Art of German Stoneware Ceramics, 1300-1900 : From the Charles W. Nichols Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Bold, bright, and functional, stoneware ceramics produced in the German-speaking centers of what is today Germany and the Low Countries were highly valued and widely traded in Europe and North America from the 16th through the 18th century. In the 1600sthe heyday of stoneware productionthese handsome, practical ceramics found an enthusiastic market in colonial North America. The addition of relief decoration and a brilliant salt-glaze during the Renaissance raised the status of these wares. Later examples eschewed such narrative ornament for more abstract floral or geometric patterns, and greater competition from other centers and mediums in the 18th century led to more unusual, original forms. About sixty fine stoneware pieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a promised private collection testify to the success, artful decoration, and fascinating variety of this medium. Jack Hinton describes the developments in stoneware through these notable examples, and color images bring their details to life. With their bold designs and bright colors, these works exhibit the perfect balance of utility and beauty.

Jack Hinton is assistant curator of European decorative arts and sculpture at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.