How Can You Tell Pottery From Ceramic?
Defining Pottery
Pottery refers to objects typically made from clay hardened by heat. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of pottery is “ware (such as vases, pots, bowls, or plates) shaped from moist clay and hardened by heat.” The clay is formed into objects using various techniques like throwing on a wheel, molding, or hand-building, before being fired in a kiln at high temperatures ranging from 1,652°F to 2,462°F (900°C to 1,350°C). The firing process hardens the clay through sintering and can change the color and texture. Glazes may also be applied before firing to create different decorative effects. Unlike other clay products like bricks and tiles, pottery refers specifically to objects made from clay hardened by heat that serve a variety of purposes including cooking, storage, and decorative art.
Defining Ceramic
The word “ceramic” comes from the Greek word keramos, meaning “potter’s clay.” Ceramic refers to any product made from nonmetallic minerals hardened by heat. Ceramic materials include items made from clay, porcelain, bone china, earthenware, stoneware, and terra cotta. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a ceramic is “an object made from clay that has been permanently hardened by high heat.”[1] Ceramics are compounds formed between metallic and nonmetallic elements that have been shaped and then hardened by heating to high temperatures. [2]
Composition
The key difference in composition between pottery and ceramics is that pottery is specifically made from clay, while ceramics can be made from other non-metallic minerals such as quartz. As explained on Wikipedia, “Ceramic material is an inorganic, non-metallic, often crystalline oxide, nitride, or carbide material” (Wikipedia). So ceramics encompass a wide range of materials beyond just clay. Pottery refers only to ceramic objects made from clay.
Uses
The main difference in uses between pottery and ceramics is that pottery is chiefly used for decorative or artistic purposes, while ceramics have much wider industrial and construction applications (Pottery and Ceramics (Part 2)).
Pottery is primarily made for its aesthetic qualities rather than its durability and strength. Pieces like vases, plates, bowls, mugs and sculpture are common uses for pottery. The focus is on the visual design, glazing, coloring and firing process to create decorative effects (Recorded Lesson Subject: Year 6 Art).
Ceramics, on the other hand, have a much broader range of uses that take advantage of their durability, hardness, heat resistance, and other structural properties. Ceramics are used to make tiles, bricks, pipes, insulation, electronics, automobile parts, medical implants, cookware, tableware, and many other industrial and high-performance products.
Manufacturing Process
The manufacturing process is one key difference between pottery and ceramic items. Pottery involves manually shaping clay by hand or throwing it on a pottery wheel. The clay pieces are then fired in a kiln to harden them. This is a small-scale, artisanal process that produces one-of-a-kind pottery items.
Ceramics manufacturing utilizes more industrialized, mass production methods. The clay may be pressed into molds or extruded, and decorative techniques like glazing and painting are often automated. The firing process takes place in large, high-temperature kilns. While pottery is handmade, ceramics are produced efficiently in high volumes.
So in summary, pottery involves shaping clay and firing in a kiln in small batches, while ceramics employs automated, large-scale manufacturing processes to produce many identical items.
History
Pottery dates back over 20,000 years to the Paleolithic era with early clay figurines and vessels found in China, Japan, the Czech Republic and other areas.[1] As early as 6,000 BCE, pottery production emerged across cultures in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece, China, and the Americas.[2] The earliest-known ceramic objects are Gravettian figurines such as those discovered at Dolní Věstonice in the modern-day Czech Republic.[3]
While pottery has ancient origins, ceramics as an industrial and engineering material emerged more recently in the 1800s. The development of higher temperature kilns allowed for creation of porcelain and other refined ceramics. The mass production of ceramics grew rapidly with industrialization in Europe and America in the 19th century.[2]
Overall, pottery refers specifically to objects made of clay hardened through firing, while ceramics is a broader term referring to inorganic, non-metallic materials made through high temperature processing.
[1] https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pttr/hd_pttr.htm
[2] http://www.pottery-on-the-wheel.com/history-of-ceramics.html
[3] https://owlcation.com/humanities/history-of-pottery-and-ceramics-earthenware-porcelain-china-ware
Distinguishing Features
There are some key differences between pottery and ceramic in terms of composition, manufacturing, uses, and visual characteristics:
Composition: Pottery is made from clay and other natural minerals, while ceramics can also incorporate other materials like quartz, water, and feldspar. Ceramics tend to be harder and more durable due to higher firing temperatures. According to Soul Ceramics, ceramics are generally non-porous unlike many types of pottery. Porcelain, a popular type of ceramic, is made from kaolin clay.
Manufacturing: Pottery is often shaped by hand or with basic tools like pottery wheels, while ceramics make use of more advanced techniques like molding and casting. Ceramics are fired at much higher temperatures, up to 2,300°F compared to around 2,000°F for pottery. This makes ceramics denser and less porous (Source: Classpop).
Uses: Pottery has been traditionally used for functionalware like cups, vases, and plates. Ceramics have wider applications including industrial, engineering, and high-performance uses due to their durability and advanced properties. There is overlap, with ceramics used decoratively and some pottery having structural purposes.
Visual: Pottery often has a rough, handmade finish with natural imperfections while ceramics have a smoother, more uniform appearance. The higher heat used in ceramic production results in less porous items that are translucent rather than opaque in the case of most pottery. Glazes and decoration also differ – pottery decoration tends to be hand-painted while ceramics employ more varied techniques.
Categories of Ceramics
Ceramics is a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of materials including pottery. While pottery is made from clay and hardened by firing, there are many other types of ceramic materials as well. Some of the main categories of ceramics include:
Porcelain – Made from kaolin clay, porcelain is fine, white, and translucent. It is fired at very high temperatures to achieve vitrification, making it non-porous and highly durable. Porcelain is used for tableware, art objects, electrical insulators and more. According to https://www.xometry.com/resources/materials/ceramics/, porcelain has very high mechanical strength and density.
Bone China – This refined type of porcelain contains at least 25% bone ash. The bone ash gives it an extremely white color and translucent quality. Bone china is known for its high strength and chip resistance despite its delicate appearance.
Stoneware – A dense pottery fired at high temperatures to vitrify and become non-porous. Stoneware clay has natural mineral content that aids vitrification. It’s less delicate than porcelain but maintains a fine appearance. Common uses include tableware, cookware, art pottery and more.
Earthenware – Made from clay containing iron and other minerals, earthenware is fired at lower temperatures than stoneware and porcelain. This leaves the material porous and less durable. Earthenware is often glazed to provide an impermeable surface. Terracotta flowerpots are a common example.
The wide range of ceramic types and manufacturing processes allows ceramics to be tailored to many different applications. While pottery is hand-shaped from clay, other ceramics leverage advanced production methods to create highly engineered materials.
Prominent Pottery Styles
There are many prominent historical and regional pottery styles that help characterize and distinguish pottery from other types of ceramics. Some of the most well-known pottery styles include:
Jomon pottery from ancient Japan during the Jomon period (14,000 – 300 BCE) featured rope-patterned surfaces and simple shapes. Jomon pottery is one of the oldest known pottery styles in the world (source).
Ancient Greek pottery dating back to 3000 BCE featured iconic painted black-figure and red-figure styles on amphoras, kraters, kyathos, and other vessels. Greek pottery often depicted mythological or everyday scenes and is a hallmark of ancient Greek culture (source).
Chinese pottery has a long history stretching back 20,000 years to the neolithic period. Well-known Chinese pottery styles include the celadon ceramics of the Longquan kilns during the Song dynasty and Jizhou ware with its blue glazes and white decoration from the same period.
Majolica pottery first emerged during the Middle Ages in Spain and was characterized by an opaque white glaze with colorful enamel decoration. Majolica styles spread across Europe and reached their peak during the Renaissance. Italian maiolica and Hispano-Moresque are two iconic types.
Delftware, a distinct style of tin-glazed pottery, originated in the Netherlands by the 1600s. It was inspired by Chinese porcelain and often featured intricate hand-painted blue designs on white backgrounds.
Conclusion
In summary, while pottery and ceramic often refer to similar materials, there are some key differences. Pottery is made from clay and other natural materials that are shaped while soft and then hardened through firing in a kiln. Ceramic, on the other hand, refers to any inorganic non-metallic material made from compounds like silicates that becomes solid when fired.
So all pottery is ceramic because it is made from clay, but not all ceramic is pottery, since ceramic can also refer to other materials like glass, cement, or carbon. While pottery is associated more with art, crafts, and traditional techniques, ceramic is a broad term that encompasses modern industrial uses as well. Both involve transforming raw materials into a solid object through the application of heat.
Overall, pottery is a specific type of ceramic made from clay that has an ancient history and continues to be used decoratively today. Knowing the composition, manufacturing process, and visual qualities can help distinguish pottery from other forms of ceramic. But both involve similar concepts of transforming inorganic materials into solid objects using high heat and kilns.
