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Since the dawn of time, the mediums, tools, and techniques that artists have access to
have shaped the creation of art. While many advancements have made art more accessible and
manageable, others have brought radical ideas and fresh perspectives on what constitutes "art."
Some centuries-old artistic achievements have become so embedded in contemporary awareness
that it's challenging to comprehend what art would be like without them. The brief histories of
nine inventions that have fundamentally altered artmaking, historically, practically, or
philosophically, are furnished here.
One of the first art forms, ceramics, has been valued for millennia by numerous cultures
worldwide, and the tradition is still strong today as modern artists leave their mark on the
medium. But this vast art form would not have been created if it weren't for the remarkable
ingenuity of our prehistoric ancestors. They saw what occurs when clay is put in a fire pit,
unintentionally creating the first ceramic kiln, a testament to their resourcefulness and creativity.
The 'pit kiln' is the oldest known type of furnace used to create pottery, marking a humble
beginning to a technology that would evolve over the centuries. It is a testament to the
continuous progress and innovation in artmaking. It is unknown who these people were or when
exactly they made this discovery (the earliest extant ceramic sculptures, such as the Moravian
Venus of Dolní Věstonice, are dated between 29,000 and 25,000 B.C.E.). Ancient civilizations,
with their innovative spirit, would eventually develop enclosed kilns; Greek kilns were usually
two-chamber constructions with smoke directed upward, while Roman kilns included pipes and
some were able to accommodate forty thousand vessels, a testament to their advanced features.
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By 200 C.E., Chinese artisans in the Han period had developed equally massive "dragon
kilns"—also called "climbing kilns" because of their steep slope along hillsides—that contained
multiple chambers. These kilns produced the world's first porcelain objects; with them, China
became the global center of ceramics. The kiln's design (along with porcelain) spread throughout
East Asia and eventually reached Europe. While many dragon kilns still operate today, they've
largely been phased out by electric kilns, which were invented in the 1920s by Brown-Boveri
Ltd., a Swiss engineering company. Smaller in scale, safer to use, and easier to transport, electric
kilns can be found in studios and schools and have contributed mainly to the thriving ofAceramic
artists today.
The wheel, created about 3,500 BCE, was one of the earliest innovations in ceramics
production. The invention of the wheel made it possible to apply the wheel-forming method to
create ceramic objects with radial symmetry.
The first blast furnaces, at temperatures as high as 1,500°C, were created in Europe by
the fifteenth century. They were initially made of natural materials and were used to melt iron.
The Industrial Revolution began in the 16th century when artificial materials known as
refractories—which had improved resilience to high temperatures—were created. These
refractories produced the conditions required for the industrial melting of glass and metals and to
produce ceramics, coke, cement, and chemicals.
Earthenware was the primary type of ceramic item produced in Europe and the Middle
East during the 16th century C.E. (C.E. = Common Era). The Chinese invented porcelain (a
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substance with less than 1% porosity) from kaolin clay around 600 CE. They were also the first
to introduce high-temperature kilns that could reach temperatures up to 1350°C. Because of
Marco Polo's travels, porcelain was introduced and spread throughout Islamic countries during
the Middle Ages through trade via the Silk Road. This occurred later in Europe.
Clay, earthy powders, and water are shaped into forms and burned at high temperatures to
create ceramics. The earliest known ceramics come from the Terracota Army of the Qin Dynasty
(210 B.C.) and the Venus of Willendorf (24,000 B.C.), two of the earliest known ceramic sites in
history. These specimens were created solely to fulfill the requirement for hand-formed tools and
ceremonial objects. Since then, ceramics have developed into a more intricate and varied kind of
art. Ceramics explores the limits of sculpture, form, and function through a wide range of
methods and approaches, including wheel-throwing, slab building, hand-forming, Japanese raku,
and different kinds of clay including porcelain, stoneware, and terracotta. Today's ceramic artists,
such as Katsuyo Aoki, Shio Kusaka, and Rachel Kneebone, are bridging the gap between art and
craft by advancing the traditional ceramic techniques used by pioneers like Paul Daschel,
Edmond Lacenal, and Galileo Chini to create increasingly avant-garde and experimental
contemporary ceramic works.
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Several thousand years afterward, the first pottery artifacts were discovered in Eastern
Asia. There are pieces of pots found in the Xianrendong cave in China that date back to 18,000–
17,000 BCE. It is thought that pottery was first used in China and then migrated to Japan and the
Russian Far East, where archaeologists have discovered shards of 14,000 BCE ceramic items.
These beautiful ceramic roasters by artistARobbie LobellAcontinue an ancient tradition of using pottery for cooking.
Lobell intends for her roasters to be used, “I make my flameware pots to encourage the ideas of using handmade
objects to prepare and present locally grown vegetables, fruits and meats from our gardens, barnyards and nearby
farms.” Her fellow potters from 20,000 years ago may have had similar motivations, but changed the course of
human history, too. Credit: Robbie Lobell.
The wheel, created about 3,500 BCE, was one of the earliest innovations in ceramics
production. The invention of the wheel made it possible to apply the wheel-forming method to
create ceramic objects with radial symmetry.
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In contemporary art and design, ceramics are undergoing a rebirth due to the
breakthroughs in clay that curators and critics continue to highlight. In 2014, the Whitney
Biennial included ceramicists Shio Kusaka and Sterling Ruby, Venus Over Manhattan, who
organized a survey of modern clay, and Dan McCarthy and Takuro Kuwata displayed pots at Art
Basel and Frieze. Contemporary ceramicists from Korea and Japan use centuries-old methods to
produce valuable vessels like Jang Jin's simple designs and pure sculptural forms like those of
Sueharu Fukami. Some notable examples of contemporary ceramics are the whimsical and
colorful sculptures by Betty Woodman and Peter Shire and the slab-based works by Cody Hoyt
and Bruce M. Sherman. Whether pinching, coiling, hand-throwing, or slip-casting clay, these
potters show that a 2,000-year-old craft can be innovative, demanding, and even avant-garde.
Master ceramicist Eric Astoul made this work part of a series that draws inspiration from ancient and modern
stoneware. The rough firing of the piece turns the traditional ceramic craft known as La Borne on its head.
For an illustration of a similar vase, see Andréani, Carole and Maurice Lambiotte. Céramique contemporaine,
Collection Maurice Lambiotte. Editions Norma: Paris, 2007. 4.
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References
Brief history of ceramics and Glass. The American Ceramic Society. (2022, February 17).
https://ceramics.org/about/what-are-engineered-ceramics-and-glass/brief-history-of-ceramics-
and-glass/
Ceramic | artsy. (n.d.). https://www.artsy.net/gene/ceramic
Contemporary ceramics | artsy. (n.d.-b). https://www.artsy.net/gene/contemporary-ceramics
Guire, E. D. (2012, June 29). Oldest known pottery dates back 20,000 years and may have
changed the course of human history. The American Ceramic Society.
https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/international/oldest-known-pottery-dates-back-20000-
years-and-may-have-changed-the-course-of-human-history/
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