In Terra Sigillata: Contemporary Techniques, Rhonda Willers provides an historical overview, as well as technical information on how to make, mix, and apply terra sigillatas. In addition, she presents contemporary artist profiles and techniques to enrich and encourage your terra sigillata development. This book is loaded with techniques. Twelve Process sections featuring illustrated, step-by-step instruction on making, siphoning, and blending terra sigillatas. In addition, you ll find 33 Try It Like sections featuring artist profiles of contemporary ceramic artists explaining how they use and create terra sigillatas for their work.
Bright red terra sigillata pots dating to the first three centuries CE can be found throughout the Western Roman provinces. The pots' widespread distribution and recognisability make them key evidence in the effort to reconstruct the Roman Empire's economy and society. Drawing on recent ideas in material culture, this book asks a radically new question: what was it about the pots themselves that allowed them to travel so widely and be integrated so quickly into a range of contexts and practices? To answer this question, Van Oyen offers a fresh analysis in which objects are no longer passive props, but rather they actively shape historical trajectories.
Names on Terra Sigillata, the product of 40 years of study, records over 5,000 names and some 300,000 stamps and signatures on Terra Sigillata (samian ware) manufactured in the 1st to the 3rd centuries AD in Gaul, the German provinces and Britain. To be published in 10 volumes, the work has been supported by the British Academy and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the University of Leeds and the University of Reading, and the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum. This is the first catalogue of its type to appear since Felix Oswald's Index of Potters' Stamps on Terra Sigillata ('Samian Ware'), published in 1931. The importance of samian as a tool for dating archaeological contexts and the vast increase in samian finds since then has prompted the authors to record the work of the potters in greater detail, illustrating, whenever possible, each individual stamp or signature which the potter used, and enumerating examples of each vessel type on which it appears, together with details of find-spots, repositories and museum accession numbers or excavators' site codes. Dating of the potters' activity is supported, as far as possible, by a discussion of the evidence. This is based on the occurrence of material in historically-dated contexts or on its association with other stamps or signatures dated by this method. The bulk of the material was examined personally by the authors, from kiln sites and occupation sites in France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Britain, but the catalogue also includes published records which they were able to verify, both from those areas and from other parts of the Roman Empire.
This book covers techniques of firing and finishing at low temperature without using glazes. Many ancient cultures and contemporary potters use methods of low firing, adding slips and burnishing pieces to create a more natural finish. The advantages are that it can be done without a kiln using old dustbins, pits dug out of the earth, or bonfires, meaning that providing you have outdoor space, it can be done on a low budget. This book is a step-by-step practical approach and beginner's guide, which focuses on how to do low firing and natural finishes, with many illustrations of beautiful work by contemporary makers. Chapters include burnishing, terra sigillata, smoke-firing, pit-firing, saggar firing and raku techniques.
“A well-presented book...recommended for high school and beyond.”—School Arts. “Will ask and answer every possible question you have in a clear and direct manner. No tool or technique is overlooked.”—Guassardo National Ceramics. “A well-illustrated guide to decorating techniques.”—Ceramics Monthly.
Aptera yields more stamped fragments of terra sigillata than any other Cretan city, including Knossos. This book presents stamped fragments of Italian and eastern sigillata found in excavations of the Theatre of Aptera and examines Crete's strategic position amid crossroads of transit and exchange as well as integration into the Roman economy.
Based on her study of Greek pottery sherds and vases and on her profound hands-on knowledge of pottery construction techniques, including experiments with the potting of Attic shapes, Toby Schreiber describes how ancient Greek potters constructed their vases. Drawn in large part from vases and fragments in the collection of the Getty Museum, the many photographs that accompany the text show how much even seemingly insignificant sherds may reveal about technique when studied by someone knowledgeable about potting. The drawings - all done by the author - demonstrate step by step with admirable clarity how the potter executed his craft. Written by a master potter, this is a book both for those who know little or nothing about potting techniques and for those who already have an understanding of these matters.
"Every day, ceramic artists encounter techniques, processes, materials, problems, and more that leave them with questions such as: How? Why? Where? Clay: A Studio Handbook answers those questions with authoritative, comprehensive coverage of topics ranging from studio safety, finding, making, and improvising tools and equipment, firing processes and theory, and much more. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in ceramics, Pitelka has created the most practical, all-inclusive studio handbook for students, studio artists, educators, and all those interested in the art of clay. Ten chapters, addressing the full range of ceramic processes, bring a lifetime of ceramic knowledge directly into the hands of potters. Written with concern for safe and efficient studio operation, diligent attention is paid to safety practices. A thorough table of contents, glossary, and index make finding answers quick and convenient. Numerous step-by-step illustrations guide readers through the many techniques."--Publisher's description.
