Religion. Humour. Trade. Sex. Folklore. Creativity. Pots can tell us more about the lives of the people who made and used them than any other artefacts.


Bearing the imprint of their maker, ceramics give us a direct physical link to the past, often the only evidence of longforgotten civilizations that have otherwise crumbled to dust, and a unique passport to other cultures.


From the most rough-hewn clay bowl that tells us how bread was baked over 5,000 years ago in Iraq, to ethereally beautiful porcelain used for religious rituals, and from a lewd Renaissance novelty dish to a sleek contemporary vessel inspired by traditional African techniques, Around the World in 80 Pots is an eclectic journey across time and place, and a rare insight into humankind's oldest craft.

A journey through history and across cultures with the Ashmolean Museum's unrivalled ceramics collection. It contains works from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, UK and Africa that span over 5,000 years.

About the Author

Keith Brymer Jones is a British potter and designer. Since 2015, he has co-presented BBC2's The Great Pottery Throwdown. He is the bestselling author of Boy in a China Shop.

The Ashmolean is the University of Oxford's museum of art and archaeology, founded in 1683. Their world-famous collections range from Egyptian mummies to contemporary art, telling human stories across cultures and across time. Receiving over 1 million visitors a year from around the world, the Ashmolean is one of Oxford's most popular attractions.

Book Information
ISBN 9781802792393
Author Ashmolean Museum
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint Welbeck
Publisher Headline Publishing Group
Weight(grams) 780g
Dimensions(mm) 212mm * 150mm * 34mm