This book is primarily an introduction to the vast family of ceramic materials. The first part is devoted to the basics of ceramics and processes: raw materials, powders synthesis, shaping and sintering. It discusses traditional ceramics as well as “technical” ceramics – both oxide and non-oxide – which have multiple developments. The second part focuses on properties and applications, and discusses both structural and functional ceramics, including bioceramics. The fields of abrasion, cutting and tribology illustrate the importance of mechanical properties. It also deals with the questions/answers of a ceramicist regarding electronuclear technology. As chemistry is an essential discipline for ceramicists, the book shows, in particular, what soft chemistry can contribute as a result of sol-gel methods.
The tumultuous years of the French Revolution left France’s prestigious decorative arts industries poised on the brink of ruin. It was not until after the fall of the monarchy and the ascendancy of the Consulat and Empire under Napoleon that they began to recover so that by the middle of the nineteenth century they stood at the pinnacle of their achievement. This book is the first in depth study of the renowned porcelain works at Sèvres during its virtual rebirth under the 47 year direction of the scientist, teacher, and administrator Alexandre Brongniart. Some 110 working drawings from the Sèvres Archive are reproduced here for the first time in color. They celebrate the high skill of the artists whose work often documented contemporary events in France. There are table services in the 'Egyptian' and 'Etruscan' taste as well as individual pieces that recall Napoleonic military campaigns. There are also exquisite Neoclassical decorations using motifs such as birds, butterflies, and insects that reflect the century’s early fascination with the natural sciences. The repertoire of nineteenth century eclecticism is evident in the output of Sèvres from the revival of Gothic and renaissance motifs to the outburst of naturalism. Eleven essays by leading authorities assess this dynamic period.
Simona Raneri, Germana Barone, Vincenza Crupi, Francesca Longo, Domenico Majolino, Paolo Mazzoleni, Davide Tanasi, Josè Teixeira and Venuti Valentina Technological analysis of Sicilian prehistoric pottery production through small angle neutron scattering techniqueSimona Raneri, Germana Barone, Paolo Mazzoleni, Davide Tanasi and Emanuele Costa Mobility of men versus mobility of goods: archaeometric characterization of Middle Bronze Age pottery in Malta and Sicily (15th-13th century BC)Judit Molera, Javier Iñañez, Glòria Molina, Josep Burch, Xavier Alberch, Michael D. Glascock and Trinitat Pradell Lustre and glazed ceramic collection from Mas Llorens, 16th-17th centuries (Salt, Girona). Provenance and technologyCelestino Grifa, Alberto De Bonis, Vincenza Guarino, Chiara Maria Petrone, Chiara Germinario, Mariano Mercurio, Gianluca Soricelli, Alessio Langella and Vincenzo Morra Thin walled pottery from Alife (Northern Campania, Italy)Svetlana Valiulina and Tatiana Shlykova Iranian Bowl from Biliar: Complex Research and ConservationFatma Madkour, Hisham Imam, Khaled Elsayed and Galila Meheina Elemental Analysis Study of Glazes and Ceramic Bodies from Mamluk and Ottoman Periods in Egypt by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) Fernanda Inserra, Alessandra Pecci, Miguel Ángel Cau Ontiveros and Jordi Roig Buxó Organic residues analysis of Late Antique pottery from Plaça Major-Horts de Can Torras (Castellar del Vallés, Catalonia, Spain)Marino Maggetti, Andreas Heege and Vincent Serneels Technological aspects of an early 19th c. English and French white earthenware assemblage from Bern (Switzerland)Leandro Fantuzzi, Miguel A. Cau Ontiveros and Josep Maria Macias Amphorae from the Late Antique city of Tarraco-Tarracona (Catalonia, Spain): archaeometric characterizationShlomo Shoval and Yitzhak Paz Analyzing the fired-clay ceramic of EBA Canaanite pottery using FT-IR spectroscopy and LA-ICP-MS
