African pottery was made at Bagdad in the 9th century and at Cairo in the 11th, the Moors having obtained their knowledge from the Arabs, largely adopting the style of the Sara cenic potters. In the 8th century the Arabs conquered Spain but no ceramic specimens defi nitely assigned to them at this period are known. Five hundred years later, 1235 A.D., the Arabs were driven out of Spain by the Moors and the wares known as Hispano-Moresque be gan to appear, the most notable example being the Alhambra vase made about 1230 The pro duction continued until the 15th century, though its Moorish characteristics were gradually dis appearing through coming into contact with Christian art, the late examples consisting of decorations of mock Arabic characters, with borders and diapers of leaves, principally of the vine and briony. The Moors had found in Spain a plentiful supply of tin 'and abandoned the calcarous covering they had hitherto em ployed in favor of a tin enamel and which they enriched with brilliant lustres. As the wares lost their Moorish character, so the application of the lustre changed until finally it degener ated into a ruddy copper. Much of this pot tery found its way into Italy and it is probable that a Moorish potter gave assistance to Lucca della Robbia who in 1440 produced the first white enamel made in Italy. This led the way to those later triumphs in Italian ceramics which culminated in the period 1470 to 1530, a period remarkable for its awakening from the oblivion of centuries and one of the most splen did epochs of the ceramic art. The painter had recognized in della Robbia's invention a mate rial on which his art could be preserved for all time and loyally backed by the reigning houses, the princes of Urbino, of Pesaro and Florence, the Sforza, the Montefeltros, the Medici and the Fontanas, he found the opportunity to ex press himself. These artist potters were the heroes of the moment; they were created mae stros, entitling them to rank with princes. Never was an art so honored, so worthily expressed, and from the great centres at Castel-Durante, Urbino, Faerixa, Guhbio and many other places there was a constant producing stream. This Italian majolica was practically an art expres sion confined to placques, vases, etc., and was not applied to utilitarian articles if we except the drug pots of the period. That came later when Italian workmen carried the art to France and in 1578 when the Nevers works were started. Except for the use of the tin enamel it had nothing in common with Italian majolica and in the early part of the 18th century had so degenerated as to become grotesque. Nevers pottery is important only on account of its ex tent. Toward the middle of the 17th century Rouen came into prominence and in the early. part of the 18th century potteries had become very numerous. Several distinct styles of dec oration were introduced, owing nothing to for eign influence, and the industry received an im petus which extended all over France, some of the principal places being Moustiers, Marseilles, Lille, Strassburg and Bordeaux, and literally hundreds of other places had their small pot teries. The most original of those mentioned was Moustiers; for the rest they relied for in spiration on the parent factories — Rouen stands pre-eminent, the faience produced there being characterized by the loftiest art ideals, combined with perfect workmanship. Another important pottery centre owing its influence to the Normandy potteries was at Alcora in Spain, which was of great extent, but which seems to have been somewhat neglected by ceramic writers. Delft in Holland came suddenly into life at the commencement of the 17th century and a tremendous trade was built up. Some English potters are known to have worked there, but the inspiration was no doubt Italian, for as early as 1560 Peccol Passo of Urbino had established at Antwerp a pottery for mak ing Italian majolica so that the use of the tin enamel would be known to the Low Country potters. The manufacture of white ware in England, its superiority for use and durability and in the case of France the lowering of the duties on its importation, brought the manufac ture of faience to a close. Recent years have seen the reproduction of much of the faience of the 17th and 18th centuries, their incontest able artistic merit being highly valued by re fined connoisseurs.
After the collapse of the faience industry the manufacture of earthenware on the Eng lish plan was introduced. Many English pot ters assisting in perfectihg it. The principal factories were Choisy-le-Roi, Creil, Montereau. Chantilly and Sarreguemines. Ware of good quality was made for a time but gradually de teriorated and the industry faced extinction, but was rescued by a scientist, M de St. Amans, who with the assistance of Brongniart succeeded in again placing it on a sound basis. About the middle of the 19th century there was a- remarkable art revival as applied to ceramics which has practically revolutionized the pottery of France. The stoneware of Claude Louis Ziegler (1840-54), so pure in form and decora tion, was perhaps the first evidence, followed by the remarkable reproductions of Palissy ware by Charles Avisseau of Tours (1842), his ex ample being followed by Barbezet (1850) and Pull (1855), both of Paris. From 1854 to 1871 Sevres took the lead and a great impetus was given to the movement. In 1859 Theodore Deck, the greatest of French ceramists, demon strated that the secrets of the Orient were se crets no longer and he appeared to be able to duplicate at will the lustres of the Persians, the celadons of the Chinese, the intricacy of His pano-Moresque or the inlaid work of Oiron. Still more recently an apparent army of artist potters have given expression to their ideals in gres, the royal factory assisting in the move ment and restoring France to the position she seemed in danger of losing. No account of French pottery would be complete without ref erence to the work of Bernard Palissy and the faience of Oiron, though neither appears to have exerted any influence on French ceramics — Faience d'Oiron was made under the direc tion of Helene de Hangest by her librarian, Jehan Bernart, and Francois Charpentier and consisted mostly of small pieces, the decoration formed by inlaying different colored clays. The work was executed in a marvelous manner, so well, indeed, that for centuries it was impossible to reproduce it; and owing to many of the late pieces bearing the monogram of the Dauphin (Henry II) it was long known as Henry deux ware. Its manufacture extended from 1524 to the middle of the century but the late period is much inferior to the early one. Some 50 or 60 specimens are known, each worth more than its weight in gold. Bernard Palissy, a land surveyor, a glassmaker, a portrait painter, but poor withal, became obsessed with the idea of discovering the art of making enamel. Against difficulties and privations, disappoint ments without number, he struggled against a fate which threatened to overwhelm him, con tinuing his experiments for over 16 years, until at last success rewarded him and the secret of the enamel was discovered. The time of his triumph was also one of the greatest despair, for reduced to absolute penury, his credit ex hausted, reviled by his neighbors as a madman, he could not procure fuel to finish the firing of his kiln and in a frenzy tore down the doors of his house, broke up and fed to the flames what little furniture was left him in the house, his mad act rewarded at last by success. He died in 1589.
In England tin enamel never seems to have obtained much popularity. No pottery worthy of record with the exception of the Encaustic tiles made by religious orders in the 14th and 15th centuries occurs until the awakening of the Staffordshire potters in the 18th century. We are not forgetting the quaint slip-painted wares of Wrothani and Staffordshire which were but the expression of the rude art of the old English potter who had no materials beyond his clay to work with, but rude as that art was it is the prototype of the most difficult and most beautiful ware of the end of last century, pate sur-pate.
The advent of Elers who came to England in the train of William of Orange and had a small pottery at Bradwell Wood prior to 1698 is generally spoken of as the beginning of Staffordshire pottery, but as before his arrival there John Philip Elers is known to have been in litigation with some of these Staffordshire potters for infringing his rights there ap peared at least to be an awakening for something better than the rude butter pots of their fore fathers. Certainly Elers by his refined processes stimulated competition; and when his, carefully guarded secrets had been mastered by Astbury and Twyford and by them freely communicated to their brother potters, the establishment of an important industry was laid. Whether the Elers introduced salt glazing in England is a moot point, but the process became prevalent at this period. Unlike the gres de Flandres it was extremely light in weight, much of it was beautifully designed and although the glaze was soft and scratched easily it made excellent tableware. Not content with the successes achieved the Staffordshire potter was but spurred on to further effort. New clays were searched for and tested in an endeavor to pro duce a white body and when in 1720 Astbury discovered the invaluable use of flint, the end was practically obtained. It gives both strength and whiteness, the two qualities hitherto lack ing. Other discoveries rapidly followed but it was given to one man, Josiah Wedgwood, whose forbears had played no unimportant part as pioneers, to systematize and turn into a manufacture. Much had been done already. Whieldon (1740-98) had greatly improved the body; Dr. Thomas Wedgwood (1731) had in vented the agate ware; Booth (1750) introduced the dipping of ware in glaze held in suspension ir. water ; plaster molds had superseded pitcher and brass ones and others had added their quota. Wedgwood (1730-95) organized and systematized all that had gone before; he labored assiduously to improve all existing processes as well as communications with the outside world which were in a deplorable state and in doing so not only enriched himself, but benefited the community at large. He invented a new body employing a material hitherto un used in pottery, barytes, and which he called jasper. In this body he produced a series of vases ornamented with classical designs for which at the time there was a great vogue and which generally are regarded as his greatest work. These designs made by the best artists obtainable were made in white clay in slight relief in molds and afterward applied on the colored jasper. They are marvels of skilled workmanship. From this time English earthen ware has steadily advanced, such men as Spode, Minton, Davenport, Ridgway Adams and a host of others worthily maintaining its prestige. With the exception of Davenport the descend ants of these men are still in business and to them must be added the name of Doulton who first as a manufacturer of stoneware at Lam beth and later at Burslem shares honors with the older firms. Whilst CThe Potteries,D the five towns of Arnold Bennett, Stoke, Burslem, Hanley, Tunstall and Longton, were the centre of production the manufacture generally ex tends all over the country, Liverpool and Leeds, which formerly produced extensively, are now extinct. In the United States nothing beyond spasmodic attempts had been made until the middle of the 19th century Taylor and Speeler starting to make white ware at Trenton in 1855 resulting in the establishment of a pottery centre there. At East Liverpool from 1840, yellow and Rockingham wares were extensively made and in 1872 Knowles, Taylor and Knowles com menced making white wares, many other manu facturers following their lead. The use of natural gas as a cheap fuel and other causes has centred the pottery industry to the detri ment of Trenton, and potteries have cropped up in the surrounding neighborhood. Probably the largest in the world, Laughlins, is situated at Newall, W. Va., on the opposite side of the Ohio. Up to 1876 practically nothing but white ware was produced and that of a mediocre character, but of late years a decided change for the better has taken place and we now suc cessfully compete with the products of the Old World. There is, it is true, a certain family resemblance in all makes owing to the exten sive use of decalcomanies which of necessity are procured from sources open to all. By and by American manufacturers will recognize the value of originality and individuality and per haps evolve a distinct American style. Men tion must be made of the so-called hotel ware, a hard duralle body possessing the best qualities of both porcelain and earthenware, first made by the Greenwood Pottery Company, Trenton, in 1863 and now extensively made by many firms. In art pottery the name Rookwood inevitably suggests itself. Born in the brain of a woman, Mrs Bellamy Storer, in 1880, it has been praised by critics the world over and it at its inception was worthy of such. Present day Rookwood is much more so for it is domi nated by a loftier art ideal. The naturalistic style of painting has given place largely to a more conventional one and the whole has become more ceramic. The Grueby pottery at Boston was responsible for some of the most artistic pottery conceivable, the restraint in ornament, the beauty of the matt glaze being beyond criticism. The manufacture is now princi pally confined to tiles. These are the only two art potteries in America, but the women have largely made up any deficiency, the pupils of the Sophie Newcombe College, New Orleans, producing wares almost on a commercial scale, so well designed and executed as to undoubt edly place them in the first rank. At Zanesville, Ohio, a large quantity of ornamented pottery is made, the best of which is the multi-colored glazes of the• Roseville Pottery Company, ex traordinary in the beauty of their color and challenging comparison with some of the best examples of Onental art. Mention must also be made of the slip wares of the Pennsylvania Dutch of the last half of the 18th century; crudely conceived and executed but interesting for its individuality.
South America did not fail to contribute its quota, the truly remarkable pottery of Peru showing a civilization at a time so remote that it is doubtful whether it was the work of the Chinese or some older race of which we have no knowledge. In the 16th century Peru and other countries were sending to Portugal pot tery impregnated with a delicate perfume which became known as Noble Buccaros and about which many fantastic properties were invented, among others that if ground up and eaten it was a sure cure for all ills. An English firm claims to be able to reproduce them but no specimens have come under our notice.
Germany has always been noted for its stoneware, much of the gres de Flandres being made there, gaining its name from the fact that it was shipped from Flemish ports. The Hirschvogels of Nuremberg, the numberless potters of Hohr and Grenzhusen were pioneers in the work and modern firms with added knowledge have continued the work. Ceramic literature is of a most voluminous character and only a few works can be indicated which will serve as an introduction to more intensive reading. Consult for Egyptian, South Kensing ton and Bristol Museum Catalogs; Greek, Walters, 'History of Ancient Pottery' ; His pano-Moresque, Van de Puts, (Hispano-Mor esque Ware of the 15th Century) ; Italian, Fortntuns,
and other works by the same author; French, Gasnault and Gamier%