Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is also called a ''pottery'' (plural ''potteries''). The definition of ''pottery'', used by the

ASTM International ASTM International, formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials, is a standards organization that develops and publishes voluntary consensus technical international standards for a wide range of materials, products, systems and s ...

, is "all fired ceramic wares that contain clay when formed, except technical, structural, and refractory products". End applications include

tableware Tableware items are the dishware and utensils used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. The term includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, serving utensils, and other items used for practical as well as decorative purposes. The ...

, decorative ware,

sanitary ware {{Short pages monitor Pottery was hardly seen on the tables of elites from

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

times until the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

, and most medieval wares were coarse and utilitarian, as the elites ate off metal vessels. Painted

Hispano-Moresque ware Hispano-Moresque ware is a style of initially Islamic pottery created in Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia), which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles blending Islamic and European elements. It was the most elaborate and luxurious ...

from Spain, developing the styles of

Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

, became a luxury for late medieval elites, and was adapted in Italy into ''

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. The most renowned Italian maiolica is from the Renaissance period. These works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ("painted with stories") when depicting historical and ...

'' in the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

. Both of these were

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

tin-glazed Tin-glazing is the process of giving tin-glazed pottery items a ceramic glaze that is white, glossy and opaque, which is normally applied to red or buff earthenware. Tin-glaze is plain Lead-glazed earthenware, lead glaze with a small amount of Tin( ...

earthenware, and fine faience continued to be made until around 1800 in various countries, especially France, with

Nevers faience The city of Nevers, Nièvre, now in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France, was a centre for manufacturing faience, or Tin-glazed pottery, tin-glazed earthenware pottery, between around 1580 and the early 19th c ...

and several other centres. In the 17th century, imports of

Chinese export porcelain Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was made (almost) exclusively for export to Europe and later to North America between the 16th and the 20th century. Whether wares made for non-Western markets are covered ...

and its Japanese equivalent raised the market expectations of fine pottery, and European manufacturers eventually learned to make porcelain, often in the form of

soft-paste porcelain Soft-paste porcelain (sometimes simply "soft paste", or "artificial porcelain") is a type of ceramic material in pottery, usually accepted as a type of porcelain. It is weaker than "true" hard-paste porcelain, and does not require either its hig ...

, and from the 18th century European porcelain and other wares from a great number of producers became extremely popular, reducing Asian imports.

United Kingdom

The city of

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

is widely known as "The Potteries" because of the large number of pottery factories or, colloquially, "Pot Banks". It was one of the first industrial cities of the modern era where, as early as 1785, two hundred pottery manufacturers employed 20,000 workers.

Josiah Wedgwood Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indu ...

(1730–1795) was the dominant leader. In North Staffordshire hundreds of companies produced all kinds of pottery, from tablewares and decorative pieces to industrial items. The main pottery types of earthenware, stoneware and porcelain were all made in large quantities, and the Staffordshire industry was a major innovator in developing new varieties of ceramic bodies such as

bone china Bone china is a type of vitreous, translucent pottery, the raw materials for which include bone ash, feldspathic material and kaolin. It has been defined as "ware with a translucent body" containing a minimum of 30% of phosphate derived from c ...

and

jasperware Jasperware, or jasper ware, is a type of pottery first developed by Josiah Wedgwood in the 1770s. Usually described as stoneware, it has an unglazed matte "biscuit" finish and is produced in a number of different colours, of which the most com ...

, as well as pioneering

transfer printing Transfer printing is a method of decorating pottery or other materials using an engraved copper or steel plate from which a monochrome print on paper is taken which is then transferred by pressing onto the ceramic piece.John Fleming (art histori ...

and other glazing and decorating techniques. In general Staffordshire was strongest in the middle and low price ranges, though the finest and most expensive types of wares were also made. By the late 18th century North Staffordshire was the largest producer of ceramics in the UK, despite significant hubs elsewhere. Large export markets took Staffordshire pottery around the world, especially in the 19th century. Production had begun to decline in the late 19th century, as other countries developed their industries, and declined notably after World War II. Employment fell from 45,000 in 1975 to 23,000 in 1991, and 13,000 in 2002.

Arabic pottery

Early

Islamic pottery Islamic pottery occupied a geographical position between Chinese ceramics, and the pottery of the Byzantine Empire and Europe. For most of the period, it made great aesthetic achievements and influence as well, influencing Byzantium and Europe ...

followed the forms of the regions which the Arabs conquered. Eventually, however, there was cross-fertilization between the regions. This was most notable in the

Chinese influences on Islamic pottery Chinese influences on Islamic pottery cover a period starting from at least the 8th century CE to the 19th century. The influence of Chinese ceramics on Islamic pottery has to be viewed in the broader context of the considerable importance of Ch ...

. Trade between China and Islam took place via the system of trading posts over the lengthy

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

. Middle Eastern nations imported stoneware and later porcelain from China. China imported the minerals for

Cobalt blue Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminium(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighte ...

from the Islamic ruled

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

to decorate their

blue and white porcelain "Blue and white pottery" () covers a wide range of white pottery and porcelain decorated underglaze, under the glaze with a blue pigment, generally cobalt(II) oxide, cobalt oxide. The decoration was commonly applied by hand, originally by brush p ...

, which they then exported to the Islamic world. Likewise, Arabic art contributed to a lasting pottery form identified as

Hispano-Moresque Hispano-Moresque ware is a style of initially Islamic pottery created in Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia), which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles blending Islamic and European elements. It was the most elaborate and luxurious ...

Andalucia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It i ...

. Unique Islamic forms were also developed, including

fritware Fritware, also known as stone-paste, is a type of pottery in which ground glass (frit) is added to clay to reduce its fusion temperature. The mixture may include quartz or other siliceous material. An organic compound such as gum or glue may b ...

lusterware Lustreware or lusterware (the respective spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic oxides in an overglaze finish, ...

and specialized glazes like

tin-glazing Tin-glazing is the process of giving tin-glazed pottery items a ceramic glaze that is white, glossy and opaque, which is normally applied to red or buff earthenware. Tin-glaze is plain lead glaze with a small amount of tin oxide added.Caiger-S ...

, which led to the development of the popular

. One major emphasis in ceramic development in the Muslim world was the use of

tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, Rock (geology), stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, wal ...

and decorative tilework. File:Thr muze art islam 7.jpg, alt=, Bowl painted on slip under transparent glaze (

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

), 9th or 10th century,

Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

National Museum of Iran The National Museum of Iran ( ) in Tehran hosts some of the world's most important monuments dating back through preserved ancient and medieval Iranian antiquities. It is an institution formed of two museums; the Museum of Ancient Iran and the ...

File:Bowl, Mina'i ("enameled") ware MET DP372046 (cropped).jpg, Persian

mina'i ware ware is a type of Persian pottery, or Islamic pottery, developed in Kashan in the decades leading up to the Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia in 1219, after which production ceased. It has been described as "probably the most luxuriou ...

bowl with couple in a garden, around 1200. These wares are the first to use

overglaze enamel Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling, or on-glaze decoration, is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firi ...

decoration. File:Chess Set MET DP170393.jpg, alt=, Chess set ( Shatrang); Gaming pieces. 12th century,

glazed

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

Americas

Most evidence points to an independent development of pottery in the Native American cultures, with the earliest known dates from Brazil, from 9,500 to 5,000 years ago and 7,000 to 6,000 years ago. Further north in

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

, dates begin with the Archaic Era (3500–2000 BC), and into the

Formative period Several chronologies in the archaeology of the Americas include a Formative Period or Formative stage etc. It is often sub-divided, for example into "Early", "Middle" and "Late" stages. The Formative is the third of five stages defined by Gord ...

(2000 BC – AD 200). These cultures did not develop the stoneware, porcelain or glazes found in the Old World.

Maya ceramics Maya ceramics are ceramics produced in the Pre-Columbian Mayan civilization, Maya culture of Mesoamerica. The vessels used different colors, sizes, and had varied purposes. Vessels for the elite could be painted with very detailed scenes, while u ...

include finely painted vessels, usually beakers, with elaborate scenes with several figures and texts. Several cultures, beginning with the

Olmec The Olmecs () or Olmec were an early known major Mesoamerican civilization, flourishing in the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco from roughly 1200 to 400 Before the Common Era, BCE during Mesoamerica's Mesoamerican chronolog ...

, made terracotta sculpture, and sculptural pieces of humans or animals that are also vessels are produced in many places, with

Moche portrait vessel Moche portrait vessels are ceramic vessels featuring individualized and naturalistic representations of human faces that are unique to the Moche culture of Peru. These portrait vessels are among the few realistic portrayals of humans found in ...

s among the finest.

Africa

The oldest pottery in the world outside of east Asia can be found in Africa. In 2007, Swiss archaeologists discovered pieces of some of the oldest pottery in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Ounjougou Ounjougou is the name of a lieu-dit found in the middle of an important complex of archaeological sites in the Upper Yamé Valley on the Bandiagara Plateau, in Dogon Country, Mali. The Ounjougou archaeological complex consists of over a hundred ...

in the central region of Mali, dating to at least 9,400 BC. Excavations in the

Bosumpra Cave Bosumpra Cave is an Archaeology, archaeological site situated on Kwahu Plateau, the Kwahu plateau, which forms part of the easternmost section of the Ashanti Region, Ashanti uplands. The plateau and uplands lie just north of the Akan people, Akan ...

on the

Kwahu Plateau The Kwahu Plateau is a long plateau in southern Ghana. It consists of the uplifted southern edge of the Volta River Basin. It forms the main watershed of Ghana, separating rivers in the Volta River system from rivers in the western half of Ghana ...

in southeastern Ghana, have revealed well-manufactured pottery decorated with channelling and impressed peigne fileté rigide dating from the early tenth millennium cal. BC. Following the emergence of pottery traditions in the Ounjougou region of

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

around 11,900 BP and in the Bosumpra region of

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

soon after, ceramics later arrived in the

Iho Eleru Iho Eleru, formerly known as Iwo Eleeru, is an archaeological site and rock shelter that features Later Stone Age artifacts from during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition, which is located in the forest–savanna village of Isarun in Ondo ...

region of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. In later periods, a relationship of the introduction of pot-making in some parts of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

with the spread of

Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, South ...

has been long recognized, although the details remain controversial and awaiting further research, and no consensus has been reached.See for a recent discussion of the issues, and links to further literature. Use of pottery was then found in the Bir Kiseiba region, with a surplus of pottery shards dated roughly 9,300 BC. Archeological digs around

have continued to bring more history of ceramic use to light, including pottery shards found in Ravin de la Mouche, which were carbon dated to roughly 7,500 BC. After 8,000 BC the prevalence of ceramics in

surged, becoming a continent wide phenomenon.

Oceania

Pottery has been found in archaeological sites across the islands of Oceania, attributed to an ancient archaeological culture called the

Lapita The Lapita culture is the name given to a Neolithic Austronesian people and their distinct material culture, who settled Island Melanesia via a seaborne migration at around 1600 to 500 BCE. The Lapita people are believed to have originated fro ...

. Another form of pottery called ''Plainware'' is found throughout sites of Oceania. The relationship between Lapita pottery and Plainware is not altogether clear. The need for pottery eventually diminished with settlement of islands further east towards Polynesia as peoples there adapted to cooking using

earth oven An earth oven, ground oven or cooking pit is one of the simplest and most ancient cooking structures. The earliest known earth oven was discovered in Central Europe and dated to 29,000 BC. At its most basic, an earth oven is a pit in the ground ...

s. The

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

never developed pottery. After Europeans came to Australia and settled, they found deposits of clay which were analysed by English potters as excellent for making pottery. Less than 20 years later, Europeans came to Australia and began creating pottery. Since then, ceramic manufacturing, mass-produced pottery and studio pottery have flourished in Australia.

References

External links

Pottery manufacture in recent past

Stoke-on-Trent Museums – Ceramics Collections Online

UK Pottery Resource

Ceramics everywhere
{{Neolithic Chronology Articles containing video clips Ceramic art Types of production Utility vessels