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Pioneer Pottery

By Michael Cardew

Pioneer Pottery is one of the classic texts in ceramic literature. Its author, Michael Cardew, was one of the seminal figures in British ceramics and this book, written partly in response to his time spent in Africa, has influenced generations of potters around the world. As one of the early and influential figures in British ceramics, Michael Cardew was asked in 1942 by the Crown Agents to go to Nigeria to set up a pottery training center. It was his experiences there, as well as his previous time spent in the Gold Coast, that formed the basis for this book. In addition to discussions about the basics of clay and glaze materials and their properties, Cardew shows how to make pots in the Kwali, Jebba, Vume, Ilorin, and Hausa traditions of western Africa.

This book is the first book to discuss all aspects of the pottery making process from materials through marketing. Michael Cardew found it necessary to find out and do everything for himself, and this is what lies behind this book. The consequence is that it is filled with a sense of discovery and firsthand knowledge.

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The text that remains unchanged is as meaningful for the present-day potter as it was 33 years ago.
CHOICE Magazine
Pioneer Pottery is a superbly presented and classic work enhanced
with excellent black/white illustrations and photography, and a new
introduction by the author’s son. An extremely solid reference to the
art of pottery.
Midwest Book Review

 

Contents

1. Geology for Potters

  • Geochemistry; geology; petrology; igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks; and mineralogy

2. Clay

  • Kaolin; sedimentary clays; clay analyses; plasticity; clay mineralogy; kaolinite, montmorillonite, illite; looking for clays

3. Silica

  • Quartz, chalcedonic silica, opalline silica, silica in grass ash, silica as a glass-former

4. Felspar

  • Structure, the feldspar family, recognizing feldspar, obtaining feldspar, effect of heat on feldspar

5. Other Raw Materials

  • Limestone, other calcium minerals, wood ash, talc, nepheline syenite, lithium minerals, barium, strontium, zinc, boron minerals, alumina minerals, zircon

6. Pottery Bodies

  • Plasticity, drying, firing, sintering, thermal expansion and dimensional changes, glaze fit, formulating a stoneware body, fireproof bodies, ovenware, preparation of bodies, dewatering and stiffening

7. Making Pots

  • Kwali (Gwari tradition), Jebba (Nupe tradition), Vume (Ghana), Ilorin (Yoruba tradition), Hausa pottery, wheels, tools, kneading, throwing, lids and covers, handles, teapots, molded dishes

8. Glazes

  • Glass, The Seger formula, fusibility, maturing range, crazing glazes, Chun glazes, copper reds, iron-red glaze, yellow glaze, pigments, mixing and dipping, double glazing, glaze defects

9. Potters’ Refractories

  • The silica-alumina system, sillimanite and mullite, grog, talc in saggars, zircon, aluminous cement, firebricks, thermal insulation, saggar-making

10. The Kiln

  • Primitive open-firing, terracotta firing, high temperature firing, design, building, placing and setting, firing, cooling, firing defects

11. The Workshop

  • The mill, grinding machines, wheels, the dryer, kiln shed, costing prices

12. The Product

  • Function of the handcraft potter, pottery as a liberal art, pottery in education, pottery in underdeveloped regioins

Appendixes

  • Clay tests
  • Sampling
  • Brick making
  • Brongniart’s Formula
  • Screw threads: Method of Cipriano Piccolpasso
  • Screw threads: Potter’s tap and die-nut
  • Ball Mills
  • Square roots below unity
  • Walker’s balance
  • Calculated analysis
  • Glaze calculation
  • Thermal expansions
  • Common elements occurring in pottery
  • Temperature chart
  • Thermocouple pyrometer

Order Pioneer Pottery today!

Now Only $19.95
and you get FREE SHIPPING when you order online (US orders only)