From the introduction of woodblock printing in China to the development of copper-plate engraving in Europe, the print medium has been used around the world to circulate knowledge. Ceramic artists across time and cultures have adapted these graphic sources as painted or transfer-printed images applied onto glazed or unglazed surfaces to express political and social issues including propaganda, self-promotion, piety, gender, national and regional identities. Long before photography, printers also included pots in engravings or other two-dimensional techniques which have broadened scholarship and encouraged debate.

Pots, Prints and Politics examines how European and Asian ceramics traditionally associated with the domestic sphere have been used by potters to challenge convention and tackle serious issues from the 14th to the 20th century. Using the British Museum's world-renowned ceramics and prints collections as a base, the authors have challenged and interrogated a variety of ceramic objects - from teapots to chamber pots - to discover new meanings that are as relevant today as they were when they were first conceived.

About the Author
Patricia Ferguson is Project Curator, European 18th-Century Ceramics at the British Museum and until 2017 was a consulting curator in the Asian and Ceramics Departments of the Victoria and Albert Museum. As Honorary Adviser on Ceramics to the National Trust, she published, Ceramics: 400 Years of British Collecting in 100 Masterpieces (2016) and Garnitures: Vase Sets from National Trust Houses (2016).


Book Information
ISBN 9780861592296
Author Patricia Ferguson
Format Paperback
Page Count 196
Imprint British Museum Press
Publisher British Museum Press