Medieval Pottery

Excavation of an area of over 750 sq. m during 1992–94 and 1999 revealed a multi-period prehistoric site preserved beneath the Roman fort. Flints attested mesolithic activity. In the early Neolithic a segmented ditch may represent part of a causewayed enclosure. By c. 3000 cal. B.C. this had been superseded (in this area) by pits and shelters associated with flint-knapping. Finds, but not structures, attest a bronze-age presence. Within the period 390–170 cal. B.C. a roundhouse with cultivation plot, part of an unenclosed settlement, occupied the area. This had been burnt and was rich in carbonised plant remains which provided information about the arable economy and spatial variations in the use of the roundhouse interior. In the later Iron Age the area was reclaimed by cultivation associated with an unlocated settlement. The nature of the occupation on the eve of the Roman period is not known.     

The Medieval Pottery of Paris

THE CELEBRATED TIMBER aisled hall of the Bishop's Palace, Hereford, is reassessed in the light of contemporary stone halls and of new evidence for its original plan. Bishop William de Vere (1186–98) is identified as the most likely builder. In contrast to a previous interpretation of the Palace as a traditional building reflecting ancient forms, it is assigned to a group of sumptuous late 12th-century halls, products of a new fashion. Recently-discovered plans of c. 1840, in conjunction with other evidence, make possible a reconstruction of the complete original plan: a four-bay hall, a side porch, and an end chamber-block of three floors over a basement. A building demolished in the late 18th century is interpreted as a detached main chamber-block. The Palace complex was separated from the cathedral by a stone wall; its main front faced west to what may then have been the main N.-S. route through Hereford.     

Spanish Pottery Imported into Medieval Britain

MEDIEVAL POTTERY imported from Spain is divided into fine tin-glazed and coarse unglazed. or lead-glazed wares, and is found in contexts from the late 13th. to 15th century. It is difficult to distinguish late 14th and early 15th-century lustrewares made at the two main production centres in Andalucia and Valencia by visual examination of the fabric or of the type of decoration. The late 13th and early 14th-century Andalusian and the 15th-century Valencian wares are more characteristic. Eighty-three finds from thirty-five sites are described and twenty-eight other sites listed. There are about equal numbers of sherds from early and late contexts; but Valencian imports have a wider distribution, found at some forty sites as opposed to about twenty Andalusian sites. This was a limited luxury trade, largely in decorative bowls and dishes. Tin-glazed albarelli presumably came as containers, but jugs could have been either containers or imported for their appearance—unlike Saintonge jugs which came in much larger quantities as part of the SW. French wine trade. Thirty-six examples of unglazed or lead-glazed costrels, amphorae, storage vessels and bowls are described and dated to the 13th and 14th. centuries. These coarse wares were containers, but the small numbers imported again confirm their context in a limited luxury trade.     

Medieval Painted Pottery in South and Central Italy

DURING the 9th century unglazed pottery decorated with red or brown slip came into production along the middle Rhine. This pottery, known as Pingsdorf ware, was exported in large quantities to the North Sea region and even to the Baltic coast.² By the 12th century red-painted pottery, often imitating Pingsdorf ware, was made at a number of sites in the Low Countries and western France.³

It has long been known that painted pottery was manufactured throughout the medieval Islamic world, including north Africa, and isolated finds of painted ware have been published in Italy and Spain.⁴ Nevertheless, little attempt has been made to explore the possible connexions between painted pottery in the Mediterranean basin and western Europe,⁵ A serious obstacle to such an attempt is the inadequacy of most publications of Mediterranean finds. This paper offers an account of the painted wares in one area of the Mediterranean, peninsular Italy, and suggests that the pottery found there may indeed be related to the earliest painted wares north of the Alps. It must be emphasized, however, that the study of Italian medieval pottery is in its infancy and that the suggestions made here are of an entirely speculative nature.     

A Medieval Pottery Kiln at Audlem,Cheshire

BUILDING ACCOUNTS for 1398–99 give detailed costs of the construction of a circular, brick, free-standing artillery tower. The artillery towers at Southampton and Canterbury were linked to existing wall circuits, and detached forts in France may be more comparable to the tower at Norwich.     

Sheepcotes: Evidence for Medieval Sheepfarming

SHEEPCOTES were late medieval buildings for the shelter of flocks and the storage of fodder, among other functions. They are visible as earthworks and are recorded in documents. This study uses mainly Gloucestershire examples to provide insights into medieval sheep husbandly, and changing patterns of land management.     

中古壁画与陶塑再现的挎包女性形象

中国服装史一直以来较为忽视服饰中的挎包装饰,本文利用新出土的中古壁画和唐代各种挎包女性陶塑,对中古艺术中的挎包女性形象进行了初步分析。作者认为,"挎包女人"图像赋予了女性非凡的人性精神。同时,作者还对外国该类形象的出现和流传进行了梳理,依据现存图像资料,指出中国古代女性挎包要比西方早出现几个世纪。挎包、拎包具有时尚和实用美观的意义,折射出古代女性鲜明的超前意识和服装审美。     

The Enigma of Tantura B: Historical Documentation and the Lack of Circumstantial Documentary Evidence

Tantura B is by far the first early Islamic shipwreck to be discovered off the Palestinian coast. Scientific evidence indicates that this vessel sank some time between the mid-8th and the mid-9th centuries. Neither archaeological remains nor historical sources can ascertain its exact function and origin due to the lack of circumstantial documentary evidence. However, it has been argued that the vessel could be either a coaster, capable of entering rivers or estuaries, or a support vessel operating in the Arab fleet, i.e. , it may have had been used for either military or civil purposes, or both.
© 2005 The Nautical Archaeology Society     

宜兴陶业文化遗产及其当代意义辨识

以宜兴为中国陶业经济文化典型,从社会文化学和遗产学角度,对其6000年陶业生产活动进行分析梳理和分期归纳,从中提炼出宜兴陶业文化遗产的重要概念;陶业文化遗产对当代宜兴甚而中国社会可持续发展,以及振兴宜兴和中国陶业经济文化有着重要作用与意义。     

浅论商周私营制陶业--兼及中国古代私营手工业的起始时间

学术界有一种传统观点,认为商周时期工商业全是官营的,不存在私营,其理由是当时实行“工商食官”政策。“这个时期(商)的手工业全是官营的,西周还没有出现象在封建社会中所见到的那种经营的个体手工业劳动者”①。“西周时期的手工业生产,仍由官府奴隶主贵族们垄断,主要满足贵族们的生活享受和战争需要。”②“西周的手工业和商业一样,主要仍由奴隶主贵族所垄断,设工官管理各种手工业作坊,役使奴隶生产各种手工业品。”③“以生产商品为目的的独立工商业者在当时是不存在的,只有那种在官府直接控制下的工商。”④这种看法已是约定俗成,不见…     

Reading Pottery: Literature and Transfer-Printed Pottery in the Early Nineteenth Century

The use of illustrations from literary sources, specifically fiction, on transfer-printed earthenwares in the early nineteenth century is addressed through an example of a household dump in Buckinghamshire, England. This paper examines such ceramics in terms of the nature of fiction and the reading public in Britain during this period and how the production and consumption of literary ceramics is connected to the changing perception of fiction and its accompanying illustrations. The paper argues that the use of literary scenes as patterns on transfer-printed vessels had to mediate both changing perceptions of fiction and ideals of the picturesque and suitable subjects for transfer print patterns.     

20世纪前期宜兴陶业史料钩沉及泥片成型

自晚清以来,首先由一些外国人开始关注、著录宜兴陶业。到20世纪前期,中国人对于窑口、产品、工艺等宜兴陶业情况的文献记录逐渐涌现,其中包括宜兴制陶环节中最具特色的泥片成型工艺。传统泥片成型工艺虽延续至今,但以如今的制作方法与之相比,诸多方面和细节已逐渐改变,甚至消失。宜兴窑业传统工艺的传承与保护,任重而道远。