This essential introduction to one of the most popular and challenging art forms of our time charts the development of ceramics in the modern age, from Art Nouveau, Art Deco, the Bauhaus and Futurism, through Abstract Expressionism, Pop and Performance, to Land Art and Installation Art. There are clear introductions to pioneering techniques, glazes and approaches, in context and in practice, from orientalism and colour theory, to Modernism, Postmodernism and the profuse diversity of the end of the twentieth century. A practising potter and writer of international note, Edmund de Waal examines the increasing cross-fertilization between ceramics and other disciplines, such as painting, sculpture and architecture, and provides detailed and compelling analysis of individual pieces in context. This is essential reading for anyone concerned with art and creativity in the modern era.