Ceramics: examples through Western
history
Roman period potterīs wheel; lead glazing; decorative use of slip (watered-down clay) Medieval period sgraffito (scratched) tiles and other products (earthenware decorated with slip of a contrasting color, which is then scratched through) such as those made in Bologna, Italy. Lead-glazed mugs made in England and France, colored bright green or yellow-brown with copper or iron oxides. Tin-glazed ware in S Italy and Spain by 13th century, influenced by established Islamic techniques 14th-century Germany stoneware developed from hard earthenwares; tin glazes developed; color added by thin slips mixed with high-temperature colors. Later, mottled brown glaze recognized as characteristic of Cologne, referred to as "tigerware" in Britain 15th century Hispano-Moresque painted ware imitated by Italians, developing into majolica by mid-century, using the full range of high-temperature colors; centers of the craft included Tuscany, Faenza, Urbino, and Venice. Some potteries, such as that at Gubbio, additionally used luster glazes. Typical products are dishes and apothecary jars 16th century potters from Faenza spread tin-glazed earthenware (majolica) skills to France, Spain, and the Netherlands, where it became known as faience; from Antwerp the technique spread to England. The
English in the 17th century named Dutch faience "Delftware", after the main center of production 17th century faience centers developed at Rouen and Moustiers in France, Alcora in Spain, and in Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. Blue underglaze was increasingly used, in imitation of Chinese blue and white designs, reflecting the growth of orientalism 18th century European developments in porcelain, also in using a rich palette of low-temperature enamel colors. The vitreous enamel process, first developed at Strasbourg about 1750, spread around N Europe. The earliest ceramics date back to the beginning of the Neolithic in the Near East, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa.
