Session: #260

Content:

Nothing originates from nothing, and this seems to have been the case of medieval, early modern, and even contemporary European ceramics. All around Europe many traditions originated with the Romans with some of those technical aspects spreading. Tin glazed ware may be considered as a paradigmatic example. While it was developed in the East it entered Europe through the Iberian Peninsula due to the Muslim presence. By the 14thcentury it was already being made in Italy from where it was sent to countries such as France, England, and the Netherlands, reaching the North in the middle of the 18th century, already as an industrial production. This type of ceramic production then receives an external influence motivated by global contacts in the 16th century when all European countries began to adopt an Eastern style in their productions.
The way cultural traditions are shared in Europe at different times and speeds and how they are reflected in pottery production and use is what we intent to discuss in this session. We aim to defy traditional approaches that tend to talk about ceramic production as an isolated phenomena and instead locate it in the wider European panorama discussing if these can be considered as assimilation, diffusion, refusal, or appropriation processes. These similarities reflect how Europe may share identity aspects and can be seen not only in techniques, forms, decorations, or symbols, but also in ways of using such objects in different environments and how they reflect social, cultural, and even political behaviours.
We welcome proposals for papers from the fields of archaeology, iconography, ethnography, geography, history, linguistics, and other related fields.

Session: #260

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