Leach, Bernard

Worldwide

Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
Information about this Canadian museum "devoted to ceramics." The site features a database of images of selected items from the collection, and an overview of the museum's holdings of ceramics from the ancient Americas, Asia, and Europe, and contemporary works.
URL: http://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca

PotWeb: Ceramics Online at the Ashmolean Museum
"The Ashmolean, Britain's oldest public museum, has one of the finest collections of ceramics in the world." The PotWeb site "has focused on the Museum's superb collection of medieval and later ceramics. As funding becomes available, PotWeb will expand." The site features selected images of items from the collection, such as Anglo-Saxon pottery, English delftware and stoneware, and Islamic and Japanese ceramics. From the University of Oxford, Ashmolean Museum.
URL: http://potweb.ashmolean.org/

Montana Museum of Art and Culture
Part of the University of Montana, this museum "exhibits and preserves works of art for the education of students, the enjoyment of the public and academic research." The website features images of antiques, paintings, photographs, sculpture, WPA (Works Progress Administration) era prints, pottery, and student work from the collection. Note: Search does not work.
URL: http://www.umt.edu/montanamuseum/

Museum of London: Ceramics and Glass
Images and descriptions of hundreds of ceramic and glass items in the collection of the Museum of London. Browsable by time period and type of ware, such as Bronze Age and Iron Age ceramics, medieval unglazed ware, porcelain, studio/art pottery, Roman glass, Venetian-style glass, and bottles (medicine, wine, milk, ink, scent, and more). Also includes a bibliography and information about museums in and near London with related collections.
URL: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/ceramics/

Asia

e-yakimono.net: Japanese Pottery Information Center
A "knowledge center devoted solely to information about antique and contemporary Japanese pottery." Includes detailed information about ceramic styles, clays, glazes, kilns, techniques, and many other topics. Also features a directory of artists, photos, articles, interviews, and exhibit and museum listings. Searchable. From Japanese ceramics expert Robert Yellin.
URL: http://www.e-yakimono.net/

The China Painting List
Directory of websites covering all aspects of the art of painting on china. Find links to organizations, artists, potteries, magazines, schools, businesses selling everything from kilns to brushes, and more. International in scope and keyword searchable.
URL: http://www.china-painting-list.com/

Iraq and China: Ceramics, Trade, and Innovation
Companion to an exhibit that "focuses on revolutionary and enduring changes that took place in Iraqi ceramics during the 9th century as the humble character of Islamic pottery responded to a wave of luxury Chinese goods." The site features images of blue and white ware and lusterware, information about the spread of new ceramic techniques, and links to related sites. From the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
URL: http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/iraqChina/defaultIC.htm
Added to LII: 2005-05-20

Lost Treasures From Iraq
The project's primary goal is to help recover objects stolen during and after the Iraq war begun April 2003. The developing database is browsable by category, material (clay, stone, bronze/copper, gold, ivory), or type of artifact (figurines, inlays, jewelry, metal vessels, musical instruments, pottery, reliefs, seals, sculpture, stone vessels, terracotta). "What's New" lists new additions to the collection. From the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.
URL: http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ/iraq.html
Added to LII: 2003-05-01

Chinese Ceramics
Information designed for students about the history of ceramics from China. Topics include ceramic tomb figures, Chinese porcelain that was exported to Europe, and special ceramics made for emperors. Includes images, links (some broken) to related sites, and a bibliography. From the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, California.
URL: http://www.pacificasiamuseum.org/chineseceramics/

The Topkapi Palace Museum
This site includes a floor plan and guide to one of Istanbul's leading museums. There is also a history of the palace and examples from its collections, including portraits of sultans, Chinese and Japanese porcelains, royal garments, sacred relics and books, Islamic miniature paintings, objects from the Imperial Treasury, and more.
URL: http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/topkapi.html

Japanese Ceramic Artisti

Akirhiro Maeta

http://www.inabapyonpyon.net/~yanase/en/history.html

Europe

Worcester Porcelain Museum
This British porcelain manufacturer dates back to the 1750s. The site features annotated images of ceramics from the collection, historical images of the factory, biographies of selected workers, a timeline, and fact sheets on topics such as dating Royal Worcester porcelain back to 1862 and Dr. Wall and the first factory. Searchable.
URL: http://www.worcesterporcelainmuseum.org.uk

The Wallace Collection
This London museum houses "one of the best collections of French 18th-century pictures, porcelain and furniture in the world, a remarkable array of 17th-century paintings and a superb armoury." The site features an online tour through the museum, a history of the collections, images of selected objects (ceramics, glass, paintings, drawings, and watercolors), and artist biographies. Searchable.
URL: http://www.wallacecollection.org/

National Palace Museum
Established in 1925, the National Palace Museum in Taiwan (Republic of China) houses the Imperial collection representing 7,000 years of Chinese history. Collection includes Chinese painting and calligraphy, books and documents, bronzes, porcelains, jades, lacquer ware, carvings and more. Available in English and Chinese, the site contains information on the history of the museum and the exhibitions on display. There is a good image collection of the artworks in the permanent collection in the museum.
URL: http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/

Scone Palace: The Crowning Place of Scottish Kings
History and background information about the home of the Earl and Countess of Mansfield in Scotland. Features images of the palace interior and grounds, history of the palace and the royalty who occupied it, information about collections (such as porcelain and clocks) found at the palace, and details about the crowning site on Moot (or Boot) Hill and visitor attractions.
URL: http://www.scone-palace.net

Africa

West African Pottery Forming and Firing

http://www.uiowa.edu/~intl/rft/pottery.html

Americas

Newcomb Pottery
"Newcomb Pottery is considered one of the most significant American art potteries of the first half of the twentieth century." Site includes a brief history of this pottery, which was designed by women and "inspired by Louisiana flora." Also features biographies of some of the artists, and images of selected works and pottery marks.
URL: http://www.tulane.edu/~wc/pottery/

On Pottery in Colonial America
A "thumbnail sketch of the most common types of pottery found in America during the 17th and 18th centuries along with a very brief technical description of each." Types of pottery discussed are earthenware (including delft pottery), stoneware, and porcelain. From a potter who makes 17th and 18th century pottery reproductions for museums, historic reenactments, and movies.
URL: http://www.juliasmith.com/historicpottery/articles.htm

Newcomb Pottery and the Arts and Crafts Movement in Louisiana
Information about this art pottery decorated by women at Tulane University's women's school, the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial School, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also provides information about Newcomb metalwork, embroidery, and bookbinding. Includes images and a bibliography. From the Louisiana State Museum.
URL: http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/newcomb/newcomb.htm

The Museum of Ceramics
This museum houses an extensive collection of the wares produced in East Liverpool, Ohio, "the city long known as 'America's Crockery City' and 'The Pottery Capitol of the World.'" The site features an essay about "Lotus Ware," a fine porcelain made in the United States, and a list of the many East Liverpool pottery district manufacturers, distributors, and decorators. Also includes links to local manufacturers such as the Homer Laughlin and Hall china companies.
URL: http://www.themuseumofceramics.org

NativeTech: Native American Technology and Art
Organized into categories of traditional Native uses of beads, birchbark, cattails, clay, cornhusks, feathers, metalwork, leather, plants, porcupine quills, pottery, stone, and other materials. Most files are illustrated and many include instructions. Other areas covered on this large site include: food and recipes; games and toys; poems and stories; and articles on contemporary art issues. Extensive list of categorized links to related resources and to message boards and discussion lists.
URL: http://www.nativetech.org/

Tesoros Escondidos: Hidden Treasures From the Mexican Collections
Annotated images of "the most beautiful, rare, and well-documented objects from Mexico preserved by the [Phoebe A.] Hearst Museum." Includes textiles, pottery, lacquer, baskets and gourds, ceremonial objects, masks, toys and miniatures, souvenirs, archaeological replicas, and objects from ancient Mexico. Also features supplementary readings in English and Spanish, and an activity sheet for children. From the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley.
URL: http://hearstmuseum.berkeley.edu/exhibitions/mexico2/mexico2_splash.html

The Mississippian Moundbuilders and Their Artifacts
This virtual museum was created by an enthusiast as "a celebration of Mississippian art and culture" and displays a variety of artifacts created by the agricultural society which prospered in what is now the Southeastern U.S. from 900 to 1600 A.D. Researchers can read about and view dozens of relics such as pottery, pipes, flint tools, beads, and ornaments, all chosen for their "exceptional quality, representative style and remarkable workmanship."
URL: http://www.mississippian-artifacts.com/

Tiffany
This site provides information about galleries "devoted to the arts of Louis C. Tiffany, one of the most versatile and talented American artists working in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries." It features essays and images of "Tiffany's windows, lamps, ... mosaics, blown Favrile glass vases, pottery, enamelwork, and jewelry." Also includes a bibliography and list of New York locations with works by Tiffany. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
URL: http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Tiffany/index.html

Worldviews: Maya Ceramics From the Palmer Collection
This virtual exhibit includes a clickable display of over 40 pre-Columbian objects collected by William P. Palmer III during the 1960s and early 1970s. Features a map of where the items were found, discussions related to Maya civilization, writing and symbolism, and observations regarding the Maya beliefs about the underworld, the cosmos, the natural world, and palace life. From the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine.
URL: http://www.umaine.edu/hudsonmuseum/Online%20Exhibits/Worldviews/WorldViewHome.htm

Raising the Curve: Designer Eva Zeisel
Companion to a National Public Radio (NPR) program about this porcelain and glassware designer who is "considered one of the premier industrial designers of the 20th century," and is known for the "whimsical curves" of her designs. Includes photos.
URL: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4510966

Ceramics History

http://www.ceramichistory.me.uk/

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/ceramics.htm

http://www.intute.ac.uk/artsandhumanities/cgi-bin/browse.pl?id=artifact764

http://42explore.com/pottery.htm

http://www.21ceramics.com/English/default.asp

Information relating to Chinese ceramic history, introduction to folk potters. Gallery showcasing finished works.

http://ceramic-studio.net/ceramic-history/

Judie Jacobs lesson plan Ceramic History Report

http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/high/ceramics-Judie2.htm

General information

http://www.clayzee.com/History_and_Tradition_of_Pottery_and_Ceramics/index.html