When man understood the special characteristics of clay and pottery, he was constantly seeking to find different techniques and understand the magical secrets of the material - ‘Clay’. He started researching the varying properties of clay available in different places like valleys, river beds, hills, etc. He then understood that different types of clay is available in different places with different properties and each type can be used for a different purpose. This knowledge spread across different parts of the world and people started learning the art of ‘Pottery Ceramics’. However like every new found technique, this was also maintained as a well kept technical secret among the enlightened and it was with much difficulty others learned the secrets.
Somehow back then, ‘Pottery’ found its special place in fulfilling most of the every day requirements of mankind including dwelling places, house hold articles, etc. Needless to say it was rightly treated as one of the cultural milestones in Human Civilisation.
The pottery ceramics thus developed and spread across the world and the clay ceramic wares thus developed can be classified into following five groups.
- Terra cotta ceramic: This means all pottery ware with a porous body and without a glaze. Common building bricks, roofing tiles and other unglazed articles made by village potters come under this class.
- Earthen ware ceramic: This division includes all pottery having a coating of glaze on them.
- Stone ware ceramic: These are vitrifies pottery having a coating of glaze made from salt.
- Porcelain ceramic: This group includes all white vitrified wares and made at high temperature and a special character of translucent body.
- Refractory: These are articles made out of heat resisting materials without a glaze and used for construction of furnaces and other heat resistant applications.
