1. Chapter 12 Arts 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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2. 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.
Discussion question:
What are some religious, ceremonial, ritual items that some of you possess? When and how do you use them? Made to be touched, worn, handled in religious ceremonies, etc. We know they were used by their owners.
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3. CLAY
Ceramics 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.”
Earliest known ceramics are from China as early as years ago. Hollow forms because they are meant to hold something and solid clay is nearly impossible to fire.
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4. Key terms for this chapter include:
glaze
glass blowing
stained glass
forging
textile
weaving
felting
ceramics
plastic
slab construction
coiling
potter’s wheel
porcelain
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5. 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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6. Blackware pot, Maria and Julian Martinez, 1939
Maria – daughter of Pueblo people. Married Julian and worked as partners creating pots. Commissioned by Dr. Hewett (Archaeologist) to replicate blackware using a broken chip from pot. Coil method, created from red clay and smothering bonfire fire to blacken. Matte areas were painted with slip prior to firing. Roosevelts had piece of pottery in White House. Revived Pueblo pottery.

7. 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.
Insert visual(s).
Suggestion: 12.2 Vase
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8. Vase, China 18th century, porcelain
Bottle in the shape of pomegranate, Sand core glass, Egypt,
Left – Clay is most versatile. Porcelain (perfected in China) with white glaze with colored enamels. Made on potters wheel. Peaches = longevity, blossoms used to decorate for new year. #9 associated with eternity. Right – Glass most fascinating. Ingredient is silica. Modern glass form is made by heat and blowing. Clay and sand served as core or mold and plunged into vat of molten glass. After cool, core is scraped out. Glass was luxury in ancient world. Pomegranate symbolizes fertility and renewal.

9. 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.
Insert visual(s).
Suggestion: 12.4 Tree of Jesse
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10. 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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11. 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.
Discussion question:
Share your experiences with stained glass as a light source. Where do you find stained glass besides in a church?
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12. Tree of Jesse, Chartes Cathedral, 1150-70
Segments joined by strips of lead. 12th and 13th centuries in Europe were Golden Age for stained glass. Glass shows branching tree – lineage of Mary – Jesus.

13. 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.
Insert visual(s).
Suggestions:
12.5 pair of royal earrings
12.6 Lion Aquamanile
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14. Lion Aquamanile, Nuremberg, 1400
Pair of royal earrings, India, gold.
Left- gold can be forged cold. Weight caused lobe to extend and rest on shoulder. Right – used by priests for handwashing before Mass, also used by aristocrats for handwashing. Possibly an Iranian invention. Modeled in wax and cast in metal. Lion = Jesus or Saint Mark. Noble.

15. WOOD
Wood 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.
Insert visual(s).
Suggestion: 12.7 Chair of Hetepheres
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16. Chair of Hetepheres, Egypt, Dynasty 4, 2575-2551
Portable chairs with armrest were innovative. Legs are carved as legs and paws of lion = royal power. Papyrus on sides – symbol of lower Egypt. Right – Olumeye is Yoruban for one who knows honor. Messenger of spirit kneels in respect and devotion. Used to store kola nuts for guests or deities during worship. Why male? And four dancers? Carved from single piece of wood and includes rolling head at bottom.
Olumeye Bowls, early 20th century

17. FIBER
Fiber 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.
Insert visual(s).
Suggestions:
12.9 Feathered basket
12.11 Ardabil carpet
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18. 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.
Discussion question:
Do any of you feel that your clothing is artwork? Give examples that support your opinion.
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19. Feathered Basket, 1877 Ardabil Carpet, Persia, 1539-40
Royal tunic, Peru, Inca, wool and cotton, (Draped statues with fine textiles)
Basketry valued by Native Americans. Pomo (current CA) baskets link to larger ideas about universe. Stole sun and carried it across sky. Daily journey of sun reenact original event. Traditionally a woman’s art. Ritual. Intentional small imperfection (dau) and serves as spirit door. Made as gifts for important or honored person and destroyed in mourning when person died. Mid – first textiles made by felting. Another technique is weaving. Symbolic squares. Right – Made by knotting indiv tufts of wool into woven ground. Has over 300 knots per square inch. 1200, 000, 000 knots in all.

20. 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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21. Arm ornament, Yoruba, 16th century
Lidded saltcellar, Sapi artist, 15-16th century,
Ivory trade in India is banned and restricted in Africa. In Yoruba city (Nigeria), only kings would be permitted to wear armband. Carved from 1 piece of ivory but including 2 interlocking tubes.

22. 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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23. Vase in form of two carp, China, 18th century, Green jade.
Chinese thought all colors of jade possessed magical powers. Olmecs prized green. Symbolic of successful marriage, offered as wedding gift.

24. Tiered Picnic Box, Japan, late 17th century, lacquer, gold, silver powder, shell
Water resistant and air-tight. Layers were built up and carved and inlays such as shell, ivory, gold, silver added. Maki-e – sprinkling of gold or silver before lacquer dries to create picture.

25. 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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26. Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman Workshop, table, 1910-12, oak, leather and brass
Industrial Revolution decreased handmade items and things were being mass produced by machines. Factories replaced workshops. In 1815, Arts and Crafts movement where Stickley published magazine called The Craftsman.

27. Night Street Chaos, Toots Zynsky, 1998, Fused glass
Left - Glass threads layered in flat circle. Right - Fuses in kiln and slumps to bowl shape. Molded and reheated. *Right – carved to mimi eyes of African and Oceanic masks. Knob as pearl nestled in shell.
Shell Chest, Judy Kensley McKie, Carved and constructed.

28. Ini 3, Maria Nepomeuceno, 2009, nylon rope and beaded necklaces.
*Began with hammock as form and then adds a carnival twist. Organic, compares to umbylical cord. Themes of fertility, generation, and human body are present.

29. Iago’s Mirror, Fred Wilson, 2009, Murano glass,
Sasa, El Anatsui, 2004, aluminum and copper wire
Left – aluminum and copper wire. Recycles particles that import from wealthier place to Africa. RE: African kente cloth. *Right – black ornate mirrors in Venetian style. When looking into mirror, see blackness. (Iago is villian in Shakespeare’s Othello).

30. OneShot, Patrick Jouin, 2006. Laser-sintered nylon
Can be compacted. 3d digital printer made this stool.

31. 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
© 2013, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.