The Art of Ceramics: European Ceramic Design, 1500-1830

The great age of European ceramic design began around 1500 and ended in the early 19th century with the introduction of large-scale production of ceramics. In this illustrated history, with nearly 300 color and black and white photos and reproductions, curator Howard Coutts considers the main stylistic trendsùRenaissance, Mannerism, Oriental, Rococo, and Neoclassicismùas they were represented in such products as Italian Majolica, Dutch Delftware, Meissen and Sèvres porcelain, Staffordshire, and Wedgwood pottery. He pays close attention to changes in eating habits over the period, particularly the layout of a formal dinner, and discusses the development of ceramics as room decoration, the transmission of images via prints, marketing of ceramics and other luxury goods, and the intellectual background to Neoclassicism.