The History of Ceramics

At the heart of the Aztec Empire stood one of the most extraordinary cities in the ancient world – Tenochtitlan, built on an island and filled with temples, warriors, craftsmen and gods.
Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh explore the ceramics of the Aztecs, or Mexica, from beautifully made redware used for everyday food to extraordinary effigy vessels and monumental terracotta figures created for ritual and sacrifice. Through objects including the Eagle Warrior and the terrifying Lord of the Underworld, they uncover a world in which clay connected daily life with mythology, warfare, nature and the supernatural.
Finally, they explore the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and the devastating collapse of the Aztec Empire – and ask what its surviving ceramics can reveal about a civilisation whose influence can still be felt today.
Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: Mesoamerica - The Aztecs: Clay, Gods and Sacrifice
00:00:41 The Mexica People and the Founding of Tenochtitlan
00:04:06 Engineering Marvels: Chinampa Agriculture and City Planning
00:07:16 Trade Networks and the Spanish Conquest
00:08:31 Domestic Redwares: Pottery for Daily Life
00:12:57 The Symbolic Power of Red: Blood, Sun, and Warfare
00:13:54 Templo Mayor: The Sacred Heart of the Empire
00:16:22 Tlaloc the Rain God: Turquoise Effigy Vessels
00:20:08 Animal Symbolism: Vessels as Gods and Creatures
00:22:28 The Eagle Warrior: Life-Size Ceramic Sculpture
00:26:39 The Lord of the Underworld: Terror in Clay
00:28:40 Sacrifice and Ceremony: Clay as Ritual Mediator
00:31:53 The Spanish Arrival and Cultural Devastation
00:37:35 Legacy: The Aztec Influence on Modern Life

Featured Images:
Codex Bourgia, c.16th century, Public Domain, Creative Commons
Map Aztex Empire, Public Domain, Creative Commons
Image of Eagle, Mendoza Codex, c.1541, Public Domain
Map of Tenochtitlan, ca. 1524, Public Domain
Model of Sacred Precincts in Tenochtitlan
Capital City of Tenochtitlan
Axtec Redware Bowl, c.15th-16th century, The Met Collection, Public Domain
Eagle Warrior from the Hosue of Eagles, ca. 1400-152, Photograph by Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Vessel with Codex style ca.1350-1500, Public Domain
Image of Eagle, Mendoza Codex, c.1541, Public Domain
Aztec bowl, Public Domain
Aztec redware pitcher, 15-16th century, Public Domain
Aztec Bowl with Monkeys, 1400-1521, Public Domain
Aztec Bowl, Public Domain
Ceramic Tilaloc Effigy Vessel c.1440-1470
Vulture Vessel, c.1200-1521, The Met Collection, Public Domain
Warrior Codex Menoza, ca. 1541-1542, Public Domain
Lifesize Terracotta of Mictlantecuhtli, ca.1400-1521
Painting depicting the Fall of Tenochtitlan, second half of the 17th century, unknown artist. Wikimedia Commons.
Credits:
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Editor: Sam Bond
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac
For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks

What if a pot could be read like a book?
In the second part of their journey through Mesoamerica, Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh travel to the great ancient city of Cholula – a bustling centre of trade, pilgrimage and cultural exchange – to explore the extraordinary ceramics of the Mixtec-Puebla tradition.
Painted with gods, symbols and intricate bands of imagery, these highly prized vessels transformed clay into a sophisticated visual language that could communicate across cultures and linguistic barriers. From stories of warfare and sacrifice to sunlight, death and the worship of the gods, they reveal a world in which ceramics could be read as well as admired.
Traded across vast distances, these remarkable pots offer a glimpse into the beliefs, rituals and interconnected cultures of Mesoamerica – and lead us towards the rise of the Aztec Empire.
Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: Mesoamerica - Mixtec Puebla: When Pots Told Stories
00:02:36 The Great City of Cholula: A Multi-Ethnic Trading Hub
00:05:44 Writing on Clay: Vessels as Visual Language
00:08:22 High-Value Commodities: Ritual Vessels and Elite Status
00:09:57 The Codex Style: Pictorial Manuscripts on Pottery
00:11:20 Forms and Materials: Earthenware Goblets and Burnished Surfaces
00:12:52 The Iconic Principle: Symbols for Gods and Rituals
00:14:35 Sacrifice, Duality, and the Pantheon of Gods
00:17:12 Color as Communication: Orange for Light, Black for Darkness
00:18:48 The Notational Principle: Bands That Resemble Speech
00:20:58 Reading the Bands: From Solar Gods to Darkness and Death
00:23:57 Narrative-Driven Culture: Pots That Tell Stories
00:25:54 Legacy and Connection: Linking to the Aztec Empire

Featured Images:
Map of Mixteca-Puebla and Mesoamerica, Creative Commons
Map of Cholula
George Vaillant, archaeologist, ca. 1937, Creative Commons, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clapp_Vaillant#/media/File:AMNH_staff,_1937.jpg
Pyramids of the Sun, Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan, Mexico, by Burkhard Mücke created by SA CC 4.0
Map of Cholula, Ttlaxcala, 1581
Pyramid of Cholula, Ca. 1813, Alexander von Humboldt
Pedestal Bowl, 1300–1500 CE, Mixtec artists, The Met Collection, Public Domain
Vessel with Codex-Style Scenes, Creative Commons,
Mixteca-Puebla Pottery Vessel, c. 1300–1521,
Codex Borgia, from the 1898 Faximilie Edition, Public Domain, Creative Commons
Bowl, 1200–1400, Mixtec, Oaxaca, Mexico, National Gallery of Victoria, Public Domain
Pedestal Cup from Cholula, c. 1350–1521, Public Domain, Leo Stein Collection, National Museum of the American Indian, New York.
Thematic Complexes on Codex-Style Vessels from Cholula, Mixteca-Puebla, Americae, Public Domain https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Tripod Vase Polichrome Ceramic, 1300–1521
Bowl with Rattle Base, c. 900–1519, Cleveland Museum of Art, Public Domain
Censer with the Complex of Powerful Lords and Deities, Mixteca-Puebla, Americae, Public Domain https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Codex, 1200–1521, Mixteca
Whistle with the Maize God emerging from the Flower, 600 – 900 CE, The Met Collection, Public Domain
Cholula-Style Ceramic Goblet with Skeletal Serpent and Mountain Sign, Mixteca-Puebla, 1300 – 1500 CE
Rain God Mask, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Met Collection, Public Domain
Sun and Light Painted on Middle Polychrome Plate,
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Polychrome Figural Vessel of Chicomecoatl, c. 1000–1500, Mixteca-Puebla
Goblet with a Complex of Darkness, Ca. 1300 – 1500,
Mixtec Goblet, Ca. 1000 – 1500
Polychrome Ceramic Bowl, 800–1300, Mexico, Penn Museum, Public Domain
Pulque Drinking Cup, 900–1519, Cholula, Mixteca-Puebla style, Cleveland Museum of Art, Public Domain
Montezuma in the Codex Mendoza, 16th century, Creative Commons, Public Domain
Mixteca-Puebla Pottery Vessel, c. 1300–1521, The Met Collection, Public Domain,
Credits:
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Editor: Dennis Caouki
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac
For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks

Journey into the extraordinary world of the Classic Maya, where ceramics were far more than objects for everyday use; they were vessels for food, status, storytelling, ritual and belief.
Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh explore the golden age of Maya ceramics, discovering how skilled potters created sophisticated hand-built vessels without the potter’s wheel. From humble cooking pots used to prepare maize to beautifully painted polychrome vessels and prized cacao cups, ceramics offer a remarkable window into Maya life.
They uncover the profound relationship between food and mythology, including the Maya creation story in which the first humans were made from corn, and explore how gods, rulers and ancient stories were painted across the surfaces of pots. They also enter the dramatic world of the Maya ball game, where sport, political power, sacrifice and the struggle between life and death became intertwined.
Beautiful, complex and sometimes unsettling, these surviving ceramics allow us to glimpse a civilisation in which the everyday and the sacred were inseparable – and where a simple clay vessel could tell the story of the cosmos.
Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: Mesoamerica - The Maya: Gods, Myths and Ceramics
00:00:22 Defining Mesoamerica: Geography and the Maya World
00:04:31 Hand-Built Mastery: Pottery Without the Wheel
00:07:31 Corn and Clay: The Kitchen as Sacred Space
00:14:06 The Creation Myth: Humans Made from Corn
00:17:21 Forms and Functions: The Ceramic Repertoire
00:19:11 The Sensory Feast: Vessels That Ring and Sing
00:22:23 Codex Style Pottery: Visual Narratives and Funerary Offerings
00:27:11 The Ritual Ball Game: Life, Death, and Cosmic Balance
00:27:20 The Golden Age: Classic Maya Polychrome Ceramics

Map of Mesoamerica
Map of Mesoamerica, Wikipedia, Public Domain
Vessel Depicting a Sacrificial Ceremony for a Royal Accession, ca. 750–800 CE, Maya. Public Domain, Art Institute of Chicago
Cylindrical Vessel, 6th–9th century, Maya. The The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain
Tripod Bird Bowl, 3rd–4th century, Maya. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pubic Domain
Death of Penthesilia, ca. 540–530 BCE. 
Mayan Kitchen Fresco, Preparing Cacao, Maya.
Plate with the God Chahk, 600–800 CE, Maya artist(s). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain
Maya Ceramic Bowl Offering of Tamales to the Gods, Creative Commons, Public Domain
Jomon Pot, Late Jomon Period, 2500–1000 BCE, creative commons, public domain
Olla-Shape Pottery, 21st century, earthenware, Mexico
Plate with Trumpeter, 700–800 CE, Maya. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain
Pinchancha, 21st century, earthenware, Zacualpan, Guerrero, Mexico. 
Maya Tripod Plate, Late Classic period, ca. 550–950 CE, Maya, public domain 
Tripod Plate, Maya. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pubilc Domain
Model of the Various Structures that Make Up the Pyramid of Cholula. 
Whistle with the Maize God Emerging from a Flower, 600–900 CE, Maya artist(s). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain
Mural Depicting the Maize God, Maya. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maya_maize_god.jpg 
Freshly Fired Comales Cooling, 21st century, earthenware, San Mateo Mixtepec, Mexico. 
Tetrapod Bowl, 1st–4th century, Maya. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain
Vessel with Mythological Scene, 600–800 CE, Metropolitan Painter. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Public Domain
Vessel Depicting the Rain God Chahk, ca. 600–800 CE, Maya.
Facsimile of the Madrid Codex. Museum of the Americas, Public Domain
Lidded Vessel, 3rd–4th century, Maya. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain
Itzamna Seated in a Classic Period Polychrome Ceramic (Kerr 504), Maya, public domain
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:God_D_Itzam.jpg 
Ixchel with Rabbit, Maya, Public Domain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Moon_Goddess#/media/File:Goddess_O_Ixchel.jpg 
Codex-Style Plate Featuring the Maize God and the Hero Twins, 680–740 CE, Maya, El Petén, Guatemala. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Public Domain
Credits:
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Editor: Dennis Caouki
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac
For more great art content visit www.heni.com or visit the Heni Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks

In the second of two episodes, Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh follow Peter Voulkos through the explosive years that transformed him from master potter into one of the most radical figures in modern ceramics.
From the experimental studios of Otis and Berkeley to his monumental Blackwares, stacks and platters, Voulkos tears, cuts, pounds and rebuilds clay, pushing it far beyond the traditional vessel. His performances become legendary, while a generation of students go on to reshape American ceramics themselves.
But behind the charismatic “wild man” lies a more complicated story of addiction, recovery and relentless creativity. Stephanie and Paul explore Voulkos’s later years and the extraordinary legacy of an artist who changed not simply how ceramics looked, but what clay could be.
Featured Images:
Rocking Pot, 1956, Peter Voulkos.
Pot Shop, UC Berkeley, c. 1960s, Jim Melchert.
Last Temptation of Ming, 2015, Ron Nagle.
Blue Face with White Stripe, 1971, Stephen De Staebler.
Looking at Pictures, 2016, Mary Heilmann.
Installation View of “New Talent XIII”, 1960, Peter Voulkos.
Peter Voulkos at Work in the Faith and Charity in Hope Gallery, 1984, Peter Voulkos.
Sunset Rip, 2008, Mary Heilmann.
Paul Soldner’s MFA Show, 1956, Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos and John Mason.
Arlene Schechet in the Jewish Museum, 2018, Sara Wasserman.
Peter Voulkos at Work, by Stephanie Rozene
Installation View of Voulkos: The Breakthrough Years, [date unknown], Butcher Walsh.
Untitled Chicken Pot, 1958, Peter Voulkos. The New York Times, 2021.
Little Big Horn, 1959, Peter Voulkos.
ientos, 1959, Peter Voulkos.
Sitting Bull, 1959, Peter Voulkos.
Annon, 1959, Peter Voulkos. Photograph by E. G. Schempf, Museum of Arts and Design.
Pauline Annon,  circa 1950, Estate of Pauline Anon  
Peter Voulkos at Work, c. 1960s, 
Pinatubo, 1994, Peter Voulkos.
Ice Bucket, [date unknown], Peter Voulkos.
Bronze Ice Bucket, 1986, Peter Voulkos.
Iron Head, 1979, Peter Voulkos.
Selfies at the V and A, Stephanie Rosine and Paul Greenhalgh
Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: Peter Voulkos - A Revolution in Clay Part 2
00:00:59 Otis College and Building the Studio from Scratch
00:03:46 Industrial Scale: Dough Mixers, Modified Wheels, and Forklift Kilns
00:05:34 The Roll Call: Students Who Became Titans
00:07:26 New York Connections: MoMA and Abstract Expressionism
00:08:31 Berkeley Years: Founding a Program and Pure Theater
00:12:26 The Female Legacy: Mary Heilman and Breaking Boundaries
00:18:07 The Blackwares: Breakthrough Pieces and New Language
00:18:52 The Breakthrough Years: 15 Years of Frantic Experimentation
00:27:23 Settling Into Iconic Forms: Stacks, Ice Buckets, and Platters
00:28:06 Struggles and Redemption: The 1970s and 1980s
00:32:34 Recognition and Retrospective: The 1978 SFMOMA Show
00:34:02 Legacy: The Man Who Changed Everything

Credits:
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Editor: Sam Bond
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac

What happens when a master potter decides to break all the rules?
In the first of two episodes, Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh explore the life and work of Peter Voulkos, the artist who helped transform American ceramics after the Second World War.
From his Montana childhood and wartime service to his first encounter with clay, Voulkos begins as a brilliantly skilled traditional potter. But through teachers, fellow artists and the experimental world of 1950s America, he starts cutting, tearing and rebuilding clay in radically new ways.    By the mid-1950s, pottery was becoming sculpture and a revolution in clay was underway.
To see the images from this podcast, please switch to video in your podcasting app.
Featured Images:
Photo of Voulkos doing pottery by Stephanie Rozene
Photo Filming Voulkos at work, by Stephanie Rozene
Voulkos Correcting a student, Stephanie Rozene.
VOulkos nished platers on table, Stephanie Rozene
Photo of John Balistreri assisting Peter Voulkos. 1990s (Creative Commons)
Voulkos at Potters wheel, ca. 1956
Photo of Frances Senzka smiling
Photo of Edith Heath, Date Unknown, (Wikipedia)
Photograph of Maija-Grotell-1920s (Wikiedpia)
Marguerite finishing a vase, ca.1950s. 1998 Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona Foundation
Face Vessel, ca. 1970s, Marguerite Wildenhain
Archie Bray and Rudy Autio photograph, ca. 1951
Photograph of Frances Senska and her pots, 1988, Linda Best photo / Bozeman Daily Chronicle.
Chicken and Wine Set, 1960, Frances Senzka
Ya Ba Bo jar, 1970, Frances Senzka
Bottom of Ya Ba Bo jar, 1970, Frances Senzka
Peter Voulkos Painting his Ceramics, ca. 1950s
Ceramic National Piece, 1950, Peter Voulkos ????
Gourd Shaped Vases, Vases with Leaf, Green-Swirled Vases, 1952, Peter Voulkous
Archie Bray Putting Soda in Beehive Kiln ca. 1950s
Yanagi, Leach, Autio, Voulkous and Hamada at the Archie Bray Foundation
Voulkos kicking the wheel for Hamada at Archie Bray Foundation, 1952
Karen Karnes, (1925-2016), Western Regional Archives, State Archives of North Carolina
David Weinrib, (1924 – 2016)
Robert Rauschenberg at Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, NC, United States, circa 1951. Photo: Cy Twomble
M.C Richards (1914 – 1999) Wikipedia Picture
Untitled Stoneware with Acrylic Paint, ca. 1953, MC Richards Collaboration with Peter Voulkos
Covered Jar, 1953, Peter Voulkos
Jackson Pollock at work – photograph by Hans Namuth (Wikipedia)
Marguerite Wildenhaine, ca. 1962, Wikipedia page.
Rocking Pot, 1956 Peter Voulkos (Smithsonian ART Museum)
Peter Voulkos working, ca. 1960.
Tony Prieto Tall Vase, Stoneware, 1950. The Everson Museum of Art. Photo credit Stephanie Rozene.
Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: Peter Voulkos - The Man Who Broke the Rules
00:00:58 Stephanie's Personal Encounter with Voulkos at Alfred University
00:05:07 The Two Sides of Peter Voulkos: Machismo and the Dance
00:07:47 Early Life: Montana, Greek Immigrant Roots, and World War II
00:10:37 Finding Clay: Frances Senska and Montana State College
00:14:54 The Foundations of Mastery: Learning Traditional Pottery Skills
00:17:31 Early Success and the Archie Bray Foundation
00:21:09 The 1952 Leach and Hamada Tour: International Influences
00:22:09 Black Mountain College and M.C. Richards: Opening New Doors
00:32:33 New York City 1953: Abstract Expressionism and Transformation
00:39:47 Breaking with Tradition: The Rocking Pot and Radical Experimentation
00:44:59 Setting the Stage: Otis College and What's to Come

Credits:
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Editor: Dennis Caouki
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac