The great age of European ceramic design began around 1500 and ended in the early nineteenth century with the introduction of large-scale production of ceramics. This beautiful book is the first complete history of European ceramic design and decoration during this period, presenting it not only in art-historical terms but also in the context of the era's social, cultural, economic and scientific developments. Howard Coutts considers the main stylistic trends - Renaissance, Mannerism, Oriental, Rococo and Neoclassicism - as they were represented in such products as Italian Maiolica, Dutch Delftware, Meissen and Sevres porcelain, Staffordshire, and Wedgwood pottery. He pays close attention to changes in eating habits over the period, particularly the layout of a formal dinner. And he discusses such fascinating topics as the development of ceramics as room decoration, the transmission of images via prints, fashion and marketing of ceramics and other luxury goods, and the intellectual background to Neo-Classicism. Comprehensive, engrossing, and lavishly illustrated, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in ceramics and their history.