If These Pots Could Talk: Collecting 2,000 Years of British Household Pottery

Features

• Library Binding: 472 pages
• Published by: Chipstone
• Edition: 1st Edition October 1, 2001
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 158465161X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1584651611
• Book Dimensions: 12.2 x 10.4 x 1.9 inches
• Weighs: 7.7 pounds

From Publishers Weekly
A cup for holding caudle ("A drink made from thin gruel, spiced, sweetened, and mixed with ale or wine"), a chafing dish, and even clobbering ("a crude application of heavy overglaze") are potential sources of speech in If These Pots Could Talk: Collecting 2,000 Years of British Household Pottery. London-born Ivor No‰l Hume (Here Lies Virginia), former chief archeologist at Colonial Williamsburg, presents 648 illustrations (560 in color) of everything from a black Roman-era poppyhead beaker to a thin-walled, brown salt-glazed stoneware "gorge" from the early 18th century and beyond. Organized by use rather than chronology, the 16 chapters take readers from "Broomsticks and Beer Bottles" to "Mentioning the Unmentionables," reconstructing the objects' uses and social contexts along the way.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal


Written by British-born archaeologist Hume, who collected the pieces featured in this book with his late wife over a period of several decades, this volume contains a wealth of information on British pottery from earliest times to the present. Chapter titles range from "Khnum and Ptah, and the Clay of Life" to "Beyond the Gas Lamps' Glare" to "A Mug's Game," revealing both the tone and the scope of this book. Points discussed in the text are illustrated by references to specific pieces in the author's collection and by photographs of each of the forms examined. Hume discusses where production centers existed, as well as the evolution of color and shape of a given pottery. Every major form of pottery makes its appearance here, and some have a truly fascinating history. Hume goes into detail about decoration and techniques, and this book answers many questions about pottery shapes, form, and function. For all comprehensive art collections and certainly for university collections. Martin Chasin, Adult Inst., Bridgeport, CT

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Reader Reviews
Being quite familiar with much of Noel Hume's previous output, I was bowled over by both the size and scope of his most recent endeavor. In addition, the quality of the illustrations and reproduction make this book one of the great values in publishing today. His stories of discovery with his late wife Audrey are tender and illuminating, both in terms of the way he has lived his life and in the way he teaches. Much of the subject matter involves areas of ceramics used in America; ceramics that, while popular, have still remained below the scope of most academic study. The photos by Gavin Ashworth add considerably to the beauty as well as the information transmitted in this essential volume.