Having worked with clay from a young age, I love seeing the diversity of ceramic objects in the Carlos’ collection. The range of techniques used throughout human history to form, fire, and decorate clay vessels and the similarities of techniques used across cultural lines is fascinating. Due to the fact that clay is such an accessible medium for creating, ceramic objects can be found in every gallery at the Carlos, some of which include slip-decorated Nazca vessels, a glazed Roman chalice, an incised Makonde pot, and a highly detailed black figure Attic vase. Each object was formed and decorated in its own unique way; however, the similarities in materials and processes used lead to a number of shared condition issues.

Before the Carlos Museum closed in March due to COVID-19-related safety concerns, museum staff prepared and installed a number of baskets in the Native North Americas gallery as part of an annual rotation to limit light exposure for especially vulnerable objects.

In this video, Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi leads a 10-minute meditation in the Asian Galleries of the Carlos Museum alongside a 10th-century gilt statue of Shakyamuni Buddha from Tibet.

 

The Makonde water vessel in the Carlos Museum's Charles S. Ackerman Galleries of African Art was made using two hand-building techniques, pinching and coiling. Ceramic artist and Carlos Museum educator Ana Vizurraga created videos to demonstrate these techniques, which have been used around the world for millennia. This video will teach you how to created a coiled pot of your own.

The Makonde water vessel in the Carlos Museum's Charles S. Ackerman Galleries of African Art was made using two hand-building techniques, pinching and coiling. Ceramic artist and Carlos Museum educator Ana Vizurraga created videos to demonstrate these techniques, which have been used around the world for millennia. This video will teach you to create a pinch pot of your own.