The V&A Ceramics collections are, in the fields of post-Medieval European, Middle Eastern and East Asian ceramics, the most extensive and comprehensive in the world. The collection contains an A-Z of items from A-Marked to Factory Z.
A-Z of ceramics - A is for A-Marked
Ceramic objects are often identified by their marks. Marks such as the Chelsea anchor or the crossed-swords of Meissen are well known (and were often pirated), yet the sign…
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A-Z of Ceramics - B is for Biscuit
'Biscuit' comes from the French 'bis-cuite', meaning 'twice baked', although the term is most commonly used for unglazed wares that have had only a single firing. This is b…
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A-Z of Ceramics - C is for China
The word ‘china’ was used in 17th-century Britain to describe porcelain imported from China. At that time Europeans were unable to manufacture porcelain, which was an expen…
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A-Z of Ceramics - D is for Delft / Delftware
For most people, 'delftware' conjures up images of the blue and white pottery made in the Dutch town of Delft. The term in fact describes all 'tin-glazed earthenwares' made…
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A-Z of Ceramics - E is for Encaustic
he term encaustic, literally meaning 'burnt in', is given to several quite different artistic processes. In ceramics it usually describes objects, often tiles, with decorat…
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A-Z of Ceramics - F is for Flatback
Flatback is the word used for cheap earthenware ornaments modelled only on the front and slim enough to fit the narrowest shelf. Staffordshire potters used the word 'images…
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A-Z of Ceramics - G is for Grand Feu
'Grand feu', simply meaning 'high temperature firing', is a term especially applied to tin-glazed earthenwares (or 'faïence') made in France. It was used in contrast to an …
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A-Z of Ceramics - H is for Hard-paste
Hard-paste or 'true' porcelain is so-called because its raw materials and firing temperature (1200°C to 1450°C) result in a very hard, strong body that can withstand boilin…
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A-Z of Ceramics - I is for Iznik
The small rural town of Iznik nestles picturesquely on a lakeside in Western Anatolia. Here in the early 16th century an 'Imperial ware' was made for the Istanbul court of …
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A-Z of Ceramics - J is for Jiggers and Jolleys
CERAMICS A-Z Ceramics - J is for Jiggers and Jolleys Illustration of a jigger, Alfred B. Searle, 1929-30. Illustration of a jigger, Alfred B. Searle, 1929-30. (click image…
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A-Z of Ceramics - K is for Kakiemon
Kakiemon is the name given to a class of finely potted Japanese porcelains painted in a distinctive palette and repertoire of designs, which were made from the late 17th ce…
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A-Z of Ceramics - L is for Lustre
Lustre is a very sophisticated decorative technique in which pigment containing oxides of copper and silver is painted onto a fired glazed pot. The pot is then given a low-…
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A-Z of Ceramics - M is for Maiolica / Majolica
The term 'maiolica' was used in 15th-century Italy for lustrewares imported from Spain. It is usually said that the name derives from Majorca, an island that played an impo…
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A-Z of Ceramics - O is for Oxidation
In addition to changing clay into a hard ceramic material, the first firing of a pot transforms its appearance, dramatically altering colours and textures. The challenge to…
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A-Z of Ceramics - P is for Palissy
Bernard Palissy (born about 1509/10, died about 1585) was a colourful and romantic character. Although patronised by the Catholic nobility, he was a militant Huguenot (Prot…
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A-Z of Ceramics - Q is for Queen's Ware
Cream-coloured earthenwares, containing a combination of whitish clays and calcined flint, were made in Staffordshire from the 1740s. Josiah Wedgwood - whose extraordinary …
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A-Z of Ceramics - R is for Repairer
The 'repairers' working in the 18th-century British ceramics industry did not, as their name suggests, mend or rivet broken ceramics. Rather, they were the skilled craftsme…
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A-Z of Ceramics - S is for Slipware
Since around 1900 the term 'slipware' has been applied specifically to slip-decorated ware. These are pots that have been coated in slip, have applied slip decoration, or a…
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A-Z of Ceramics - T is for Transfer Printing
Transfer printing is a way of reproducing two-dimensional designs on ceramics. At its best it results in high-quality decoration at a low cost per unit.
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A-Z of Ceramics - U is for Underglaze
Underglaze is the opposite of overglaze. It refers to ceramic decoration that lies under the glaze, which forms a protective layer. The technique only became possible in Eu…
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A-Z of Ceramics - V is for Veilleuse
This unusual device derives its name from the French for a night vigil. It was used to keep a drink or portion of semi-liquid food warm at night-time, initially only at the…
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A-Z of Ceramics - W is for Waster
Wasters are the discarded remains of ceramic objects that became damaged or deformed during firing. They provide us with first hand information about production processes. …
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A-Z of Ceramics - X is for Xanto
Francesco Xanto Avelli of Rovigo is the most famous decorator of pottery of the Renaissance, but also the most enigmatic. A literary man, working for most of his career in …
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A-Z of Ceramics - Y is for Yellow Ware
Yellow Ware or Yellow-glaze Ware are terms usually applied to Staffordshire earthenwares of the period 1800-40, often with transfer-printed or silver lustre 'resist' decora…
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A-Z of Ceramics - Z is for Factory Z
Factory X, Y and Z were classifications given to three groups of late 18th-century English porcelains formerly attributed to the New Hall factory in Staffordshire. Followin…
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A to Z of Hollywood Style
A to Z of Hollywood Style brings together style advice from the good, the bad and the beautiful to explore the allure of some of the world’s…
Buy nowEvent - Ceramics Workshop for Visually Impaired Visitors, with Keiko Masumoto
Tue 25 June 2013–Tue 16 July 2013
WORKSHOP: V&A Artist in residence Keiko Masumoto will inspire to create sculptures based upon her work at the museum.
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