Among the Kabyle Berber cultures of northern Algeria, traditional handmade ceramics are a female artform. These vessels were developed to be primarily functional, for cooking, serving, and storing food, but they illustrate aesthetic sensibilities in their graceful, well-proportioned forms. The ceramics are also hand-painted with a variety of intricate geometric motifs and … [Read more...] about African Pottery: Researched by Mollie Williams
Decorative motifs on north African pottery may sometimes appear simple, but they are considered very important; in Algeria, for example, new members of a family, such as newlywed wives, are expected to adopt their in-law’s pottery styles. This vessel shows the importance of the painting decoration in the care taken to prepare the surface, which has been burnished to a shine … [Read more...] about Decorative Serving Pitcher: Researched by Olivia Smith
Berber vessels are distinctive in their use of locally sourced clays that the artisans dig, process, mature, and work by hand. Although this Berber vessel takes the same form as large, traditional Moroccan tagines used for cooking, this tagine is much too small to be used for cooking or serving meals. Instead, this covered vessel was made to mimic the shape of a tagine, but it … [Read more...] about Miniature Tagine for Holding Spices: Researched by Olivia Smith
Among the indigenous artists of the Americas, ceramists have developed signature pottery forms that are based on traditional cooking and storage vessels. These artists often also developed elaborate, decorative forms of pottery to serve for important civic or ritual occasions, as well as to cater to and satisfy high-status patrons. Some forms, motifs, and designs on these … [Read more...] about Native Ceramic Vessels from Around the Americas: Researched by Whitney Mosley and Sarah Teel
This vessel is an excellent example of the skilled art pottery made by the artisans of San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua. These vessels strongly illustrate the Mestizo (mixed European and indigenous) heritage of the region; the vessels are made using traditional terra cotta clays, but formed using the imported Spanish method of throwing the vessel on a potter’s wheel. The vessels … [Read more...] about Sgraffito Vessel with Four Swimming Turtles: Researched and Reproduced by Katelynn McGuire