Women Potters - Transforming Traditions (Hardcover, New edition)

It is often claimed that women were the first potters. While this may or may not be the case, the earliest pottery techniques are still used today in many parts of the world, largely by women. This beautifully illustrated book brings to light the often uncelebrated contributions women potters make to their cultures and describes the practical details of their craft. Moira Vincentelli proposes that a women's tradition in ceramics is one in which pottery making is a gendered activity intimately connected with female identity. Such work is easily taken for granted as mere everyday household equipment with no status as art. Vincentelli argues, however, that value is not intrinsic to an object, and a simple cooking pot or water jar can take on high importance if the significance for owners and users is considered--water out of a particular jar is said to taste sweeter, and a cooking pot is often buried with its owner, or broken when someone dies. Vincentelli guides the reader through these traditions continent by continent with beautiful, detailed maps and stunning color photographs from around the world. Central to her argument is the proposition that, far from disappearing, as is so often claimed, these traditions are adapting and accommodating to new conditions. Often potters are the bearers of cultural identity in an increasingly globalized world. This book will appeal not only to those interested in ceramics, but also to those with an interest in non-western traditions, women's studies, material culture, archaeology, and social anthropology.