Ceramics are objects made of moistened clay, shaped and then baked. All ceramics are Earthenware, terracotta, brick, tile, faience, majolica, stoneware, and porcelain. Ceramicware is decorated with clay inlays, relief patterns on the surface, or incised, stamped or embossed designs. For coating, the ware, a creamy mixture of clay and water (slip) can be used. After drying, the ceramic ware is baked in the oven until it has hardened.
To make the pottery non-porous and give it a smooth, bright, decorative finish, Glaze, a silicate preparation added to the clay surface and fused to it during firing, is used. Ancient Mesopotamia and Persia used large architectural tiles with colourful glazes. In the 6th and 5th centuries B.C., the Greeks developed red, black and white glazed pottery figures and scenes. The Romans used relief decorations. Additional changes were made to Persian, Syrian and Turkish pottery.
In Spain, lustreware-the first sophisticated ceramics of the modern era-was produced by the Moors of the 9th century. Other refinements were Italian majolica, Dutch delft, German Meissen and English Wedgewood. Chinese porcelain dates from the T’ang dynasty, and Chinese stoneware dates back to about 3000 B.C.
Sources
Ceramics. In World Encyclopedia. : Philip’s. Retrieved 28 Jan. 2021, from https://www-oxfordreference-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/view/10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001/acref-9780199546091-e-2196.
You may also be interested in
Adelaide Robineau an American Ceramicist – Encyclopedia of Design
Adelaide Romineau was an American ceramicist she was born in Middletown, Connecticut. She was considered one of the most remarkable ceramic artists of the early twentieth century. Robineau was a ceramicist confident in the studio who designed her clay bodies, created her glazes, threw the forms, and then decorated, glazed and fired them independently.
Sgraffito – Design Term – Encyclopedia of Design
An example of Sgraffito pottery by Katherine Hackl Sgraffito is a scratched pottery decoration, first used in China, which spread across Europe via Persia. The vessel is immersed in slip, and then the decoration is scratched on the surface to reveal the darker body below. It was often used with maiolica from Italy.
Slipware Pottery – what is it? – Encyclopedia of Design
Slipware is pottery known by its primary decorating method in which slip is added before firing by dipping, painting or splashing on the leather-hard clay body surface. Slip is an aqueous clay body suspension that is a combination of clays and other minerals, such as quartz, feldspar, and mica.