Pottery
People often refer to Wedgwood as the ‘Wedgwood pottery’, which to many might suggest a sort of craft business, when the truth is that Wedgwood is the leading manufacturer of fine bone china and earthenware ‘pottery’ in the country. The dictionary definition of ‘pottery’ is “pots, dishes and other items of earthenware or baked clay. Pottery can be broadly divided into earthenware, porcelain and stoneware”.
The origins of the word pottery are to be found in Middle English where it was in turn derived from the Old French ‘poterie’ from ‘potier’ - a potter. The making of pottery, or indeed any ceramic piece, is fascinating in the multiplicity of processes it goes through from the raw clay dug out of the earth to the finest Wedgwood bone china teacup and saucer. There is an elemental quality to that transition from raw material through refining, moulding and searing heat to the sophisticated pieces that make up a Wedgwood dinner service or interior décor accessory. Pottery by any other name?
