CRAFTER: Reviving Bronze Age Pottery in EU-funded project (original) (raw)
Related papers
Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe: the archaeological background of the CRAFTER project
Katarina Dmitrovic, Roberto Risch, Eva Celdrán Beltrán, János Dani, María Inés F Fregeiro Morador, Vesna Vuckovic, Vojislav Filipovic, Carla Garrido García, aleksandar bulatovic, Viktória Kiss, Vajk Szeverényi, Jovan D . Mitrović, D. Gómez-gras, Gabriella Kulcsar, Petar Milojević, Vojislav Djordjević, Carlos Velasco Felipe, Marija Ljustina, Gucsi László
Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe: the archaeological background of the CRAFTER project, 2021
Introduction The proceedings before us, comprised of seven papers, are inspired by the subject of the almost completed CRAFTER programme Creative Europe project. The full title of the project is Crafting Europe in the Bronze Age and Today, and in brief, the idea was to draw inspiration from Europe’s Bronze Age pottery to help revive modern-day artisanship. The project targets the appreciation of Europe's cultural heritage as a shared resource and the reinforcement of a sense of belonging to a common European space. In particular, it hopes to make cultural heritage a source of inspiration for contemporary creation and innovation and strengthen the interaction between this sector and other cultural and creative sectors. The main framework of the project was the idea that four potters from Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Serbia will draw on their skills to (re)create ceramic vessels representative of some of the most outstanding Bronze Age cultures of Europe: El Argar (southeast Spain), Únětice (Central Europe), Füzesabony (eastern Hungary) and Vatin (Serbia). The papers published within these proceedings are not strictly related to the project itself, but the problems of Bronze Age pottery in Europe in general. The problems discussed in the presented papers and the inspirations are drawn from the CRAFTER project. The original idea was to delve into the content of the pottery and define its composition and quality. These are, in fact, the elements responsible for the final appearance of the ceramic vessel and its function. Considering that out of four editors, two have presented papers within the proceedings, I have been honoured to write this short introduction on their significance and essence. The thread that connects all of the papers, although their concepts do not seem similar at the first glance, since some of the papers are dwelling on interdisciplinarity while others deal with certain chronological and cultural-historical problems, is that the primary analytical material in all of the papers is Bronze Age pottery, from beyond the Pyrenees, across Central Europe, to the Balkans, which is not unexpected considering that a Serbian institution was credited for publishing. The positive aspect is that the pottery is Crafting pottery in Bronze Age Europe: the archaeological background of the CRAFTER project discussed in a manner uncommon for archaeology, while on the other hand pottery studies have been more and more neglected in the past few decades, as such subjects are considered as passé in archaeology. The ever-rising number of specializations and specialists have pushed the pottery and potters into an undeserved corner, even though without such a set of analytic work the past can not be completely and adequately perceived. The pottery is “slow-moving”. It changes, circulates, and exchanges at a slow pace and it enables the perception of the beginning, development, decadence, and the end of a certain society. The pottery has regional character and reflects the primary contacts, the esthetics of a community, and the inspiration of the artist. Certainly, this implies to prehistoric pottery and communities which do not function within centralized social systems, such as the Bronze Age beyond Mediterranean Europe, which is indeed in the focus of these proceedings. With the appearance of the potter’s wheel, the production and distribution of pottery merge with industry and economy, and at that moment a puzzle of a small man from the past loses a piece. A piece without which we are unable to perceive small communities through such an important, fruitful, and data-rich object such as pottery and which we often tend to neglect as a discipline. In order to identify the contacts, exchange, and trade or reconstruct the communication routes in past, we often reach to the so-called luxurious artifacts: metals, amber, glass, and artisan objects… Likewise, pottery could narrate a story of one meal, one house, one potter, one village, or one community in the past, which is, like it or not, a fact that will make the interdisciplinary and diverse analyses of prehistoric pottery one of the primary archaeological methods. Vojislav Filipović Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade
EUROPA POSTMEDIAEVALIS 2020: Post-medieval pottery in the spare time
EUROPA POSTMEDIAEVALIS 2020: Post-medieval pottery in the spare time, 2021
This anthology is a collection of articles from a conference EUROPA POSTMEDIAEVALIS 2020 “Post-medieval Pottery in the Spare Time”, a conference that could not be held. The subject of interest is ceramics from the Modern period (from the 15th to 19th centuries) in the context of spare time activities. The articles for the anthology were written at the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit the entire world. Which was why we were all the more delighted that the authors, despite the prevailing uncertainty, took up the proposed topics. Thanks to their efforts it was possible to compile this anthology. Finally, a total of four “leisure” topics were defined. As expected, the topic “Little big vices – tobacco smoking and drinking and carousing” drew the greatest interest. Pipes, in particular, have become a very popular research topic in recent decades. Another attractive subject “Hidden garden treasures – flowerpots and other garden ceramics” brings a new light into previously neglected issues. The “Toys and joys – ceramic toys and spare time items” topic generated comparable interest among researchers. Readers may acquaint themselves with games and types of children’s toys documented archaeologically. The last part of the book named “Last but not least” supplements the anthology with a total of five studies approaching selected, current topics. The resulting 28 articles were written by authors from nine countries (the Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine). They represent known and unknown aspects of contemporary pottery (including an assemblage the United Arab Emirates) with regard to leisure activities
Creativity and Craft Production in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe (CinBA)
2012
It was one of 9 international projects supported within the HERA1 'Creativity' theme. Twenty months on from the official project end, this report assesses the post-project impact of CinBA. It revisits project academic and non-academic partners and collaborators to report on impact in terms of the project's effectiveness, international scope, persistence and leverage. Knowledge exchange was embedded in CinBA research from the start. Through a reflection on the 'CinBA experience', this report provides robust evidence for the value of humanities research and offers insights into how the best elements of the CinBA model of knowledge exchange (KE) may be developed and replicated elsewhere. Background to CinBA Led by Dr Joanna Sofaer at the University of Southampton, CinBA brought together academic partners from the Universities of Southampton, Cambridge and Trondheim, the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, National Museum of Denmark, the Natural History Museum of Vienna, and non-academic partners Lejre Archaeological Park (Sagnlandet) and the Crafts Council. Whereas studies of creativity frequently focus on the modern era, creativity has always been part of human history. An understanding of creative inspiration thus requires that present-day studies are complemented by others investigating the past. CinBA used the unique time-depth offered by archaeology to investigate creativity in prehistory over the long dureé at local, regional and transnational levels. Focussing on Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe (1800-800/500BC), it offered important insights into the fundamental nature of creativity by exploring a part of European history not influenced by contemporary concepts of art, looking at developments in crafts that we take for granted today: metalwork, textiles and pottery. Bronze and woollen textiles were new in the Bronze Age, while people began to work with the established material of ceramic in new ways. During the Middle and Late Bronze Age there were only modest technological changes. Changes in material culture are therefore due to development of technical skill and new ways of designing objects, exploiting the potentials of materials-in particular their surfaces and different plasticities. It is these developments-the articulation and dynamics of this creativity and innovation-that CinBA investigated and explored. In other words, CinBA has been interested in looking at what people did once the new technologies of bronze and textiles had been invented, and how they worked with ceramics in new ways, in terms of innovations such as the development of colour, patterns, texture, shapes and motifs. CinBA has focussed on objects as a means to understand local and transnational creative activities, exploring the creativity that underpinned Bronze Age objects over time and space. It tracked developments in decorative motifs and the techniques and skill used for these over more than a millennium within regions forming a northsouth axis across Europe: Scandinavia, Central Europe and the Adriatic. CinBA also worked closely with nonacademic partners, The Crafts Council in the UK and Sagnlandet Lejre in Denmark, to explore links between ancient and modern creativity through engagements with Bronze Age objects by modern contemporary craft makers /artists and the public. In particular, CinBA investigated the potential impact these objects may have as a source of inspiration and means of creative engagement by tracing the ways that contemporary creativity can be stimulated through an engagement with the Bronze Age that puts the object at the centre. Report Methodology Data was collected from CinBA academic and non-academic partners, Maker Engagement Project participants (SME's and sole traders), Live Project early career makers and their tutors, organisations using CinBA research, key figures in crafts education policy, websites, social media and exhibition venues displaying work arising from CinBA. A series of targeted electronic questionnaires were sent to academic partners, Maker Engagement participants, and Live Project early career participants and crafts tutors (Appendix). For the first of these 'For me, CinBA has served as an ideal kick to find new paths for my Bronze Age studies… And it has given a tremendous spin off, which will result in a number of publications in the years to come. Here I can just mention the analyses of the glass beads from the Danish Bronze Age, 1400-1100 BC. They are from Egypt and Mesopotamia.' Flemming Kaul Facilitating Opportunity Outside CinBA New networks developed during CinBA have not only impacted upon researchers directly involved in the project. In some cases, they have led to further unexpected opportunities for research impact that draws on CinBA expertise to facilitate opportunities for researchers elsewhere. The case study below illustrates relationships that have been established by CinBA Project Leader, Dr Joanna Sofaer beyond the structure of the project.
EUROPA POSTMEDIAEVALIS 2018: Post-medieval pottery between (its) borders
EUROPA POSTMEDIAEVALIS 2018: Post-medieval pottery between (its) borders, 2019
This anthology is a collection of works from the EUROPA POSTMEDIAEVALIS conference held in Prague in the spring of 2018. As the name of the conference suggests, the subject of interest is the Early Modern period (15th to 18th century) and the manner in which this relatively young discipline in the field of archaeology is approached in Europe. The first year of the conference set the goal of searching for topics in post-medieval archaeology that reflect their current situation while simultaneously addressing a broader group of scholars. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that the central theme pursued by generations across Europe proved to be Early Modern ceramics, the large assemblages of which are for many of us the bread and butter of our daily lives – a delight and often a headache resulting from their further processing. Since this issue is the one perceived most acutely here in the Czech Republic, we decided to share our current quandaries in this field with both our domestic and foreign colleagues. The long-term objective of the conference is to create a professional platform with a uniform communication language (English) and a biennial periodicity allowing us to meet regularly to exchange experience gained in our study and work in post-medieval archaeology. The articles published in this anthology reflect the current state of research of Early Modern pottery in individual European countries (the Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland), including both successes and possible shortcomings. The individual studies should serve as impulses for further study, ideas for thought and discussion and, last but not least, as study material for those who come into contact with Early Modern material culture as part of their work.
pottery diversity session report 19th EAA report
provided the material support necessary to build and maintain social networks, sometimes far -ranging ones . All the papers led to the conclusion that craft activities were of central concern to Bronze and Iron Age elites and were not merely a set of technical operations delegated to low rank manual workers. This belief led some of us (particularly Verena Leusch and Alexis Gorgues) to state the possibility that elite members could have taken part in the technical processes themselves, and that such elite participation may have manifested itself in production lines for which advanced technical skills were necessary, at least in some contexts. The time schedule allowed for a rich debate, animated by a lively and reactive audience. A wide range of topics were explored, from the identification of productive structures to the nature of the relations between elite -demand‖ and artisan's -production offer‖. Moreover, it became clear that this session had been very useful to understand the rich nature of artisans' social differentiations, depending on the context examined (from mere manual labourers or even slaves, to people of high social rank within their society). This also expanded into a more diverse understanding of who the elites were in these same societies. Clearly, a much more nuanced mosaic of social relationships emerged, based on contextualised studies of craft activities and, as such, this session fulfilled its purpose. To conclude the summary of a very rich session, we would like to thank all the participants and the audience. It was precisely their interaction that brought up the importance of studying material and production chains in context, thus beyond theoretical models. While this session may have allowed for artisans to be more than passive receivers of elite orders, we also felt that it is not opportune either to unanimously move in the opposite direction, i.e. see all artisans as elites themselves. Each and every case needs to be seen and studied in its own context to come to a better understanding of the rich mosaic that craft interaction socially and technically afforded. We thus look forward to explore this topic in more detail next year at the EAA Istanbul meeting.
Creativity and Craft Production in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe (CinBA). Assessing the Impact of a HERA Research Project, 2015
The HERA-funded project Creativity and Craft Production in Middle and Late Bronze Age Europe (CinBA) (www.cinba.net) ran from 2010-2013. It was one of 9 international projects supported within the HERA1 ‘Creativity’ theme. Twenty months on from the official project end, this report assesses the post-project impact of CinBA. It revisits project academic and non-academic partners and collaborators to report on impact in terms of the project’s effectiveness, international scope, persistence and leverage. Knowledge exchange was embedded in CinBA research from the start. Through a reflection on the ‘CinBA experience’, this report provides robust evidence for the value of humanities research and offers insights into the CinBA model of knowledge exchange (KE). Led by Dr Joanna Sofaer at the University of Southampton, CinBA brought together academic partners from the Universities of Southampton, Cambridge and Trondheim, the Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, National Museum of Denmark, the Natural History Museum of Vienna, and non-academic partners Lejre Archaeological Park (Sagnlandet) and the Crafts Council.
Archaeologia Polona, 2021
The reviewed publication, published in 2019, is a collection of texts based on papers and posters presented at the international conference under the same title held in Prague in April 2018. The contributors focus on the most common items found at archaeological sites of the period, i.e., ceramics, particularly vessels and tiles. The work under discussion demonstrates how heterogeneous these finds are, how many unanswered questions they provoke, especially regarding their production, exploitation, and trade, and at the same time what progress has been made in these fields of research, but also what remains unclear and in need of further studies.
Creativity is an integral part of human history, yet most studies focus on the modern era, leaving unresolved questions about the formative role that creativity has played in the past. This book explores the fundamental nature of creativity in the European Bronze Age. Considering developments in crafts that we take for granted today, such as pottery, textiles, and metalwork, the volume compares and contrasts various aspects of their development, from the construction of the materials themselves, through the production processes , to the design and eff ects deployed in fi nished objects. It explores how creativity is closely related to changes in material culture, how it directs responses to the new and unfamiliar, and how it has resulted in changes to familiar things and practices. Written by an international team of scholars, the case studies in this volume consider wider issues and provide detailed insights into creative solutions found in specifi c objects.