgraffito
• Firingfrom firing in the open air to the ceramic types created
• Glazeshow glazes are applied and the varied kinds
• Unglazed Finishesincluding paint, oil, polish, varnish, resin, and gilding
• Use and Functionfrom tiles, roofs, and bricks to lighting and food storage
• The Quality of Lifefrom tobacco pipes to ceremonial ceramics

With over 800 illustrations, a glossary, a bibliography, information on where to see collections, and an index, this book will prove invaluable to anyone interested in art, craft, decorative objects, and interior design. 848 illustrations, 753 in color.