The History of Ceramics

The Minoans: Myth, Minotaurs and the Ceramics of Ancient Crete

Nearly 4,000 years ago, the Minoans flourished on the island of Crete, trading across the Mediterranean and creating some of the most extraordinary ceramics of the Bronze

Bernard Leach - The Making of A Master - Part 3

How did Bernard Leach’s ideas travel from a small pottery in St Ives to influence generations of potters around the world? In the final episode of our three-part series,

Bernard Leach - The Making of a Master - Part 2 - St. Ives

How did Bernard Leach turn a small pottery in St Ives into the centre of a new ceramics movement? In the second episode of our three-part series, we follow Leach as he r

Bernard Leach - The Making of a Master - Part 1 - Japan

How did an English artist in Japan become one of the most influential figures in modern ceramics? In the first of our three-part series on Bernard Leach, we explore the

Secrets of The Japanese Tea Ceremony

In 16th century Japan, a bowl of tea could get you killed. This episode traces the birth of the Ancient Japanese tea ceremony and the aesthetic of wabi-sabi, or the art o

Bernard Palissy - Obsession, Faith and Myth

Bernard Palissy was an artist, scientist, inventor and one of the most extraordinary figures in the history of ceramics. Driven by religious faith, a fascination with nat

The Ming Dynasty - When Porcelain Became Power

This week Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene explore the extraordinary ceramics of the Ming Dynasty, the period that established China as the world's greatest producer

The Tang Dynasty - Treasures from the Tomb

This week Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene explore the remarkable ceramics of the Tang Dynasty, one of China's greatest periods of artistic innovation. We venture dow

Lucie Rie & Hans Coper - Clay, Courage and Reinvention - Part 2

This week we continue the story by following the extraordinary journey of Hans Coper, a man who arrived in Britain as a refugee with no experience of pottery, yet went on

Lucie Rie & Hans Coper - Clay, Courage and Reinvention - Part 1

This week on The History of Ceramics, we begin the remarkable story of two artists who transformed the course of modern ceramics. Our journey starts with the extraordinar

The Terracotta Warriors

In 1974, a group of farmers digging a well in rural China made one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in history: an underground army of thousands of life-sized t

George E. Ohr - The Mad Potter of Biloxi

Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene travel to the American South at the end the 19th C to explore the life and work of George E. Ohr - otherwise known as the Mad Potter

Funk and Nut Art with Clayton Bailey

Stephanie Rozene and curator Garth Johnson pick up the story of Funk Art and look at the life and work of artist Clayton Bailey who would go on to form the breakaway move

Robert Arneson - Funk Art

Join Stephanie Rozene and guest Garth Johnson as they travel back to 1967 and the West Coast of America where an exhibition named Funk would showcase ceramics as a provoc

Hector Guimard - The Father of French Art Nouveau

How Art Nouveau transformed Parisian Architecture. In this episode we travel to France to meet Hector Guimard the father of French Art Nouveau and the sweeping organic fo

Josiah Wedgwood - Part 2 - Turning Pottery into Politics

How did Wedgwood combine pottery with politics? Paul Greenhalgh is joined by Sir Tristram Hunt to discuss the life and work of potter and abolitionist Josiah Wedgwood who

Josiah Wedgwood - A Giant in the History of Ceramics - Part 1

How did Wedgwood create one of the most famous ceramic companies in British history?  And what fueled his obsession with science and experimentation?  Join Paul Greenhalg

Sèvres - Power, Porcelain & Prestige

In this episode Paul and Stephanie discuss how Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, and Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's passion for porcelain created one of the most famous

Secret Formula - The Race for Porcelain - Part 2

How did an alchemist discover the recipe for porcelain? And why did his discovery ultimately drive him mad? Join Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene as they pick up the

White Gold - The Race for Porcelain (Part 1)

How did Europe become obsessed with porcelain? And who would win the race to discover the secret formula for this “white gold?” In this episode Paul Greenhalgh and Stepha