Anasazi bowls, Delft tiles, Indian shrines, Japanese Satsuma-ware teapots, English bird whistles, German hunting-scene jugs, Spanish zellij, Italian Majolica plates, Nepalese lamps, Romanian colanders, Danish stoneware teapots, French faience soup bowls, Moroccan tagines, Yemeni water pipes, Balinese roof tiles . . . the diversity of ceramics is astonishing.

This comprehensive survey of traditional ceramics is organized into eight main sections, with over seventy topics:

• The Raw Material—from the excavation and preparation of the materials to descriptions of the different materials available
• Forming Techniques—modeling, pinching, throwing, press molding, and many others
• Prefired Decoration—from appliqué and incising to impressing and sgraffito
• Firing—from firing in the open air to the ceramic types created
• Glazes—how glazes are applied and the varied kinds
• Unglazed Finishes—including paint, oil, polish, varnish, resin, and gilding
• Use and Function—from tiles, roofs, and bricks to lighting and food storage
• The Quality of Life—from tobacco pipes to ceremonial ceramics

With over 800 illustrations, a glossary, a bibliography, information on where to see collections, and an index, this book will prove invaluable to anyone interested in art, craft, decorative objects, and interior design.

Bryan Sentance, an inveterate traveler and educator in the fields of arts and crafts, is the author of Basketry and (with John Gillow) World Textiles.

ISBN 0-500-51177-2 · 9¹/₂" x 11" · 848 illustrations, 753 in color · 216 pages · CERAMICS / COLLECTIBLES