What is Pottery?

Pottery is the art and practice of making earthen pots and vessels, such as mugs, cups, bowls, teapots, and more. It’s an ancient craft with origins in prehistoric societies. Pottery is made of clay that has been shaped, dried, and fired in order to create a ceramic object. Pottery can be decorated before or after firing with a variety of techniques, and it can also be carved or incised on its surface.

To make pottery, there are a few essential conditions that must be met. First, there must be a supply of usable clay. Archaeological sites where pottery has been found often reveal that the makers lived close to deposits of clay that could be fashioned into pots and vessels. Second, there must be a method of heating the clay to high temperatures. This transformation from raw clay to pottery takes place in the kiln. The ability to reliably heat clay to the necessary temperatures did not develop until relatively late in the development of cultures.

The pottery forming process is often slow and time-consuming. The potter’s hands are the primary tools for shaping the clay, but a variety of additional tools have been developed over the course of pottery’s long history. These include the potter’s wheel, shaping tools (paddles, anvils, ribs), rolling tools, cutting/piercing tools, and fluting tools.

The surface of a pot may be decorated with glazes and other materials before or after it is fired. Enamelling is a common form of decoration that requires firing the clay to very high temperatures. The resulting vitreous coating can be either transparent or opaque. Other common decorations are incised carvings and terra sigillata, an ancient decorative technique that involves applying liquid clay to the surface of a pot before firing.

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