Ceramic History Quiz

Take the ceramic history quiz.....try to ID each of the pottery shapes in my letterhead.

Years ago, I drew a band of generic ceramic shapes in silhouette, to use as a design element in my letterhead, business cards, and website. The idea was to present an intriguing visual puzzle- as decoration and to suggest my interest in ceramic history and design.

I selected some of my favorite historic ceramic forms, choosing shapes with distinctive profiles that would lend themselves to this positive/negative graphic. Many people have said that at first they tried to read the (dark) negative spaces rather than the lighter images of the pottery shapes... my little joke.

The answer list (below) identifies each of the 13 traditional shapes that I used for the design.

If you want to take the quiz, skip over the answer list and go right down to the images below. See how many you can recognize or identify.

I have studied many ceramic forms in the course of my work and interest, but I'm hardly a scholar of ceramic history, so I welcome any additional information or corrections. 

Write to me via the contact page and let me know your score!

A - Japan, China "Double-Gourd" porcelain vase

 I drew this from a Japanese example, but the form, in its many variations, comes from China.

B - England, 19th C. Salt-glazed stoneware pitcher

Drawn from a molded English pitcher of Industrial Revolution production.

 

C - Korea, 12th C. Celadon "Meiping" vase

"Meiping" = "Plum Blossom Vase" in Chinese. This particular one with very high shoulders is, to my eye, a typical Korean version.

 

D - Greece, 550-500 B.C. Black-figure ware "Amphora"

An amphora is a  storage jar, probably the most iconic shape of Greek pottery, "Black figure" ware is decorated with black figures on a red ground. "Red figure" came later.

E - Italy, 16th C. Majolica "Albarello" (apothecary jar) 

This was a Hispano-Mooresque form, later produced in Italy.  Majolica refers to earthenware that is decorated with colorants applied on a tin-opacified raw glaze. Albarellos have this concave form so that when they are lined up on a shelf, one can reach between them to pick one up. (Never saw one at CVS.)

 

F - China  "Ginger Jar" AKA "Temple Jar"

A familiar Chinese shape. In the West we call them Ginger jars (usually more like functional storage jars, often with a simple cap lid) or Temple jars. (usually more ambitious decorative pieces with a pronounced knob on the lid.) The jar in Chinese is "Guan".

G - China, porcelain vase 

This is a well-known form in Chinese porcelain, which imitates a bronze shape from the Shang Dynasty (3,500 years ago.) "Gu" in Chinese.

 H- Peru, pre-columbian "Stirrup Spout" vessel 

These were made by several different pre-Columbian cultures, in a wonderful variety of pottery and sculptural shapes.

I - Greece, 450 BC, red-figure "Calyx Krater"

A vessel for mixing wine and water. "Red Figure" ware is later than black figure. Decorated with red figures on a black ground. 

J - Persian, 13th C. bottle. 

I don't know a proper name for this beautiful shape. 

K - Greece, 500-400 BC "Lekythos"

A vessel for precious oils, often given as an athletic trophy. See: http://www.mehlmandesign.com/ceramic-glass/blog-detail/pots-with-secrets/

L - New England, 19th C. Salt-glazed stoneware jug

Iconic, ubiquitous, American jug. 

Salt-glazed stoneware is glazed by throwing salt into the kiln, which vaporizes. The sodium from the salt reacts with the silica in the clay to form a characteristic glaze, often with an "orange-Peel" texture. The interior of American salt-glazed ware is often glazed with "Albany Slip".

K - China, Ming Dynasty porcelain wine "Ewer"

Trick question- this drawing was taken from a Chinese shape that imitated a Persian shape (possibly itself an imitation of a Chinese shape, as there was much trade and cross-cultural appropriation over the centuries)

How many shapes did you recognize?

    

     

Click the images below to enlarge