The history of ceramics is extraordinarily diverse, ranging from crude clay utensils to highly decorative pieces of immense beauty and craftsmanship. This lively book, part of the V&A Decorative Arts Series, draws on the V&A` s extensive collection to trace the story of European ceramics from the end of the Middle Ages to the present day.
Highlighting key developments, techniques, discoveries and styles-from earthenware, stoneware and tin-glaze to the invention of porcelain and the impact of industrialisation-the narrative is interspersed with thematic spread which explore the techniques and astonishing capabilities of this most ubiquitous of material. Events such as the Great Exhibition and its successors sought to resolve the conflict between mass production and good design, illustrated here by a wide range of pieces. Looking at the complicated 20th-century relationship between designer, manufacture and artist, the book also explores the modernism of the Bauhaus style, the opposing influence of Art deco, and the explosion of new design following the Second World War.
Including works made as recently as 1998, and featuring specially commissioned photography supported by related engravings and pattern-books, European Ceramics is not only an authoritative and indispensable reference work for students and collectors, but a wide-ranging and richly illustrated volume for all decorative art lovers to treasure.