What is Pottery?

pottery

Pottery is the craft of creating functional objects such as plates, bowls and cups. It is also a creative art form, where the potter can express themselves through the forms they create. Throughout the years pottery has been used in many ways across many cultures. It has been used for both utilitarian and decorative purposes as well as in rituals and ceremonies.

Pottery traces its origins to the dawn of the Neolithic Age. Also known as the New Stone Age, it is the period of time when humans first began to cultivate food and domesticate animals. It was also during this period that pottery began to emerge in full force as prehistoric humans developed more sophisticated tools and formed permanent settlement communities.

Initially pottery was created using a wide range of materials such as leather, wood, grasses, roots and reeds. Eventually, ceramics were developed and became an essential part of life in most cultures. The evolution of pottery has been greatly influenced by culture, climatic and geographic conditions.

Clay type and availability dictate to some extent the shapes that can be made in a given area. Other factors include the techniques and skills of the pottery makers. Finally, pottery forms can be influenced by social and recreational activities. For example in classical Greece a popular game was Kottabos which involved throwing a curved stemmed wine cup, the kylix, at a target.

Pottery is usually decorated either before or after an initial low temperature firing, called a biscuit firing, which makes the clay strong, but still porous so that it will absorb glazes. Glazes can be applied by pouring, dipping or spraying and can produce a wide range of textures, colours and effects.

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