Pre-Tang Ceramics of China
By: William Watson

Review by on March 27th, 2008 // Filed under Tang Figures


watson_pretang1.jpgPre-Tang Ceramics of China: Chinese Pottery from 4000 B.C. to 600 A.D. (Faber Monographs on Pottery and Porcelain)

Chinese pottery from 4000 BC to 600 AD. The book divides China into seven ceramic zones and relates these to the developement of different cultures. The work traces the history of ceramics from the earliest appearance of pottery to the Tang dynasty. Information is organized geographically by regions with descriptions of local characteristics; the development of kilns and vessel shapes and models by using archaeological reports and other studies by Chinese scholars.

I don’t know of any better book on early Chinese pottery, still this subject is so large and complicated it needs a library of its own. I can also tell that if you prefer glossy pictures to academic text, this book might be a bit dry. I still would not want to be without it. That’s the way it is with quality.

Boston: Faber and Faber, 1991.

CLASSIC – Important on early Chinese pottery


One Response to “Pre-Tang Ceramics of China
By: William Watson

  1. Definitely a must for anybody interested in pre-tang ceramics. Well structured and full of extremely interesting information on a full range of subject matters. I would concur with JE’s comments and even though it is now 18 years since it was written I have not seen a better book of its type. I would love to see a revised or updated version released though.

    Posted by Evan Henning

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