Palestine

While figures of burnt clay were found in eastern Turkey as early as 8500B.C., the first actual evidence of pottery did not turn up until around 7800B.C.  It would gradually become part of daily life over the next 3,000 years, but in that early period, pottery was primarily found to be vessels made from a burnished paste, tempered with lime.  Pots were made on a mat, as the potter’s wheel did not come into use until around 4300B.C.  Early pottery in Palestine was still decorated however, mostly in linear type designs that were either incised into the raw clay, or painted on.

By the early Bronze Age (3300B.C.), vessels with handles were being made, and there was now a distinct difference in pottery from the north and south of the country.  In the north, potters worked mostly with a red slip, and tended to decorate with burnished reds applied with a rough brush, in a technique called “grain wash".  Southern potters used white slip, and often decorated with orange paint, or incised vertical lines.

Funereal vessels comprise a large part of the historical remains of pottery found in Palestine, and it’s in these relics that we see how the red slip fell out of use by about 1500B.C. to be replaced by the white slip, which was more hospitable to artistic decorations.  Pottery from this period also shows an amazing deftness in the craftsmanship, with well-fired pieces having incredibly thin walls, yet aesthetically pleasing shapes and patterns.

Greece

Ancient Greek pottery is one of the most prolific of archaeological finds, partly due to its plentitude. Since Greeks used a large number of drinking cups, amphorae, water vessels and bowls, they tend to be what is uncovered by modern “digs".  In its earliest stages, around 1050B.C., pottery was an art form, with many vessels being signed by the potter, but not the artist who painted them. However, distinctive styles of presenting common themes like gods and even erotica, have led to many works being attributed to a single craftsmen, even though their name remains unknown.

One of the most interesting Greek pottery techniques was that of the black figure.  This was pottery that featured what appeared to be figures in silhouette, which were actually a result of a delicate firing method.  The iron-rich clay tended to turn red when fired, so colored areas were outlined, then filled in with refined clay that acted as “paint".  Highlights or details were added by scratching through the paint, to the red clay of the vessel.  The piece was then put in a kiln at about 850 degrees C.  When fully fired, the clay turned red with oxidization.  Green wood was then fed into the kiln and the vents closed, so that the temperature rose, and without oxygen, the clay of the piece would turn black. At this stage, the “paint" would be set.  Vents were then opened, and with renewed oxygen supplies, the piece would return to its natural red color, while the design or silhouetted figure, remained black.

Native American

Pottery in North and South America was distinctly its own art, prior to the arrival of Europeans on their shores.  However, it would appear that no culture in the Americas ever invented a potter’s wheel, and so everything found in archaeological sites, would be handmade by a variety of techniques including paddling, coiling, and sculpturing.

The artifacts from Mayan culture are some of the most dramatic and durable from the Americas. The geological history of the area, including its volcanic components, was important to the quality of the clays taken from exposed river systems, and tempers like sand, ash and pumice that were used for strengthening.  The two primary methods of forming pottery were “coil" and “slab".  With the coil form, clay was hand rolled into a long, narrow “rope" of clay that was then coiled into the shape of the vessel to be made, with the hands being used to flatten and smooth the walls.  The slab method was simply taking slabs of the clay and setting them together in the right shape, then joining sections together.  It was popular for making boxes, feet for other vessels, and lids for jars.  Once formed, items were allowed to air dry, a process known as becoming “leather hard", and then painted with clays for decoration.  A variety of mineralized clay slips were used for the decorations that often portrayed culture specific games, rulers, the afterlife, and even the use of that particular vessel.  While progressive discoveries brought more colors into the potter’s hands, many artisans restricted their painting to red, cream and black, a classic period of Mayan pottery known as the Codex style.

China

Perhaps the cradle of the world’s most refined and elegant pottery, the first pieces produced were created in the same way it would be in other countries around the world, through a simple molding of clays found along the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers in the Neolithic period (approx. 8000B.C.).  This was achieved through the coiling method, either by hand, or by using a paddle to smooth the exterior of a vessel, while placing something else inside, to mold the clay against. Not until the Yangshao period (approx. 4000B.C.), would the potter’s wheel bring about more refined methods of forming, at the same time that kilns underwent an improvement, a combination that resulted in a huge boom in the manufacturing of pottery.  Pottery representative of that time was made of red earthenware that was decorated with black figures or linear/geometric designs. That was followed by the Longshan period, with its white pottery, and black pottery that was as thin as eggshells.

 From there, a succession of periods was marked by their own unique contributions to the world of Chinese pottery:

·        Zhou Dynasty (1100-771B.C.): the appearance of faience, or glazing

·        Tang Dynasty (616-906A.D.): the creation of tri-colored pottery

·        Sung dynasty (960-1279 A.D.): monochrome wares distinguished by their shade, tone, and pattern of crackling

·        Yuan dynasty (1280-1367): blue and white pottery noted for poor color quality, possibly due to a shortage of cobalt imports

·        Ming dynasty (1368-1643): Superior quality blue and white wares. A period also known for “susancai" or tri-colored yellow, green and aubergine pottery.  New color combinations for backgrounds and foreground figures are introduced with wucai wares. After the Wan-Li years (1573-1620A.D.) few pottery items carried markings of the reign it was made in.