Ceramics, mosaic and glass: artworks Books

Book SynopsisThis book offered to the reader's attention is an ethnographic study devoted to the traditional pottery of Yakutia. The author, A. A. Savvin, collected materials for the book during field research in 1939–1941, when ceramic tableware had largely already lost its former role in the household way of the Yakuts. But the skills for its manufacture were still preserved in certain localities. Savvin managed to document the last "living" evidence of a craft that had a centuries-old history and established traditions. It is noteworthy that the research conducted by Savvin was a scientific project in the modern sense of the term. It was carefully planned and executed in accordance with a pre-written program, which is also included in this edition. The sources of information were not only direct observations of the working processes of the production of ceramic tableware but also conversations-interviews with potters, memoirs of representatives of the older generation. A special layer of research consisted of materials of folklore, folk beliefs, and customs related to pottery.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe great 6th-century BCE Attic potter-painter Exekias is acclaimed as the most accomplished exponent of late 'black-figure' art. His vases, vessels, bowls and amphorae are reproduced on postcards and in other media all over the world. Despite his importance in the history of art and archaeology, little has been written about Exekias in his own right. Elizabeth Moignard, a leading historian of classical art, here corrects that neglect by addressing her subject as more than just a painter. She positions Exekias as a remarkable but nevertheless grounded and receptive man of his age, working in an Athens that was sensitive to Homeric literature and drawing on that great corpus of poetry to explore its own emerging concepts of honour, heroism, leadership and military tradition. Discussing a range of ceramic pieces, Moignard illustrates their impact and meaning, deconstructing iconic images like the suicide of Ajax; the voyage of Dionysus surrounded by dolphins; and the killing by Achilles of the Amazon queen Penthesilea. This book is the most complete introduction to its subject to be published in English.Trade Review'Exekias is generally agreed to have been the best of the Athenian painters of black-figure vases in the middle of the sixth century BC, and he has not been neglected by scholars. His subjects range from heroic myth to the everyday, even the seemingly trivial. But this engaging study offers something new. It focuses on the major works and considers aspects of their motivation and appeal, much of which may have escaped many connoisseurs and scholars in their detail: for instance the relationship of the scenes to everyday life; to poetry, written or declaimed; to religion; and the degree to which the artist was influenced by his fellows and predecessors in the craft. This is an exemplary 'academic' book but composed in a novel manner, with discursive bibliographies for each chapter which will help the general reader, anyone approaching the subject for the first time, and all scholars. It might well give the venerable study of Greek vase painting a new and welcome life, and widen the appeal of a very important demonstration of a Greek artist at work. The illustration is lavish and well chosen.' - Sir John Boardman, FBA, Emeritus Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology & Art, University of Oxford 'Professor Moignard's study presents a vivid and detailed account of the pre-eminent Athenian potter-painter, Exekias, and shows how he transcended the work that his predecessors had produced. In concentrating on his major compositions, she uncovers the layers of emotionally expressive scenes, urges us to make direct contact with the images and highlights the intensity of feeling that lies within the figures of Achilles, Dionysos and particularly Ajax 'the loser'. This is a deeply researched treatment presented in a clear and accessible manner.' - Brian A Sparkes, Professor Emeritus of Classical Archaeology, University of Southampton, author of The Red and the Black: Studies in Greek Pottery (1996) and of Greek Pottery: An Introduction (1991)

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Painted Pottery of Honduras Rosemary Joyce describes the development of the Ulua Polychrome tradition in Honduras from the fifth to sixteenth centuries AD, and critically examines archaeological research on these objects that began in the nineteenth century. Previously treated as a marginal product of Classic Maya society, this study shows that Ulua Polychromes are products of the ritual and social life of indigenous societies composed of wealthy farmers engaged in long-distance relationships extending from Costa Rica to Mexico. Drawing on concepts of agency, practice, and intention, Rosemary Joyce takes a potter's perspective and develops a generational workshop model for innovation by communities of practice who made and used painted pottery in serving meals and locally meaningful ritual practices.Table of ContentsList of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction Part One: Using Pots Chapter One: Forming Intentions Chapter Two: Feasting Families Chapter Three: Telling Stories Chapter Four: Honoring Ancestors Chapter Five: Burying Pots Part Two: Understanding Fragments Chapter Six: Collecting Pots Chapter Seven: Making Time Chapter Eight: Finding Places Chapter Nine: Tracing Boundaries Chapter Ten: Picturing Meaning Epilogue Afterword Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis interdisciplinary volume is a ‘one-stop location’ for the most up-to-date scholarship on Southern Levantine figurines in the Iron Age. The essays address terracotta figurines attested in the Southern Levant from the Iron Age through the Persian Period (1200–333 BCE). The volume deals with the iconography, typology, and find context of female, male, animal, and furniture figurines and discusses their production, appearance, and provenance, including their identification and religious functions. While giving priority to figurines originating from Phoenicia, Philistia, Jordan, and Israel/Palestine, the volume explores the influences of Egyptian, Anatolian, Mesopotamian, and Mediterranean (particularly Cypriot) iconography on Levantine pictorial material.Trade Review"En résumé, cet ouvrage fait le point sur de nombreux dossiers en cours. L’approche est originale puisqu’elle permet d’appréhender ce matériel de manière globale. En effet, les différentes enquêtes ne se résument pas à une présentation typologique de ces terres cuites, mais insistent toutes sur la matérialité et la destination de ces images, ainsi que sur leurs contextes d’utilisation. Chaque contribution accorde une large place à la méthodologie suivie, ce qui guide commodément le lecteur et lui donne matière à réflexion. Au total, il s’agit d’un ouvrage nécessaire sur la coroplathie levantine." - Estelle Galbois, Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2022.05.12 "This important collection of essays provides a cutting-edge update of available southern Levantine figurines from the Iron Age until the Persian Period (1200–333 BCE). Focusing on the material profile of each find, a clarification of the typology and classification of each object is provided—as either female, male, animal, or furniture figurines—together with a description of their production, appearance, and provenance." - Sandra Jacobs, in The Society for Old Testament Study Book List 2022Table of ContentsList of Figures and Tables 1 Introduction  Erin D. Darby and Izaak J. de Hulster 2 Iron Age Terracotta Figurines from the Levant: A Comparative and Iconographic Perspective  Izaak J. de Hulster 3 A Technical Perspective on Some Iron Age Pillar Figures from Cyprus and the Levant  Annie Caubet 4 Anthropomorphic Figurines from Iron Age II Phoenicia  Astrid Nunn 5 Iron Age Figurines from Philistia  David Ben-Shlomo 6 Iron Age Figurines from Philistia and Phoenicia: A Response  Margaret Cohen 7 Judahite Pillar Figurines: More Questions than Answers  Robert Deutsch 8 Sex in the City? Judean Pillar Figurines and the Archaeology of Jerusalem  Erin D. Darby 9 Response to Darby and Deutsch  Beth Alpert Nakhai 10 Molds and Mold-Links: A Close View on the Female Terracotta Figurines from Iron Age II Transjordan  Regine Hunziker-Rodewald 11 Astarte on Her Horse at Khirbat al-Mudayna in Northern Moab  P.M. Michèle Daviau and Emily Zeran 12 Response to Hunziker-Rodewald and Daviau and Zeran  Margreet L. Steiner 13 The Iron Age Terracotta Figurines from Cyprus  Erin Walcek Averett 14 Iron Age Figurines from Syria  Alexander Pruss 15 Coroplastic Figural Art in Egypt during the Late Period (664–332 BC)  Veit Vaelske Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisPersian Pottery in the First Global Age: the Sixteenth and Seventeeth Centuries studies the ceramic industry of Iran in the Safavid period (1501–1732) and the impact which the influx of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, heightened by the activities of the English and Dutch East Indies Companies after c. 1700, had on local production. The multidisciplinary approach of the authors (Lisa Golombek, Robert B. Mason, Patricia Proctor, Eileen Reilly) leads to a reconstruction of the narrative about Safavid pottery and revises commonly accepted notions. The book includes easily accessible reference charts to assist in dating and provenancing Safavid pottery on the basis of diagnostic motifs, potters’ marks, petrofabrics, shapes, and Chinese models.Trade Review"The Safavid period was a truly global age evidenced by its material culture. In this ground-breaking survey of both elite Iranian pottery and imported Chinese porcelain, Lisa Golombek and her team have separated out fact from fiction and extracted revelatory details from a paucity of documentary sources, to unravel a concise linear narrative. This critical survey places this overlooked luxury ware in its socio-economic and cultural context. Consumption is introduced through discussions of shape and purpose; caravanserai, Armenian merchants and East India Company distribution networks; and the importance of contemporary connoisseurship, imperial collecting and royal kitchens is introduced. The commoditization of the potteries, potters and technological innovations are other themes of discourse. Ubiquitous chinoiseries and other foreign patterns are justified by fashionability, inextricably linked with all luxury goods. Integrating modern petrography and archaeology with traditional art history, explored in Tamerlane’s Tablewares, has further clarified the mystery of marks and production centres. Golembek, with authors Robert Mason, Patricia Proctor, and Eileen Reilly are to be lauded for providing a level platform for future researchers to build on." - Patricia Ferguson, Consulting Curator, Victoria and Albert Museum "... l’ensemble constitue à n’en pas douter un ouvrage de référence, très attendu, et une réelle avancée pour l’histoire de la céramique iranienne des xvie et xviie siècles. Le fonds de céramiques safavides du ROM est intéressant, sans être exceptionnel ou particulièrement diversifié ; en faisant de cette collection le moteur d’un programme de recherche, Lisa Golombek est parvenue à allier à merveille conservation et recherche, haussant ainsi cette collection au rang de référence". - Sandra Aube, in: BCAI 31 (2016)Table of ContentsPreface Conventions Collections Cited List of Important Dates Maps Introduction Part I: Safavid Pottery and Society Chapter One: Safavid Society and the Ceramic Industry Iran under the Safavids (Lisa Golombek) The Dynamics of Supply and Demand (Lisa Golombek) The Potter Chinese Porcelain in Safavid Iran The Markets for Safavid Pottery The Safavid Potter and the First Global Age The Object: Shapes and Functions of Safavid Pottery (Lisa Golombek and Eileen Reilly) Chapter Two: Dominant Fashions and Distinctive Styles: A History of the Ceramic Industry in Safavid Iran (Lisa Golombek) China at the Door: The Sixteenth Century China in the House: The Seventeenth Century Phase I: 1615–1640 Phase II: 1640–1650 Phase III: 1650–1680 Phase IV: 1680–1722 Chapter Three: The Measure of Faithfulness: the Chinese Models for Safavid Blue-and-White (Patricia Proctor) Chapter Four: The “Kubachi Problem” (Lisa Golombek) The “Kubachi Problem” The Isfahan/ Qumisheh Workshop Chapter Five: The Safavid Workshops and Petrographic Analysis (Robert B. Mason) Part II: Identifying Safavid Pottery – A Guide Chapter Six: Diagnostic Motifs (Lisa Golombek and Eileen Reilly) 6.1 Rims: Sixteenth Century 6.2 Backs: Sixteenth Century 6.3 Backs: Seventeenth Century 6.4 Rims: Isfahan, Seventeenth Century Chapter Seven: Potters’ Marks (Lisa Golombek and Robert B. Mason, and Eileen Reilly) 7.1 Seal-marks 7.2 Tassel-marks 7.3 Character-marks Chapter Eight: Form Study (Eileen Reilly) Part III: Catalogue of Safavid Pottery in the Royal Ontario Museum (Lisa Golombek) [images approx. 50 pp.] Appendices Appendix A Dated vessels Dated tiles Appendix B Concordance of the Safavid Ceramics Project Numbers Bibliography

Read more less