Pottery has a long history in India. Over the centuries it has been used for domestic ware, votive pieces and for architecture. Each area of the country is known for its different styles, decorations and ways of making. In this book, the author, not only looks at Indian pottery but also at the communities who make it, their organization, history and philosophy.
This definitive book tells the visual history of tile decoration in the Indian subcontinent, through vibrant photography and thorough research. Historic India, which now encompasses the modern nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, is celebrated for the richness of its architectural and decorative arts, but less well known for glazed tiles. Arthur Millner opens up this hitherto neglected subject with a richly illustrated narrative of the development of tiles across the South Asian Subcontinent. Millner traces the craft’s roots in Muslim Persia, Afghanistan and Central Asia, showing how imported glazing techniques combined with an ancient local tradition of clay craftsmanship. He explores the production, designs and influences in Indian tiles from antiquity to the colonial period, tracing the historical evolution through a series of key eras, including the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire in Northern India as well as the independent sultanates in the Deccan, Bengal, Central India and the Indus region. Although glazed tiles are generally associated with Islam, they also briefly flourished in both Hindu strongholds, such as Gwalior and Orchha, and in Christian Portuguese-ruled Goa. More than four hundred photographs, many of little-known sites, are drawn from the author’s years of travel as well as from colleagues, the archives of the Victoria and Albert Museum, auction houses and other celebrated institutions. These images capture both the architectural context and the visual appeal of the vibrant colors and intricate designs, and provide a visual compendium of the different styles and techniques. Taken together they offer a unique chronicle of an important and environmentally threatened aspect of the region’s cultural, artistic and religious evolution over centuries—one that will appeal to both the specialist and general reader including anyone with an interest in Indian history and architecture, as well as those interested in Islamic art and ceramics.
Traces the craft of pottery making among the Catawba Indians of North Carolina from the late 18th century to the present When Europeans encountered them, the Catawba Indians were living along the river and throughout the valley that carries their name near the present North Carolina-South Carolina border. Archaeologists later collected and identified categories of pottery types belonging to the historic Catawba and extrapolated an association with their protohistoric and prehistoric predecessors. In this volume, Thomas Blumer traces the construction techniques of those documented ceramics to the lineage of their probable present-day master potters or, in other words, he traces the Catawba pottery traditions. By mining data from archives and the oral traditions of contemporary potters, Blumer reconstructs sales circuits regularly traveled by Catawba peddlers and thereby illuminates unresolved questions regarding trade routes in the protohistoric period. In addition, the author details particular techniques of the representative potters—factors such as clay selection, tool use, decoration, and firing techniques—which influence their styles.
Working without the use of the potter's wheel, Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest create beautiful ceramic ware for both utilitarian and ceremonial use. A classic, this book is the first comprehensive account of historic Pueblo pottery, and results from years of study. With nearly 200 examples, the authors appraise the aesthetic value of Pueblo pottery as rivaling that of any ware made by Neolithic societies.
The moral mission archaeology set in motion by black activists in the 1960s and 1970s sought to tell the story of Americans, particularly African Americans, forgotten by the written record. Today, the archaeological study of African-American life is no longer simply an effort to capture unrecorded aspects of black history or to exhume the heritage of a neglected community. Archaeologists now recognize that one cannot fully comprehend the European colonial experience in the Americas without understanding its African counterpart. This collection of essays reflects and extends the broad spectrum of scholarship arising from this expanded definition of African-American archaeology, treating such issues as the analysis and representation of cultural identity, race, gender, and class; cultural interaction and change; relations of power and domination; and the sociopolitics of archaeological practice. "I, Too, Am America" expands African-American archaeology into an inclusive historical vision and identifies promising areas for future study.
The book analyses the transition from the ancient to the medieval period in polity, economy, the caste system and culture. It examines the form of peasant protest and the reasons for their failure and infrequency. The author also examines the development of tantrism and the mentality that feudalism created.
