Jacqui works for the ceramics section of MoLAS specialist services and is mainly interested in the ceramics of the 17th and 18th Centuries. However, her lecture covered the pottery found in London from the 10th to the 19th centuries. The talk focused on the evaluation of the needs of groups of people and the development of the pottery that they used and how it was affected by the changes of technical, social and economic circumstances over the period.
At the start of the period the ceramics were mainly a selection of big and small pots, which were used for cooking and storage and tempered with shell. These were pots which were thick and with little decoration. As pottery developed pots were produced which had feet to keep them away from fires and jugs with spouts were made

Decoration was also increased, the shapes became more elaborate and the thickness decreased. This was associated with the increase in the use of handles and the introduction of plates in addition to bowls.
Over the period the production of decorative ceramics increased. This shows in the production of increased decoration on plates, jugs and specific figures for display. With the importation of tea, coffee and chocolate specific vessels were made, usually from porcelain, to take account of the technical aspects of methods of preparation and consumption and the fashions in presentation.

As well as the domestic use of ceramics, over this period, the commercial and industrial use of ceramics increased. They were used for the transportation of many liquid and semi-liquid substances and for the display of these, for example, in chemists’ shops. In the main, industrial ceramics were used increasingly for the storage of corrosive liquids, stills and crucibles. They were even used for the manufacture of false teeth. The lecture gave a very good overview of the development of ceramics over a long period and the effect of the changes in society on their production and design over this period.

John Richardson