A new examination of the history of ceramic art, spanning ancient to modern times, emphasizing its traditions, materials, and methods of making

Concise but comprehensive, Ceramic Art brings together the voices of art historians, conservators, and artists to tell the history of making art from fired clay. The story spans history and continents, examining the global traditions of ceramists that range from pre-Columbian Peruvian artisans to contemporary African studio potters.

The volume shows how human need gave rise to multiple traditions in earthenware, stoneware, porcelain, glaze, and surface decoration from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Essays describe the core materials and practice of ceramics, followed by consideration of its production, consumption, and use. Throughout, the focus is on the power of materials and the role conservation plays in the afterlife of a ceramic object.

An accessible introduction to an ancient practice, Ceramic Art offers new ways of thinking about the broader forces that have shaped the traditions of the medium.

"Surviving ceramic vessels buried in tombs, caves, and the earth around the world testify to the earliest human creative activity. By studying ceramics historians uncover the complex ways that societies organized and sustained themselves, as well as how they interacted with other cultures. Today the ceramic arts remain a vibrant artistic medium, as contemporary artists engage with this material history to sustain their own heritage practices, while also shaping new histories from clay. From pre-Columbian Andean tombs to contemporary African sculpture, Ceramic Art considers ceramics as an artistic medium that uniquely records and expresses our individual and collective worlds across cultures. With an introduction and conclusion written by Sequoia Miller, the chief curator at the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto and a practicing ceramic artist, this volume features three main essays. The first, by art historian Margaret Graves, provides an overview of different ceramic histories and the ways regional and global circulation have impacted them; the second, by conservator Victoria Parry, focuses on the challenges of preserving these artworks and artifacts; and the third, by studio potter Magdalene Odundo, examines the art form from the point of view of the contemporary practitioner. These essays are followed by three case studies, organized chronologically from ancient to contemporary, and spanning centuries and continents in range, that put objects in conversation with one another in innovative, cross-disciplinary ways. Ceramic Art is the inaugural title in our new series ART/WORK. Responding to the latest trends in the field, the ART/ WORK series provides innovative narratives that change how art history as a discipline is imagined"--

"The eight essays in this anthology . . . demonstrate the enchanting and elusive nature of ceramics across time and cultures in a format accessible for someone new to ceramics yet also captivating for a well-versed collector. . . . Whatever your level of interest in ceramics, you will gain new perspectives from the thoughtful essays in Ceramic Art."---Jessie Dean, The Magazine of the Decorative Arts Trust