Making History - Sean O'Connell

Jar, Tz’u-chou Ware, Stoneware, Slip, Glaze, China, Sung Dynasty, 11th – 12th c. CE
Tz’u-chou ware is a classification of Chinese ceramics that span several dynasties, though its considered to have reached its height during the Sung Dynasty. It is most often represented by the use of black slip-glazes over a white background, though there are other variations in style and decor. This piece is a wonderful example of the potters understanding of balanced form, and the exuberance of the decorators brush work. It is unknown if potter and decorator were one in the same or two or more people.

Kylix, Earthenware, Terra Sigillata, Greece, Mycenaean, 13th c. BCE
The mycenaean kylix was characterized by a tall stem and two opposing handles, by which to pass the cup from guest to guest. Often depicted with aquatic animals and imagery they were directly influenced by the powerful and later vanished Minoans of Crete. The ‘symposium’ or drinking party was the primary arena of use for such cups. Guests (males only) would recline and drink form a kylix passing it as needed until the dregs were thrown out at a favored male servant or made a game of by tossing them to sound a gong. Terra sigillata and an iron-bearing slip were used to decorate the cup which was thrown out of a light bodied earthenware clay.

Posset Pot, Delft Ware, Earthenware, Tin-Glaze, Cobalt Decoration, England, 1685 CE
Posset was a curative drink made in western European countries and was thought to restore one’s constitution or treat minor illnesses. Traditionally the pots were made of metals like pewter or silver, but then with the advent of Delftware they became popular ceramic items. Posset is brewed of milk with the addition of wine or ale to curdle the mixture, often spices were added and sometimes raw eggs and sugar or cream. This is the precursor to drinks such as egg-nogg. Posset sets were popular gifts during the Tudor era, and often became family heirlooms. The word ‘posset’ actually came to be a verb, meaning to coddle or pamper someone during this time. The use of tin-glaze as a base for decoration allows darker or redder earthenware clays to be used instead of finer white clays like porcelain. Delftware was critical in the development of an alternative to the more expensive porcelain which allowed more people of middle-class means to afford ‘blue and white’ ceramics.

Vase, Earthenware, Glaze, China, Tang Dynasty, 8th c. CE
Tang Dynasty ceramics were perhaps some of the most influential wares to come out of China up to that point in the history of the cross-continental trade routes. The Sancai, or Three-color glaze so indicative of this time period made its way from the far east through the Islamic Empires of the Near East, eventually ending up in Western Europe a few centuries later. This particular example of blue, green, and white is a variation the more typical sancai (consisting of amber, green, and yellow). Such vessels would have been used to contain wine, spirits, or other liquids for household consumption.

Albarello, Earthenware, Tin-Glaze, Stains, Italy, Florence, 1440 -1450 CE
An albarello is a type of majolica earthenware jar originally designed to hold apothecaries' ointments and dry drugs. The development of this type of pharmacy jar had its roots in the Middle East during the time of the Islamic conquests. Brought to Italy by Hispano-Moresque traders, the earliest Italian examples were produced in Florence in the 15th century. Albarelli were made in Italy from the first half of the 15th century through to the late 18th century and beyond. Variations in size and style can be seen from region to region, ranging from 10cm to 40cm in height. Such jars served both functional and decorative purposes in traditional apothecaries and pharmacies, and represented status and wealth. The jars were generally sealed with a piece of parchment or leather tied with a piece of cord.

Bowl, Earthenware, Slip, Glaze, Persia, Samanid Dynasty, 9th-10th c. CE
Devotional motifs were some of the most common and indeed most beautiful forms of decoration on Persian ceramics. In this piece it is evident that the conveyence of Allah’s omnipotence are displayed as the rays of light eminating from the sun. The devotional sunlight repeats the prayer, “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is great”. The script is in a style of calligraphy known as ‘Kufic’. This form of script originated in Iraq around the city of Kufa in the 4th century AD, and was later adopted by Islam as its influence spread. It was originally an Arabic script whose origin came form the Old Nabatean language, a language intimately related to the semetic languages of Aramaic and Hebrew.

Bowl, Earthenware, Slip, Glaze, Iraq, Abbasid Dynasty, 9th c. CE
There is strong evidence that Chinese potters were living and working in the Near East during this time in the Persian Empire. The form of the bowl and the fluid brush work of the calligraphy belie the influence and possibly presence of Chinese craftsmen. The silk road would have afforded many opportunities for such a blending of cultures, not to mention the ever changing contraction and expansion of both China’s and Persia’s empires. The devotional script reads as another variation of “Allahu Akbar”, or “God Is Great”. This phrase is repeated over and over again in all of Islam’s art objects.

Drinking Cup, Earthenware, Terra Sigillata, Africa, Nubia C-group, 1900-1550 BCE
The original of this pot was excavated from a grave in Nubia, Africa. The time period corresponds to Egypt’s ‘Middle Kingdom’ period. Pots like this were used for drinking and serving beverages. Originally made by burnishing the pot, the surfaces were smooth and comfortable in the hand, and rounded on the bottom so they could be set directly on the earthen floor.

Bowl, Egg-shell Ware, Earthenware, Slip, Africa, Egypt/Nubia Terminal Group A, 3100-2900 BCE
This vessel was produced during the ‘Predynastic’ period of the Egyptian civilization which would have corresponded to a time period of trade and commerce between its neighbor to the south; Nubia. Though not yet established as the sprawling kingdom it would become, Nubia was involved in trade and commerce with Egypt and would have absorbed much of the culture filtering from the blossoming empire. Such forms were common in African countries, the narrow bottoms and flaring tops allowed them to be easily set a few inches into the dirt for their domestic use. They also would’ve been common accessories in burials, giving the dead pots to store food for the afterlife.

Kantharos, Bucchero Ware, Earthenware, Terra Sigillata, Italy, Etruscan, 7th c. CE
The Etruscan civilization was prolific in its use of clay as a material to create utilitarian goods and objects of beauty. ‘Bucchero’ ware, which means ‘odorous clay’, was a jet black type of ware highly polished and derived of mostly Greek shapes and sensibilities. The ‘odorous’ –ness maybe due to a high amount of decomposing organic material present in the moist clay. Objects like this would’ve been used in life and death, passed around at parties by their generous handles for the guests to drink copious amounts of wine, but included in burial sites to keep the wine flowing into the after-life.

Tea Bowl, Porcelain, Underglaze, Glaze, China, Ming Dynasty, 15th c. CE
Tea bowls in Ming Dynasty China represented the height of cultural sophistication for royalty and gentry alike. Porcelain was the favored material, and often times in an example like this a poem or inscription was written on the vessel for the contemplation of the user. Tea culture was of utmost importance for the upper classes, it was a time converse, read and write poetry, as well as quietly contemplate a scene of natural beauty. -Porcelain can be a fickle material and in the case of something so small and delicate the treatment of the cup, and its fragility give it an exquisite feeling of the ephemeral. The intersection of vertical and horizontal decoration balance the form as it flares open from foot to rim.

My name is Sean O'Connell. I'm currently a 2nd year graduate student in the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology, in Rochester, New York. My personal work as a student is functional pottery with an emphasis on the role of ornament and decoration. I've been engaged in the field of Ceramics since completing my undergraduate degree in sculpture in 2001. Like many, at first I only dabbled on the wheel and had my fingertips in the clay. As time passed it was obvious that I was spending most of my time on the wheel and had my hands completely covered in clay.

Making beautiful work grounded in utility has become my passion and pleasure.
In most cases historical ceramic objects are removed from our daily encounters. They appear as images and lofty archetypes hidden away in museums to be seen and not touched or held as the people who once made and used them would have been able to. The course enabled the veil to be pulled aside for just a brief time to touch and experience those historical pieces that remain to most, things out of context. My personal triumph in the class was to have my prejudices and pre-conceived notions of 'what a pot is' challenged and rendered obsolete. A new understanding of the breadth and depth of objects, their un-doubtable passion, and infinite means of expression has inspired me to love pots more than I could have imagined.