We Buy Ceramics
If you have any pottery, porcelain or ceramic objects that are no longer wanted, particularly table sets, tea sets, bowls, dishes, jugs, vases, etc. that you think may have some value either due to their age or a well-known source, we will be pleased to buy such items.
The earliest ceramics date back about 26,000 years. Found in Czechoslovakia these were mainly in the form of figurines. They were formed from a mix of animal fat, bone, bone ash and clay. They were heated over fires or allowed to dry in the sun.
Various pottery items were made from clay, including figurines, storage jars, bowls, and even some clay fired bricks. Such items were made from clay alone or mixed with silica and fired. Ceramics were later glazed and fired, and decorated with patterns according to the culture of the time.
The first sign of pottery vessels dates from around 9,000 BC, used to store grain, food and water by communities in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The earliest pottery was discovered, mainly in broken fragments, in southern Europe, made by mixing animal products with clay and heated over fire. Pottery underwent improvements in the process of the making. Early or ancient cultures used similar methods. One that was particularly noteworthy was the Indo-European Corded Ware culture. Rope was used as decoration by winding it around wet clay items. When these were heated the rope burned away, leaving indentations. Various patterns were experimented, some very artistically.
Early Ceramics were very basic. In Greece 6th century discoveries established the first use of oxidisation processes, and pots or fragments thereof were decorated with patterns and colours.
The term Ceramic is used to cover any earthenware, stoneware, porcelain and bone china. Clay is the basic ingredient to this day and other minerals, mainly silica, are added to the mix. Until the 18th century earthenware was the most common type. Terracotta is the name given to clay-based, unglazed ceramic. The life size Terracotta Warriors discovered in China in an Emperor’s tomb, by farmers. They date back to the late 200’s BCE. Today some plant pots, bricks, pipes, etc. are made from Terracotta.
The Beaker People, late Neolithic or early Bronze Age Europeans, were known for their bell-shaped pottery from which they were named. They migrated from the mainland to Britain and today are believed to be the ancestors of Celts and Picts in early Britain.
A breakthrough in pottery making was the invention of the wheel around 3,500 BC. Potters could shape items using both hands. Chinese potters started to use high-temperature kilns, and china clay, or the addition of kaolin, led to stronger items being made. Porcelain objects were made by heating Kaolin clay in a kiln to very high temperatures. In the Middle Ages the trade routes led to the introduction of Porcelain, throughout the Middle East and Europe.
Bone China is Porcelain made from bone ash, kaolin and a mineral called Feldspar. This method was developed by Josiah Spode around 1800. It is very strong but also very thin and delicate china items could be shaped.
Stoneware is coated in enamel to make it non-porous, and fired at higher temperatures than other ceramics. Generally earth coloured from the basic clay, it is normally glazed.
To date, Ceramics are used in technology, medical and electrical equipment, transportation and more. Ceramic tiles are of course used widely in buildings.
Clay bead jewellery has a well-developed method of making beads using molten clay in a mold. The beads are then dried either in the sun or a kiln, “strung” along thin metal rods to make the holes, and hand-decorated in different colours. They are then glazed and kiln-fired before being fashioned into items of jewellery such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc.
Ceramics through the ages have developed as cultures progressed, and today some ancient items are highly valued. Chinese and Japanese china and porcelain are much sought after, and can be dated by the makers’ stamps. In 1738 the Sevres Porcelain factory was established in France. Fine gilded and hand-painted items were produced for the wealthy and privileged.
Pablo Picasso created a collection of original ceramic works between 1946 and 1973. He became increasingly interested in experimenting with creating items from clay using different painting techniques with slips and glazes, mainly by trial and error. Over a 20 year period he created over 3,500 fired clay objects, such as bowls, vessels, vases, all with his unique style of decoration. He was fascinated by how quickly he could make and decorate Ceramic pieces. He also made them to a certain value, attracted by the idea that not only the wealthy classes but also poorer folk could own his pottery and Ceramics.
