Face jug, Unknown, Chinese, 2000-2020, clay, John Burrison located at Panjiayuan Flea Market, Beijing,  photo credit Pan Shan.

Long before the transportation and communication resources on which we rely today, ceramic ideas were spread far and wide. This presentation illustrates the impact Asia—the Far and Middle East—has had on world ceramics. The story begins in Tang-dynasty China when a type of white ware—an early version of porcelain–was developed, then traded by land and sea routes to the Middle East. Islamic potters imitated it by adding tin oxide to a clear lead glaze on low-fired wares, creating a white “canvas” for painted decoration. Moorish potters took this tin-glazed earthenware to Spain, where it became Hispano-Moresque ware; Spanish potters brought it to Puebla, Mexico, creating Talavera Poblana ware; Italian potters saw the Spanish ware and began making maiolica, then introduced it to France where it became faience; other Italian potters took the idea to the Netherlands, where it became known as delftware; and from there potters introduced delftware to England in the 1600s. Thus, Asian ceramic ideas migrated over many centuries and thousands of miles through trade, movement of potters, writing, and simple word of mouth, with each borrowing culture reinterpreting those ideas to create its own East-meets-West ceramic fusion.

About the Speaker

John A. Burrison received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Folklore and Folklife from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Regents Professor of English and Director of the Folklore Curriculum at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He also has served as curator of the Atlanta History Museum’s Folklife Gallery and of the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia at Sautee Nacoochee. He is a recipient of the (Georgia) Governor’s Award in the Humanities, a Fellow of the American Folklore Society, a Faculty Affiliate of the Atlanta Global Studies Center, and an Adjunct Faculty member of GSU’s Heritage Preservation Master’s Program in the Department of History.

Book publications include Brothers in Clay: The Story of Georgia Folk Pottery; From Mud to Jug: The Folk Potters and Pottery of Northeast Georgia; Storytellers: Folktales and Legends from the South; Roots of a Region: Southern Folk Culture; Shaping Traditions: Folk Arts in a Changing South; and most recently, Global Clay: Themes in World Ceramic Traditions.

Lecture venues include Peking University, Beijing, China; Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany; Transylvania University, Braşov, Romania; the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Holywood, Northern Ireland; The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; New Orleans Antiques Forum; Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico; McKissick Museum, University of South Carolina, Columbia; Atlanta History Center; Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta; North Carolina Pottery Center, Seagrove; Indiana University, Bloomington; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; University of Louisiana, Lafayette; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Miami-Dade College, Florida; and Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.