A great part of the history of pottery is prehistoric, part of past pre-literate cultures. Therefore, much of this history can only be found among the artifacts of archaelogy. Because pottery is so durable, pottery and sherds from pottery survive from millenia at archaeological sites. Therefore, one must look to articles on archaeology to learn of the very early history of pottery.
Not all societies developed pottery at the same time or pace. Pottery generally developed in societies after they became sedentary, with the development of farming, during the Neolithic age. However, pottery has been found with Paleolithic cultures as well and for other cultures that not fully settled.
While there may be no specific articles devoted to some aspects of the history of pottery, pottery is referenced in general histories and descriptions of living cultures. It is also covered in histories of art.
Pottery is defined, for purposes of this article, as firedceramicvessels -- hollow containers, bowls, cups, etc., including dishes -- that are formed from clay. Clay Figurines and Tiles are not considered pottery by some definitions. However, the history of figurines and tiles are closely related to that of pottery. Therefore, some articles devoted to these will be included in this outline. However, fired clay construction materials like bricks and Terracotta tiles will not be covered.
Excluded Topics
For the most part, this list will not include the following, unless one is particularly notable
Modern commercial pottery manufacturers (under Category:Pottery by nationality)
Names of people (much of this is under Category:Pottery by nationality)
Specific individual pots - many pots are exhibited in museums around the world and have become examples of certain styles and ages of pottery. These specific pots are featured in articles linked to this history, but they will not be mentioned in this article.
Figurines -- The same clay materials and technology used for pottery are also used to create small figures representing people, animals and objects. Discussion of these will be outside the scope of this article, except for occassional mention. (see Category:Figurine)
Tiles - Tiles are a form of ceramic made from the same clay used for pottery. (see the article Tiles, Mosaic, and Category:Mosaic)
Construction ceramics - Tiles, bricks, and other building materials are made of the same clays, but will not be discussed here. (see articles on Tiles, Bricks, Terracotta Category:Roofs, Category:Floors)
Maiolica di Laterza (kind of maiolica made in the town of Laterza, part of the Apulia region in Italy)
Albarello (a type of maiolica earthenware jar, originally a medicinal jar designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Middle East during the time of the Islamic conquests. Brought to Italy by Hispano-Moresque traders)
Bottle oven -- word 'bottle' refers to the shape of the structure
References to Kilns
Emperor Zhenzong of Song -- "Zhenzong founded the world's most celebrated ceramic kiln at Jingdezhen in 1004, which continued to produce porcelain for China's imperial use until the fall of the Qing Dynasty 900 years later."
Tiger Cave Kiln -- Tiger Cave Kiln at Hangzhou in the Chinese province of Zhejiang
Gangjingun Kiln Sites -- a tentative World Heritage site listed by the South Korean government at UNESCO. It is a complex of 188 kilns
The Fertile Crescent with the names of ancient civilizations found there.
The Fertile Crescent is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia. The region has been called the cradle of civilization; because it saw the development of many of the earliest human civilizations.
Corpus vasorum antiquorum -- (abbreviated CVA) is an international research project for ceramic documentation of the classical area. Published catalog of Greek and Roman Pottery
Fish plate -- a Greek pottery vessel used by western, Hellenistic Greeks during the Fourth Century B.C.
Frying pans -- are ceramic objects of unknown purpose from the archaeological strata called Early Cycladic II in the Aegean Islands and the Early Helladic I and II elsewhere in the Aegean
Pithos -- a large storage jar of a characteristic shape.
Psykter -- characterized by a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot. It was used as a wine cooler.
Pyxis (vessel) -- usually a round box with a separate lid.
Rhyton -- a container from which fluids were intended to be drunk, or else poured in some ceremony such as libation
Skyphos -- a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base or none
Stamnos -- a type of Greek pottery used to store liquids
Hydria -- type of Greek pottery used for carrying water
Bilingual pottery -- type of late 6th-Century Attic terracotta vessel which presents on one side the earlier black figure painting style and on the other the later red figure style
Islam pottery dates from 632 CE through the High Middle Ages in the regions of the Near East, Northern Africa, and Spain; until the 1615 in the geographic areas controlled by the Mamluk Sultanate; until 1900 in the geographic regions controlled by the Ottoman Empire.
>>>Need summary of relationship beween Islamic, Levant, Chinese, African, and European pottery
Islamic pottery -- History of Islamic pottery(entire article)
The beginning of the Linear Pottery culture dates to around 5500 BC. It appears to have spread westwards along the valley of the river Danube and interacted with the cultures of Atlantic Europe when they reached the Paris Basin.
The term Danubian culture was coined by the Australian archaeologist Vere Gordon Childe to describe the first agrarian society in central and eastern Europe. It covers the Linear Pottery culture (Linearbandkeramik, LBK), stroked pottery and Rössen cultures.
Zsolnay -- Hungarian manufacturer of porcelain, pottery, ceramics, tiles, and stoneware. The company introduced the eosin glazing process and pyrogranite ceramics.
Spain
Geography and Dates
Talavera de la Reina City noted for tiles and pottery -- very little history of pottery
Cizhou ware -- a type of Chinese ceramics developed during the Northern Song period
Clay Figure Zhang -- folk art in Tianjin, initiated by Zhang Mingshan (1826-1906), a folk artist of Tianjin, during Daoguang period in Qing Dynasty (1821-1851).
Cochin ware -- (orphan) -- only long-time ceramic tradition that involved artistic considerations
Dawu Clay Sculpture -- a famous folk art in Chaozhou, Guangdong Province.It is called "Three Chinese clay culpture"
Ming presentation porcelain -- high quality Chinese porcelain items included among the gifts exchanged in foreign relations during the Ming Dynasty
Qingbai ware -- type of pottery made in the Song Dynasty (defective article in May 2009)
Shiwan Ware -- type of pottery made in the Song Dynasty (defective article in May 2009)
Sancai -- a type of ceramics (sculpture and vessels) using three intermingled colors for decoration.
Swatow ware -- common name for a group of mainly late Ming Dynasty export porcelain from China intended for the South East Asian market. (needs refs Dec 2009)
Yixing clay -- a type of clay from the region near the city of Yixing in Jiangsu province, from the Song Dynasty
Yue ware -- a type of Chinese ceramics, a felspathic siliceous stoneware, which is characteristically decorated with celadon glazing
Zun -- an ancient type of Chinese bronze or ceramic wine vessel with a round or square vase-like form from Shang Dynasty
Tenkei blue-and-white ware -- Chinese underglaze blue porcelain made in the unofficial kilns of Jingdezhen
Imari porcelain -- Japanese porcelain wares made in the town of Arita between latter half of 17th century and former half of 18 th century
Kakiemon -- Japan from the mid-17th century, with much in common with the Chinese "Famille Verte"
Kutani ware -- The porcelain style is known for multiple colors—such as greens, blues, yellows, purples, and reds—and bold designs covering most of the surface of each piece.
NOTE: Distinguish between Northern Africa and Sub-Saharan
Egyptian faience -- a non-clay based ceramic displaying surface vitrification which creates a bright lustre -- Having not been made from clay it is often not classed as pottery.[1] It is called "Egyptian faience" to distinguish it from faience, the tin glazed pottery associated with Faenza in northern Italy
List of pre-Columbian cultures -- lists all of the Mesoamerican cultures
-- many of those that had pottery are listed below
-- others in the pre-Columbian list are pre-ceramic
Teotihuacan - 200BCE-800CE - near Mexico City - couple of refs to pottery
Australia
The Aborigines of Australia were hunting gatherer tribes and did not farm or cultivate crops. In keeping with these cultural features, they also never developed pottery. [1] After Europeans came to Australia and settled, they found deposits of clay which were analyzed by English potters as excelent 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 has flourished in Australia. [2]
Oceania
Oceania (Polynesia,Melanesia, and Micronesia)
Pottery has been found in archeological sites across the islands of Oceania. It is attributed to an ancient archaeological culture called the Lapita. A form of pottery called Plainware is found throughout sites of Oceania. The relationship between Lapita pottery and Plainware is not altogether clear.
Chigi vase -- a Protocorinthian olpe, or pitcher, that is the name vase of the Chigi Painter.[
Dipylon inscription -- a short text written on an ancient Greek pottery vessel dated to ca. 740 BC - oldest (or one of the oldest) known samples of the use of the Greek alphabet
Euphronios krater --- an ancient Greek terra cotta krater, a bowl used for mixing wine with water. Created around the year 515 BC
Nestor's Cup -- clay drinking vessel of the 8th century BC found at Pithekoussai, Magna Graecia
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