This volume is part of the Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceeding (CESP) series. This series contains a collection of papers dealing with issues in both traditional ceramics (i.e., glass, whitewares, refractories, and porcelain enamel) and advanced ceramics. Topics covered in the area of advanced ceramic include bioceramics, nanomaterials, composites, solid oxide fuel cells, mechanical properties and structural design, advanced ceramic coatings, ceramic armor, porous ceramics, and more.
Southeast Asia is known to many as a region teeming with tourist destinations, economic opportunities and ex-colonies, but a lesser known facet is its colourful and myriad cultures in which ceramics form an integral part of the social fabric. Focusing primarily on the Classical Period (800-1500 CE), this book views ancient Southeast Asian culture through the lens of ceramic production and trade, influenced but not completely overshadowed by its powerful neighbour, China. In this landmark publication, noted archaeologist and scholar John N. Miksic constructs a vivid picture of the development of Southeast Asia's unique ceramics. Along with three contributing authors - Pamela M. Watkins, Dawn F. Rooney and Michael Flecker - he summarizes the fruits of their research over the last forty years, beginning in Singapore with the founding of the Southeast Asian Ceramic Society in 1969. The result is a comprehensive and insightful overview of the technology, aesthetics and organization, both economic and political, of seemingly diverse territories in pre-colonial Southeast Asia. It is essential reading for all those with an interest in the economic history of the region, and also for anyone who seeks a better understanding of the brilliant but too often underestimated material culture of Southeast Asia.
"A collection of 120 pieces, all featured in colour, illustrates the art of the ancient Khmer Empire. The informative text discusses finds at Angker, Chinese and Indian influences,the mysteries of Ban Kruat and the ritual and utilitarian uses." --Book jacket.
Ceramics of Seduction: Glazed wares from Southeast Asia, provides an opportunity to see and learn about the broad range of wares, mainly glazed, produced in kilns located in five countries of present day Southeast Asia; Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and Laos. Each country developed a fascinating ceramics tradition that reflects the creativity of their people and the skills of the anonymous potters. To appreciate their beauty one should keep in mind the main characteristics of these wares: simplicity of form, earthly qualities of the clay and glaze, and restrained decoration. Ceramics of Seduction illustrates some 280 pieces from the Francisco Capelo collection, assembled in the last 15 years and by whom a short foreword is included. This book is enriched greatly by an insightful essay by Dawn E. Rooney, an eminent art historian of Southeast Asia. AUTHOR: Dawn F. Rooney, PhD, is an independent scholar and an art historian specialising in Southeast Asia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society in London, an advisor to the Society for Asian Art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and co-chairperson of the James H.W. Thompson Foundation Advisory Board, Bangkok, and the Thailand representative for the International Map Collectors' Society. She was awarded a Scholar in Residence at The Rockefeller Foundation Study Center in Bellagio, Italy in 2002. She was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Center for Khmer Studies (CKS) in January 2009. She is the author of nine books on the art and culture of Southeast Asia. Her latest book, Ancient Sukhothai, Thailand's Cultural Heritage was published by River Books in 2008. Dawn F. Rooney is an American who resides in Bangkok, Thailand. 311 colour illustrations
