Monday, April 5, 2004

Astronomical Decorations on Ceramics - Summery part II Please refer to the  earlier summery  for more ancient civilizations. I have continued to look for historical examples of astronomical decorations on ceramics.  Basically, I am very interested in finding star charts on the sides of pots.  What I have found out so far has been quite different, and much more interesting. "Finishing up" some with some of the older cultures:  I found the Amercian Indians, the Mimbres, to be exact did refer to astronomical events on their pottery.  The supernova event seems to be show rather directly with the moon and star actually depicted as well as their relative position.  The lunar eclipse is show in more of a mythological format that we've seen with earlier cultures.  Perhaps the supernova was such an anomaly that no large mythology had been created prior to the pot being made. Further, the event was so startling it needed to be conveyed without 'artifice'. (I did look for information on the Internet for Africa and Europe, but came up empty handed.  The seeming lack may because of reasons explored in the  earlier summery.) Modern ceramists occasionally use astronomical references, but it does seem to be less than I had suspected.  This is a bit surprising given modern understanding of astronomy as well as a whole genera of Space Art. Some of note are: Sundials are a natural subject for ceramists.  Daniel Oberti  refers to astronomy and creates exceptional sundials.  Phil's sundial  adds reference to particular dates allowing for further meaning. Logan Johnson  used an actual image of a supernova from a telescope as a decoration on her platter.  The effect appears to be an abstract image,  but as properly understood allows for additional meanings. Dancing Pig Pottery has an interesting take on calendar with a textual reference on the rim. Finally, Charles Ritchies reminds up us to look at the  relationship between ceramics and astronomy in general. 6:54:51 AM