As every gardener knows, clay is sticky -and thus easily moulded or plastic- when wet, bone hard when dried by the sun - and that was how the first pottery was made, perhaps 8000 years ago, the shaped pots being left to bake under the Mesopotamian sun.

Introduction: Ceramics from the Greek word 'pottery' is the only satisfactory term that covers both porcelain and pottery; china no longer has a precise meaning and is best avoided unless qualified -as in bone china.

Preface: This book is primarily for the amateur collector, but those who enjoy just browsing among the unattainable in museums, country-house collections and salesrooms have not been forgotten.