Chapter 12Arts of Ritual and Daily Life

The following key topics and materials are covered in this chapter:•Clay•Glass•Metal•Wood•Fiber•Ivory, Jade and Lacquer•Art, Craft, Design

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Arts of Ritual and Daily Life

This chapter explores the context of art as it is related to daily life. The religious ceremonies and ritual setting are what give definition to the everyday objects.

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CLAYCeramics is the art of making objects from clay. Dry clay has a powdery consistency.

•Plastic: When clay is mixed with water and becomes moldable.

•Firing the clay in a kiln between 1,200 and 2,700 degrees changes the chemical composition of the clay so it is no longer “plastic.”

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• ceramics• plastic• slab construction

• coiling • potter’s wheel• porcelain

• glaze• glass blowing• stained glass• forging• textile• weaving• felting

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Key terms for this chapter include:

CLAY• Slab Construction: A building technique where clay is rolled out into sheets and left to harden so it can be made into containers that will not distort.

• Coiling: The ceramists rolls out rope like strands, coils them on top of each other, and joins them together. (Native Americans used burnishing technique)

• Potter’s Wheel: A rotating flat disk mounted on a vertical shaft that helps a ceramist shape vessels.

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Blackware pot, Maria and Julian Martinez, 1939

CLAY

• Porcelain: A ceramic made from mixing kaolin (fine white clay) with porcelain stone.

• Glaze: Consists of powdered minerals in water. When fired they fuse into a nonporous glasslike coating.

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Insert visual(s).Suggestion: 12.2 Vase

Vase, China 18th century, porcelain

Bottle in the shape of pomegranate, Sand core glass, Egypt, 1550-1307

GLASS

Glass is a very versatile material that consists mainly of silica (sand). When heated, glass becomes molten and easily shaped. The chemical composition never changes.

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Insert visual(s).Suggestion: 12.4 Tree of Jesse

GLASS

• Glass Blowing: When an artists dips up a mass of molten glass at the end of a metal tube and blows into it creating an air bubble that can be shaped, thus hollowing the vessel.

• Glass was considered a luxury product in ancient civilizations.

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GLASS• Stained Glass: Made by cutting sheets of colored glass in various colors and fitting them together in a pattern; often the segments are joined by strips of lead.

• Stained glass has been used in cathedrals. The light passing through was viewed as a spiritually transforming substance.

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Tree of Jesse, Chartes Cathedral, 1150-70

METAL

Metal has been used to create art as well as it has being used for functional tools and everyday objects from throughout history.

•Forging: When metal is shaped by hammer blows.

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Insert visual(s).Suggestions: 12.5 pair of royal earrings12.6 Lion Aquamanile

Pair of royal earrings, India, gold.

Lion Aquamanile, Nuremberg, 1400

WOODWood is a renewable, available, easy-to-work-with material. It has been used throughout history for ritual and daily purposes.

•Because wood is organic and vulnerable to heat, cold, water and fire, wooden objects from the past are rare to find.

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Insert visual(s).Suggestion: 12.7 Chair of Hetepheres

Chair of Hetepheres, Egypt, Dynasty 4,

2575-2551

Olumeye Bowls, early 20th century

FIBERFiber is a pliable threadlike strand. Most naturally occurring fibers are either animal or vegetable in origin.

•Basket weaving is a traditional women’s art that has been used throughout the centuries.

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Insert visual(s).Suggestions: 12.9 Feathered basket12.11 Ardabil carpet

FIBER• Textile: An art used to create the clothing we wear daily.

• Felting: A technique where fibers are matted and pressed together.

• Weaving: Placing two sets of parallel fibers at right angles and interlacing them repeatedly.

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Feathered Basket, 1877Ardabil Carpet, Persia, 1539-40

Royal tunic, Peru, Inca, wool and cotton, 1500. (Draped statues with fine textiles)

IVORY, JADE, AND LACQUER

Ivory, jade, and lacquer are considered rarer more precious materials and are often associated with wealth.

•Ivory: Traditionally came from the tusks of elephants.

•Today, the ivory trade is banned in India and restricted in Africa.

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Arm ornament, Yoruba, 16th century Lidded saltcellar, Sapi artist, 15-16th century,

IVORY, JADE, AND LACQUER

• Jade: A common name for two materials: nephrite and jadeite. It ranges in color from brown to green, and is primarily found in Asia and Central America.

• Lacquer: Made from the sap of a tree originally only found in China. It creates a glasslike coating over wood and takes up to 30 coats to create a substantial layer.

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Vase in form of two carp, China, 18th century, Green jade.

Tiered Picnic Box, Japan, late 17th century, lacquer, gold, silver powder, shell

ART, CRAFT, DESIGN

Decorative arts were segregated from the fine arts (painting and sculpture) and for many years were termed as “crafts”.

•The Arts and Crafts movement flourished during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It heightened the public awareness of handmade objects and traditional skills.

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Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Workshop, table, 1910-12, oak, leather and brass

Shell Chest, Judy Kensley McKie, 2000. Carved and constructed.

Night Street Chaos, Toots Zynsky, 1998, Fused glass

Ini 3, Maria Nepomeuceno, 2009, nylon rope and beaded

necklaces.

Sasa, El Anatsui, 2004, aluminum and copper wire

Iago’s Mirror, Fred Wilson, 2009, Murano glass,

OneShot, Patrick Jouin, 2006. Laser-sintered nylon

Arts of Ritual and Daily Life: SUMMARY

Key Topics, Materials, and Terms:•Clay: ceramics, plastic, slab construction, coiling, potter’s wheel, porcelain, glaze•Glass: glass blowing, stained glass•Metal: forging•Wood•Fiber: textile, weaving, felting•Ivory, Jade and Lacquer•Art, Craft, Design

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