|
 The use of clay alone or clay combined with other materials to create objects, such as jars, plates, and statuettes is known as pottery. This ancient art form is something that can be found all across the globe; common among many ancient cultures. Ceramic stoneware and pottery figurines not only tell us about who our ancestors were, but they also show us what has shaped present art.
Pottery was an art form as much as it was a method of creating useful objects. It touched many aspects of human life, but its largest contributions to history were industrial uses (the building of structures with tiles and bricks) and decorative uses (the creation of vases, figures, and other décor.) At first, these items were fashioned by hand, but the invention of the potter’s wheel in Mesopotamia during the 4th century BC and the spread of the invention throughout Eurasia made the creation of these objects easier.
As a direct result of having less difficulty in creating the objects themselves, potters were able to focus their attention on being artistic. The painting, carving, and glazing of the products allowed craftsmen from their respective countries to reflect their culture, their lifestyle, and their beliefs. Slowly, objects became even more unique to a country, allowing the artistic evidence of many cultures to live on to today.
As mentioned earlier, evidence of pottery has been found all across the globe. Some of the cultures that practiced the art include the Chinese, Cretans, Dominican, Greek, Korean, Japanese, Mayan, and Persian. Today, you can distinguish these different cultures depending on the shape of the object as well as the colors and patterns used.
For example, intricate geometric patterns often have Moorish descent. Very old tin-glazed pottery usually hails from the Middle-East, though more recently dated items may come from Britain having made its way there after the Dutch traders brought them. Japanese pottery, on the other hand, often depict animals, perhaps a predecessor to the popularity pet figurines today; whereas Chinese items are often recognized by a very trained eye because of how the different dynasties shaped the styles of the objects.
Indeed there is a lot to learn about pottery figurines. Very often different figurines have different historical meaning to different cultures. Also, many countries have produced one or two prestigious artistic houses which devote their efforts to the creation of porcelain statuettes, such as Capodimonte Porcelain and Lladro Figurines. To fully appreciate and understand this intricate and delicate world, a closer look must be made.
|
