Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice older book in good condition. Pages in good condition. Some tanning and marking due to age. No notes or highlighting. Dustcover is worn and marked. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> Of all man’s arts ceramics deals most directly with earth water air and fire- those elements which the ancients considered the essentials of our world. The fire is the key. By its action the soft and formless clay is given hardness and perma- nence and a range of color related to the colors of the primordial igneous land- scape. Without a knowledge of the action of fire the potter’s craft would not exist. Nor would those almost infinitely numerous shards with which we piece together most of the material and spiritual records of early human history. Kindling and controlling fire so as to bring its inferno to bear on objects made of clay was at first an art practiced without benefit of any well understood prin- ciples. From the primitive bonfire or pit kiln to the modern kiln a long develop- ment occurred which was marked at every stage with experimentation trial and error and no doubt much discouragement and failure. Even today with the availability of meters pyrometers and other instruments of control a certain mystery attends kiln firings. And in spite of the efforts of specialists a degree of uncertainty persists. This uncertainty may account for the fact that potters do not regard their kilns as other craftsmen might regard their tools; rather they look upon the kiln as a place of holocaust a potential enemy and destroyer as well as collaborator. By and large the action of the kiln has given rise to considerable superstition and firing has not been well understood even by many who are otherwise well trained in ceramics. (SP)