What sort of motifs feature regularly? Could you say there’s a visual language of ceramics?
In ancient civilisations, illustrated decoration on ceramics was a way to record the way of life of a community as well as their belief and important moments that defined that group. These moments could be famous battles or more regular events such as the harvest season. In a sense, objects made out of ceramics were a bit like books. Before objects were mass produced, these items had more value and would be transmitted from one generation to another. As a result, today we learn a lot about these ancient civilisations and the life of the people at the time thanks to the painted scenes on bowls, vases and other items that have been discovered.
As tools and techniques improved, decoration on ceramics became more sophisticated and during the Renaissance in Europe, for instance, this craft attracted many artists (www.veniceclayartists.com/ceramic-narratives/). Whereas some themes might have been more representative of a time and a place (e.g. women in beautiful outfits during the Renaissance), others have been universal. This is true of the depiction of everyday life (it could be hunting scenes, a community celebration or any other regular or extraordinary activity taking place within the community).
Throughout different cultures, there has also been a constant reference to nature with floral patterns and assortment of flowers. This is the case for Limoges porcelain (https://www.mv-bracelet.com/porcelaine-de-limoges/) or blue and white ceramics that originated in China but soon became popular around the world (www.veranda.com/decorating-ideas/color-ideas/a32721429/blue-and-white-ceramics/).
Animals have always been a favourite subject on pottery, both mythical (such as dragons for instance) and real. On the traditional Faience de Moustiers (https://www.moustiers.fr/fr/etapes-fabrication), the illustrations are often composed of stylised birds combined with floral assortments.
It is interesting to see that, historically, the themes that can be found on ceramics have been similar around the world. This is partly due to the fact that people have shared similar interests in different times and places. But it can also be explained by the fact that pottery was imported from other regions.
Traditional colours and types of ceramics tend to find their origin in the raw materials originally present locally and the techniques discovered.
Patterns are very popular on ceramics probably because they work very well with round objects such as vases, cups or plates. We can often find a series of bigger illustrations in the centre of the object with smaller stripes above and below made of floral or geometric patterns. This was already true in ancient Greece (http://arthistorysummerize.info/ArtHistory/ceramic/).
Today, our relationship to objects has changed and we do not value them so much. As a result, ceramics is sometimes perceived as a bit old fashioned and it might be less common to acquire an entire set of valuable tableware to take out on special days. However, modern artists have found ways to bring modernity to decoration on pottery.
The styles might be more versatile and specific to some artists. Illustrations tend to be more abstract and stylised (https://www.behance.net/search/projects/?search=ceramics+illustration). However, nature is still a big source of inspiration and pottery offer many opportunities to work with patterns.
Catherine Roux Degree in Illustration 