South African Ceramicists Inspired by Trade Ceramics

Abstract

Africa has a legacy of ceramic making spanning thousands of years, yet the continent has also been the recipient of ceramics made elsewhere, which arrived along various trade networks. This article refers to historical Asian trade ceramics that reached eastern and southern Africa on well-established Indian Ocean trade networks long before the arrival of European maritime trading companies. The importation of foreign ceramics, particularly to southern Africa, increased during later periods of Dutch and British colonial rule, and a brief overview is provided of the most important kinds of trade ceramics that arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. The article mainly explores the influence of historical trade ceramics on the identity and character of contemporary South African ceramics. It focuses on a number of South African ceramic artists who have an affinity with inherited ceramic traditions or materials, among others Hylton Nel, Nico Masemolo, Ellalou O’Meara, Nicolene Swanepoel, John Newdigate, Ian Calder, Lisa Ringwood, Mervyn Gers, Michael Chandler, Jo-Anne Kuter, Marietjie van der Merwe, Thelma Marcusson, Esias Bosch, Christo Giles, Sarah Walters, David Walters, Louise Jennings, Katherine Glenday, Lynnley Watson, Lynette Morris-Hale, John Bauer, Lisa Firer, Juliet Armstrong, John Shirley, Martha Zettler, Fahmeeda Omar, and Eugene Hön. Many of these ceramicists find inspiration in Asian and European decorative design elements, are drawn to production and decoration techniques used for historical ceramics, or work in imported clay bodies such as porcelain or bone china. They continuously push the boundaries of their mediums to devise new ways to express creativity.