Amsterdam Ceramics, a city’s history and an archaeological ceramics catalogue 1175-2011

Description

J. Gawronski (ed.)

Hardcover, 336 pp. Ceramics catalogue with 1200 objects.

Amsterdam Ceramics contains nine centuries of urban history and archaeological ceramics from the city of Amsterdam. 1,247 archaeological ceramic items are presented in a catalogue which is chronologically subdivided into nine chapters covering the period 1175-2011. The catalogue offers a representative selection from the tens of thousands of ceramic finds that have been excavated on c. 213 sites in Amsterdam. The finds are ordered according to material type and shape, offering an evocative and versatile impression of everyday domestic utensils.
The ceramic objects reviewed here were used by Amsterdammers in their homes to eat and drink from, by the rich and by the poor, for display and for convenience, from local artisans or from foreign lands, from native-born residents and from newcomers, from 1175 until today.
The chronological order of the catalogue is based on the different stages of urban development of Amsterdam. In nine introductory chapters the successive periods of topographical growth and shaping of the town are discussed in relation to political, religious, social and cultural factors of interest.
Each chapter offers a map of the specific stage of urban development combined with a present day photo of the city area in question to illustrate the historical continuity of Amsterdam’s urban structure.

Jerzy Gawronski(1955) is the urban archaeologist of the city of Amsterdam (Bureau Monumenten & Archeologie, Amsterdam) and has been appointed Professor of Maritime and Urban Archaeology of the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, in particular of the city of Amsterdam, at the University of Amsterdam in 2008.