Loving the British Museum, pots and all | Letters
Readers respond to Adrian Chiles’s experience of the institution’s treasuresI would guess that Adrian Chiles is no fan of The Great Pottery Throw Down, currently on Channel 4 (At 57, I went to the British Museum for the first time – and it left me rather cold, 12 February). Not only is he missing out on a lovely creative piece of television, but he is failing to recognise that pots, jugs, vessels, dishes and containers of all shapes and sizes have played a vital part in the development of civilisation over the ages.Pots for carrying, storing and dispensing water, wine, oil, foodstuff and human waste are important historical markers of human ingenuity and skill that we should not dismiss. While the use of terracotta, ceramics, bone china etc for functional items in our lives has been usurped by plastic and metal, the artistic merits of pots and their intricate illustrations is something to be celebrated. Maybe Mr Chiles needs to sign up for a pottery class.Jan RossSilverton, Devon Continue reading...
Readers respond to Adrian Chiles’s experience of the institution’s treasures
I would guess that Adrian Chiles is no fan of The Great Pottery Throw Down, currently on Channel 4 (At 57, I went to the British Museum for the first time – and it left me rather cold, 12 February). Not only is he missing out on a lovely creative piece of television, but he is failing to recognise that pots, jugs, vessels, dishes and containers of all shapes and sizes have played a vital part in the development of civilisation over the ages.
Pots for carrying, storing and dispensing water, wine, oil, foodstuff and human waste are important historical markers of human ingenuity and skill that we should not dismiss. While the use of terracotta, ceramics, bone china etc for functional items in our lives has been usurped by plastic and metal, the artistic merits of pots and their intricate illustrations is something to be celebrated. Maybe Mr Chiles needs to sign up for a pottery class.
Jan Ross
Silverton, Devon Continue reading...
