Ceramic Collection Research Articles

Esh-Shaheinab: The archetype of the Sudanese Neolithic, its premises and sequels.

Esh-Shaheinab is a landmark in the African Neolithic. This site gave the name Shaheinab Neolithic to the Neolithic period in central Sudan, becoming its archetype. Excavated in the late 1940s by A.J. Arkell, it bears witness to the processes of domestic animal introduction from the Middle East into North and East Africa. Its excavation also uncovered the remains of an earlier Mesolithic or Early Khartoum (ca. ninth-sixth millennia BC) and a Late Neolithic occupation (ca. fourth millennium BC), providing essential insights into the Neolithic's premises and sequels. Although the influence of Esh-Shaheinab has been recognized for more than seventy years, our knowledge of its material culture has remained as it was then. In 2001, one of the present authors (EAAG) had permission to restudy the ceramic collection at the National Museum in Khartoum and subsequently export samples for laboratory analyses. Here, for the first time, we provide a multi-scale analysis of the Esh-Shaheinab ceramic material from the Early Khartoum to the Late Neolithic periods by integrating the chaîne opératoire approach into the local landscape. By combining the results of macroscopic and microscopic analyses, we performed petrographic investigations on the composition and manufacturing technology of the ceramic pastes using polarized optical microscopy (POM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS). Organic residue analysis (ORA) was also carried out, to provide information on diet, vessel use, and subsistence practices. The results of our combined analyses showed that the inhabitants of Esh-Shaheinab developed an adaptation specific to the ecological niche they inhabited. They lived in the western valley of the Nile, which was narrower and offered different environmental conditions than the eastern bank. This resulted in partial continuity in manufacturing traditions and ceramic recipes, including more mixed wadi materials and a strong emphasis on wild meat consumption as the narrower alluvial plain restricted animal herding.

Monsoon Winds and Ming Porcelains: Chinese Ceramics and Their Reception in Early Modern South Asia

Abstract This essay will explore the arrival, acquisition, and reception of Chinese ceramics within early modern South Asia, with a focus on the Mughal dynasty (r. 1526–1857) courtly context. The first step in placing South Asian ceramic collecting practices within the broader historical and geographic circulation of porcelains in the Gulf and Indian Ocean worlds is understanding the breadth and nature of South Asian collections. While the Safavid porcelain collections donated by Shah Abbas to Ardabil, and the massive Chinese porcelain collection of the Ottoman courts held today in Istanbul’s Topkapı Palace are well known and relatively well published, the Chinese ceramic collections of South Asia have received less scholarly attention. Fresh material presented here includes new evidence of the extent of multi-generational Mughal interactions with, and interest in, Chinese ceramics. The broader question to be addressed is how these porcelains were perceived, utilized, and displayed in the South Asian context. Considering textual evidence, contemporary paintings, extant architecture, archaeological finds, and surviving inscribed objects, this essay will argue that Mughal porcelain collections should be understood within the context of their broader collecting activities, and in relation to the porcelain collections and displays of their Timurid ancestors.

Shake, rattle, and roll: Continuity of rattling ceramic vessels and adornos in the Caribbean

Ceramic rattles and rattle vessel adornos have received little attention in current Caribbean archaeology literature and may be overlooked or misidentified in Caribbean ceramic collections due to their minimal audibility or “failure” during the construction process. Here, we evaluate existing reports of rattle ceramics and adornos in the Caribbean and report on the discovery of rattle adornos within collections at the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Yale Peabody Museum. A detailed analysis of adorno rattles, including microscopic analysis, measurement of sound intensity, and a replication experiment was conducted. This study answers questions regarding their technological construction, potential function, geospatial and temporal spread, and cultural implications to Indigenous groups in the Caribbean. Despite difficulty in their construction, adorno rattles and ceramic rattles appeared in the Greater and Lesser Antilles throughout the Ceramic Age and likely functioned in ceremonial spaces.

Valorisation of museum collections. Collection catalogues - collections of ceramics and ornaments belonging to the Museum of the Banat Village Timișoara

Valorisation of museum collections. Collection catalogues - collections of ceramics and ornaments belonging to the Museum of the Banat Village Timișoara

The Chaco Great North Road: Archaeological Survey and Ceramic Analysis by the San Juan Valley Archaeological Project

Research by Cynthia Irwin-Williams and the San Juan Valley Archaeological Project during the 1970s included investigations at Salmon Pueblo, near modern Bloomfield, NM. Interest focused on the construction and early occupation by immigrants from Chaco Canyon. Research also included the 80 km Great North Road, which joined Pueblo Alto at the southern end with Salmon Pueblo at the northern terminus. In order to investigate the North Road, Pierre Morenon conducted an intensive foot survey of the road trajectory and associated features. A large ceramic collection from the road and nearby sites was analyzed by Hayward Franklin. Pottery types dated mostly from 1050 to 1130 CE. A typical assemblage of decorated and utility pottery came northward from Chaco Canyon centers. Smaller amounts of northern San Juan pottery also occurred, signifying transport of ceramics and other goods southward from outliers at Salmon and Aztec Pueblos.

Influences Between Chinese Ming and Qing Dynasty Porcelain and European Rococo Style

The porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasties had an extensive and profound mutual influence on the European Rococo art style. The content of this research paper includes the origin of the Rococo style and the influence of the Rococo style on Chinese porcelain from the introduction of the Kangxi Dynasty to the prosperous Qianlong period. The Rococo art style extensively utilizes decorative elements and techniques of Chinese porcelain, reflecting the importance of Chinese porcelain influences on the Rococo art style. This study fills the gap in research on the historical process and artistic techniques of the mutual influence between Chinese Ming and Qing dynasty porcelain and European Rococo style by building on more information about the connections of trade between China and Europe in ceramics and the collection of Chinese style ceramics and Rococo style ceramics by European and Ming and Qing Chinese royalties back in the 18th century. Elucidating the deep influence and development of different cultural exchanges provides a new perspective and value for studying the mutual inspiration of Chinese and Western art.

ФОРМУВАННЯ ПЕРСОНАЛЬНОЇ КОЛЕКЦІЇ ІВАНА БІЛИКА У НАЦІОНАЛЬНОМУ МУЗЕЇ ГОНЧАРСТВА

The outstanding Opishnia potter Ivan Bilyk devoted his whole life to the production of pottery. His work has been awarded numerous prizes, diplomas, certificates, medals. He is one of the three potters from Opishnia whose work was awarded the Taras Shevchenko State Prize of Ukraine in 1999. Ivan Bilyk was born in the family of a shoemaker, although his grandfather was a potter. The boy went through a long way of learning the pottery craft – in other potters, in educational institutions, at the enterprise. The master’s personal life also seemed difficult (illnesses, injuries during the Second World War, which caused disability). For many years, Ivan Bilyk worked at the «Art Ceramics» plant as a creative master of the artistic and experimental creative laboratory. He produced everything that local`s potters created – various tableware, zoomorphic sculpture, plates, vases for the floor, children’s toys, etc. The image of a lion became a favorite image in Ivan Bilyk’s creative works. The master repeatedly claimed that he was the author of the zoomorphic sculpture «Lion». It was this image that brought the potter world recognition at the international biennial in Faenza (Italy). In Ivan Bilyk’s personal collection of ceramics in the National Museum of Pottery, lion sculptures make up a third of all available zoomorphic sculptures in the collection. Today, most of Ivan Bilyk’s products are concentrated in the National Museum-Reserve of Ukrainian Pottery in Opishnia. This collection has about 300 storage units. The personal collection illustrates all the creative diversity of the potter. In the article, against the background of Ivan Bilyk’s biographical facts, the main events that influenced the formation of his personal collection in the National Museum of Pottery are determined. The time frames for the production of the existing products are outlined. Separate form-forming and decorative changes in the potter’s works have been traced.

The age and cultural affiliation of the Ekven burial ground through the analysis of its ceramic collection

One of the main problems in studying the Ekven burial ground is determining its age and cultural affiliation. From the very first years of its research to the present, the typology of harpoon tips and the stylistic analysis of ornaments on bone items constitute the basis for solving the corresponding range of issues. This approach allowed defining that the burial ground belongs to the early phase of the sequence of the Neo-Eskimo cultures, namely the Old Bering Sea culture. Meanwhile, an analysis of the ceramic collection of the Ekven burial ground shows that the site contains only ceramics typical of the late Birnirk culture, characterized by circular and arched ornamental patterns. This differentiate the Ekven burial ground from other reference sites of the ancient Bering Sea culture located on the American side of the Bering Strait and containing ceramics that preserve the ancient traditions of Paleo-Eskimo ceramics, characterized by linear and “checked” imprints on the vessels surfaces. Such situation is rather contradictory and requires some explanation. Apparently, the materials from the Ekven burial ground have not yet been fully understood, and research to determine its cultural affiliation needs to be continued. The article provides a brief overview of the materials related to the establishment of cultural and chronological affiliation of the burial ground, summarizes the data on its absolute dating and the results of the analysis of its ceramics. Several possibilities for resolving the contradictions that arose after studying the Ekven ceramic collection are discussed.

Potchevashsky ceramic complex from the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement (based on the materials of the 1997 excavations)

The object of the study was a representative collection of ceramic vessels (324 specimens) of the Potchevash culture of the VI–IX centuries, obtained during archaeological research in 1997 at the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement in the Tobolsk Irtysh region. The purpose of the study: to determine the main morphological and decorative features of the ceramic complex of the Potchevash culture based on the materials of the collection of the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement, to determine the place of the ceramic complex of the settlement in the system of archaeological cultures of Western Siberia. Based on the purpose of the study, the following tasks were put forward: characterization of the main morphological, decorative and stylistic characteristics of the ceramic collection; comparison with the materials of synchronous monuments of adjacent territories, determination of the degree of their similarities and differences. The relevance of the work is determined by the small number of publications in which statistical calculations on Potchevash ceramics are given. To solve the tasks set in the work, traditional research methods are used for historical science: comparative-historical, typological, comparative-typological, formal-stylistic, descriptive method of analyzing material sources, the method of analogies. As a result of the study, it was found that the dominant features of the studied complex include the numerical predominance of pot-shaped vessels with a high neck and a sharp transition to a slightly expanded body; the ornamentation is characterized by a combination of dimpled pearl decor, combed stamp and horizontal drawn grooves, as well as a small proportion of curly stamps. A comparative analysis showed the proximity of the ceramics of the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement with the collections of a number of Potchevash monuments of the South Taiga Irtysh region and the Barabinsk forest-steppe, as well as its significant difference from both the Potchevash ceramic complexes from the Priishimye region and ceramics from the monuments of the Zelenogorsky stage from the Surgut Ob region. A certain similarity with the ceramics of the Kuchiminsky stage, which is expressed in the rare use of figured stamps, a large proportion of grooves, fixed on ceramics from the 1997 excavation from the Dolgovskoye 1 settlement, allows us to suggest its synchronicity with the Kuchiminskaya and date it within the VIII–IX centuries AD.

Unexpected legacies

Abstract William J. Woodhouse was honorary curator of the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney, from 1904 until 1937. During his curatorship he undertook a significant acquisition of plaster casts to enhance the representation of Greek and Italian sculpture alongside the existing ceramics collection. At its height the collection included well over 250 plaster casts and reproductions. Today the majority of the cast collection has been deaccessioned and, instead, his personal collections of ceramic sherds and photography, donated after her father’s death by his daughter Liska Woodhouse, have become Woodhouse’s curatorial legacy. This paper introduces Woodhouse’s role as curator, and examines each of his unique collections to analyse how Woodhouse himself conceived of his legacy and the reality represented in the Nicholson collection today. Central to this paper is an exploration of how collecting priorities and the perception of authenticity and narrative value changed in museums of antiquities during the twentieth century.

Technological study of the “La Paya” ceramic collection from Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera, Russia)

Technological study of the “La Paya” ceramic collection from Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera, Russia)

Collecting and Researching Chosŏn White Porcelain in Modern Japan: focusing on the late 1920s

The study of Korean ceramics in the modern period was initiated by the discovery of Koryŏ celadon. The first collectors were mainly Europeans and Americans but it was not long before Japanese scholars, namely Yamayoshi Moriyoshi(1859-?) and Yagi Shozaburo(1866-1942), attempted to establish the history of Korean ceramics, introducing Chosŏn dynasty into the history for the first time. Thereafter, Japanese scholars and collectors dominated the study and collection of Korean ceramics. In the 1920s, the Asakawa Noritaka(1884-1964) and Takumi(1891-1931) brothers and Yanagi Muneyoshi(1889-1961) pioneered the collection, evaluation, and study of Chosŏn white porcelain. The collecting, academic research, and public interest were the three main elements that were closely connected to strengthen the understanding of Korean ceramics. The pioneering activities of the Asakawa brothers and Yanagi did not have a large impact at first, but the high price attained by Goshomaru, a Koryŏ tea bowl, in an auction in 1925, and the so-called Gyerongsan uproar of 1926 attracted public attention, resulting in the 1930s craze for Chosŏn crafts including Chosŏn white porcelain. Large amounts of Chosŏn craft items were shipped from Korea to Japan in the 1930s. From the 1930s to the 1940s, a new social class emerged in Korea that valued culture and refinement, and collections by Koreans rapidly increased. Although the early role of Japanese collectors and scholars in modern collection and study of Korean ceramics cannot be disputed, by the 1930s, Koreans were starting to take over the role.

Early Neolithic of the Middle Don in the Light of Current Research (based on materials from the Cherkasskaya-5 site)

The article deals with the latest overview of the Early Neolithic site Cherkasskaya-5, located in the Middle Don, southern part of the forest-steppe zone, Voronezh Oblast. The site is characterized by particular preservation of organic remains and a range of materials available for dating, which is rare for sites of the Don forest-steppe area. The first radiocarbon dates, along with particular early Neolithic flint assemblage, allowed attributing the complex to the early Neolithic. First archaeozoological analysis suggested the presence of bones of domesticated species. However recent re-examination of the faunal collection did not allow identifying any domesticated species. New AMS-radiocarbon dates made on organic crust and animal bones confirmed the Early Neolithic age of the site. Direct dating of the organic wrapping of a Cretaceous sinker allowed refining the age of the early Neolithic period to the first quarter of the 6th mill BC. Excavations conducted in 2014–2015 allowed obtaining a ceramic collection, which does not have any analogies within the surrounding Neolithic sites of the Middle and Upper Don region, and finds more similarities with Lower Volga ceramic tradition. It allows us to put a new glance at the process of Neolithisation of the region.

Этнокультурные процессы на территории Центрального Казахстана в эпоху поздней бронзы

The discovery of extremely expressive burial sites of the Late Bronze Begazy-Dandybayev culture of Central Kazakhstan launched wider scientific polemics and purposeful studies of this period. The article examines the issues of the alleged cultural genesis of the Late Bronze Age antiquities in the region associated with the large-scale migration of the Srubnaya population from the Volga-Ural region in the middle of the II millennium BC. These processes are reflected in a significant increase in the number and area of settlements with a high population density. Mining and metallurgical and metal-processing production rises to a new level. Horseback riding begins, as indicated by the finds of bone and horn rod-shaped cheekpieces. The conglomerate composition of the population is noted, as documented by materials from household and funerary complexes. Their ceramic collections contain cordoned, Dandybayev, Andronoid and wheel pottery. The connection between the largest mausoleums and the burials of tribal leaders who stood at the head of migration flows is substantiated. Comparison of data on burial rituals, as well as a significant gap between traditional and radiocarbon dating made it possible to divide the entire array of sites into two large ethno-cultural formations corresponding to the Sargarin-Alekseyevsk (15th—10th centuries BC) and Begazy-Dandybayev (11th—9th centuries BC) cultures that partially intersected at the final stage of the Bronze Age.

The Kari'na ceramic tradition through ethnographic collections

AbstractThe collections of ethnographic ceramic vessels made by Kari'na women in Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and Brazil present part of the history of a ceramic tradition that was consolidated over at least 200 years. The characteristics of ceramics and their production process can be associated to historical relations established by the Kari'na with different collectors and other peoples, as well as the agency of potters to maintain and transform their own tradition. By relating the history of these collections to the global history of museum institutions, this article contributes to the debate on museum decolonization and the transdisciplinary study of ethnographic ceramic collections. In addition, a look back into the past of collections can also give elements for a look forward into the future of the relations between objects and peoples.

Making London Porcelain—A Multidisciplinary Project Connecting Local Communities with the Technological and Innovation Histories of London’s Early Porcelain Manufacturers

This collaborative multidisciplinary pilot project involving the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), the Ashmolean Museum, and Newham Borough of London, examined the composition of a selection of eighteenth-century porcelain objects by two of London’s first porcelain manufacturers, Bow and Chelsea. As the first science-based public engagement project to be piloted by the V&A, it succeeded in bringing together young Londoners and their communities to investigate local histories of scientific and artistic innovation through the analysis and remaking of eighteenth-century porcelain. Scientific object analysis informed activities with local sixth-form students, revealing the intimate link between art and science, and showcasing the V&A Science Lab as a national hub for heritage science. Public outreach activities, including an exhibition at Stratford Library and workshops for Newham Heritage Month also provided hands-on learning, including curatorial and object-handling experience, and the embodied practices of remaking. Ultimately, this project stimulated new ways of engaging with ceramics collections and explored how the creativity and ingenuity of eighteenth-century ceramics pioneers can provide inspiration for the next generation of makers.

CURATING CULTURAL HERITAGE: THE CERAMIC COLLECTIONS OF BELIZE

The long and rich history of archaeological research in Belize has produced an unparalleled whole vessel and ceramic sherd type collection spanning the entire country and all of Maya prehistory. Such ceramic collections are imperative for cross-dating and understanding inter-site and interregional connections. The Institute of Archaeology (IA), NICH, has been actively engaged in systematically curating their collections through reorganizing type collections, checking the proveniences of whole vessels, and attempting to identify contexts of unprovenienced pots. Specifically, the IA has been curating the National Collections by providing better storage and organization, however this is an ongoing process that needs the attention and support of all archaeologists conducting research in Belize, in the same way that researchers have focused on excavation and “the site”. The IA has received few type collections from current and past archaeological projects since the 1980’s, and project record-keeping in the laboratory has not always paid the necessary nor equal attention to detail as excavation records. As researchers interested in the archaeological history of the country, both foreign projects and government entities have a responsibility to the cultural heritage and patrimony of Belize. Thus, it is necessary to curate these collections properly so that they remain available to future archaeological endeavours, students, researchers, and the people of Belize.

CLASSIC PERIOD CERAMICS OF NIM LI PUNIT: CHANGES IN COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE AT A SOUTHERN BELIZE POLITICAL CAPITAL

Pottery recovered from 2012 to 2019 at Nim li Punit, Toledo District, demonstrates that it was occupied from AD 150/250 to AD 830+. We identify long-term changes in the kinds of material produced, used, and discarded over the 600- to 700-year occupation of the site. During the last century of the Classic period, Nim li Punit witnessed a decline in the diversity of ceramic practice. This could reflect a shift in feasting behavior, perhaps due to the political and demographic instability experienced throughout Maya lowlands during the eighth century. Alternatively, this could be the result of new networks of alliance and exchange that arose during this turbulent time. A third possibility is that distinct communities of potters occupied Nim li Punit at different times. To test these different interpretations, we track changes in the ceramic collection at the type: variety level. We discuss similarities and differences seen in the pottery of Nim li Punit and that of other political centers of the Southern Belize Region, and note design and style elements that are shared with other parts of the Maya world.

La collection étrusque du musée national de Céramique : un ensemble technique

The Sèvres museum has a remarkable collection of Etruscan terracottas and ceramics assembled between the end of the 18th and the end of the 19th century. This collection of nearly 70 pieces, offers a wide panorama of the techniques developed by the Etruscans, from the Villanovian period to the Hellenistic times. This article proposes a selection of the most evocative pieces, which reflect the history of the formation of the collection, of its presentation in the museum and of its contribution to Etruscan studies.

КЕРАМИКА, ИЗГОТОВЛЕННАЯ С ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕМ ГОНЧАРНОГО КРУГА, ИЗ РАСКОПОК ПОСЕЛЕНИЯ БУРЛА-3 В 1987-1988 ГГ.

The article is devoted to the introduction into scientific circulation of the preliminary results of studying the collection of ceramics, made with the use of potter’s wheel, from the settlement of Burla-3, originating from the excavations of V.S. Udodov in 1987-1988. The collection is kept in the funds of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography of Altai, Altai State University. The authors analyzed the shapes of vessels, ornaments, raw materials and molding compounds. As a result, it was determined that the main part of the dishes were pots. Jars and jug-shaped vessels are few in number. Ceramics, made with the use of potter’s wheel, are practically devoid of ornament. All vessels are made of sanded clay. Three traditions have been identified in the selection of raw materials for the preparation of molding compounds: 1) the composition of molding compounds from two clays; 2) from one ferruginous clay; 3) from ferruginous clay with the inclusion of a white substance evenly distributed throughout the molding mass of the vessels. The authors come to the conclusion that the predominance of dishes, ceramics, made with the use of potter’s wheel, which is not typical for the main cultures of the Late Bronze Age of the region, indicates the alien nature of the population of the village. Taken together with the presence at the site of a kiln for fi ring vessels, fragments melted to a glassy state and deformed from exposure to high temperatures, it is most likely to have been produced locally, possibly aimed at import.