The Long Journey of the Potter’s Wheel
The potter’s wheel may be all too simple for you. But if we take it into a historical context, the wheel is one of the most ingenious applications of mechanical principles during its time. Pottery began as an art even before recorded history. Back then, people doesn’t know anything yet about wheels or other mechanical principles that we take for granted today. The history of the potter’s wheel is thus a long story, and an exciting one to tell.
The story begins in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC. Archeological evidences have undoubtedly put the history of the potter’s wheel to begin in the ancient city of Sumeria. The wheel and axle is also thought to have originated in the same area. In 3000 BC, wheels became a universal tool in pottery making in Mesopotamia, which soon spread eastwards towards the Indus Valley and then to other parts of the world.
Basically, the potter’s wheel is just a circular platform mounted to revolve freely about an axis. The most primitive type of this wheel is named “tournette,” which is probably just a disc of baked clay pivoted vertically on a support post. The disc is easily revolved by pushing the disc itself, either done by an assistant or the potter himself. The tournette lasted long but is obviously disadvantaged. Soon, the modern form of the wheel arrived, when the foot is used to turn a second disc which is connected to the main disc.
Further into the history of the potter’s wheel, we see that it played a great role in the development of pottery as an exquisite form of art. The use of the potter’s wheel allows the creation of pots with fine symmetry. Before, pots were built by hand in a slow and laborious job. Wall of even thickness is almost impossible to make without the wheel. A few more years passed and the wheel reached Rome and Crete and the potter’s wheel became a standard tool in every potter’s workshop.
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Set of 4 Country Windsor Kitchen Furniture Dining Chair/Chairs $109.23 Set of 4 Country Windsor Kitchen Furniture Dining Chair/Chairs This is a brand new Windsor Dining Chair/Chairs in Natural Solid Wood Seat and Shabby White Chic Frame with Spindle Back and Legs Design (Set of 4). Item is crafted with quality and perfection to match the beauty of your dining room furniture decor. Dining table is sold separately. Item will require simple assembly. This item is... |
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