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116-618: Blue Mountain Pottery was a Canadian pottery company in Collingwood, Ontario , that operated from 1953 to 2004. Named for the nearby Blue Mountains , it produced pottery with distinctive mixtures of glazes , the most common of which included a blue-green and a dark grey or black glaze. The company’s pottery became popular in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s; it was also exported to the United States,

232-716: A CA$ 2 million donation from Colonel Samuel McLaughlin . In December 1995, the ROM closed the McLaughlin Planetarium as a result of budgetary cutbacks imposed by the Government of Ontario. The space temporarily reopened from 1998 to 2002, after being leased to Children's Own Museum . In 2009, the ROM sold the building to the University of Toronto for CA$ 22 million and ensured that it would continue to be used for institutional and academic purposes. The second major addition to

348-482: A coelacanth , a Rafflesia flower and many other rare species. Included among these specimens is Bull , a southern white rhinoceros that became a famous conservation success story for his species. There are also recently extinct species displayed, including specimens of a passenger pigeon and a great auk , as well as skeletons of a dodo and a moa with a specimen of a moa egg, an elephant bird egg, and many other recently extinct species. The gallery presents

464-574: A collection of dinosaurs , minerals and meteorites; Canadian and European historical artifacts; as well as African , Near Eastern , and East Asian art. It houses the world's largest collection of fossils from the Burgess Shale in British Columbia with more than 150,000 specimens. The museum also contains an extensive collection of design and fine art, including clothing, interior, and product design, especially Art Deco . The Royal Ontario Museum

580-647: A collection of Blue Mountain pottery. Canada Post released a commemorative stamp for the Blue Mountain Pottery. The company's pottery is still widely collected, in Canada and worldwide, resulting in the formation of the Blue Mountain Pottery Collectors Club, made up of private collectors. The price of Blue Mountain pieces has steadily risen, especially in Britain. One particular set was a Noah's Ark, thirteen figurines on wooden stands, plus

696-400: A differentiated culture which was earlier thought to be typical Indus Valley civilisation (IVC) culture. Pottery is durable, and fragments, at least, often survive long after artifacts made from less-durable materials have decayed past recognition. Combined with other evidence, the study of pottery artefacts is helpful in the development of theories on the organisation, economic condition and

812-535: A dynamic, immersive experience with three core themes that hopefully will make a lasting impression on visitors." The Tallgrass Prairies and Savannas is a part of the gallery that features one of the most endangered and diverse habitats in Ontario. The display features examples of the regions and the efforts by the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry to maintain and restore

928-413: A fine note in the one part of the building which the architect could decorate without conflicting with the exhibits. The original building and the 1933 expansion have been listed since 1973 as heritage buildings of Toronto. In 2005, a major renovation of the heritage wings saw the galleries made larger, windows uncovered, and the original early 20th-century architecture made more prominent. The exteriors of

1044-501: A fun and interactive space. People of all ages can explore touchable specimens and interactive displays while gallery facilitators help visitors discover the living world around them. Mossy frogs, a touchable shark jaw, snakeskin, and a replica fox's den are some of the objects that connect young visitors to the diversity and interdependence of plants and animals. The Roloff Beny Gallery of the Institute for Contemporary Culture (ICC) hosts

1160-459: A locality. The main ingredient of the body is clay . Some different types used for pottery include: It is common for clays and other raw materials to be mixed to produce clay bodies suited to specific purposes. Various mineral processing techniques are often utilised before mixing the raw materials, with comminution being effectively universal for non-clay materials. Examples of non-clay materials include: The production of pottery includes

1276-416: A more distant connection between groups, such as trade in the same market or even relatively close settlements. Techniques that require more studied replication (i.e., the selection of clay and the fashioning of clay) may indicate a closer connection between peoples, as these methods are usually only transmissible between potters and those otherwise directly involved in production. Such a relationship requires

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1392-932: A part of the Teck Suite of Galleries include the Barrick Gold Corporation Gallery, the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery, the Gallery of Gems and Gold and the Vale Gallery of Minerals. The Reed Gallery of the Age of Mammals explores the rise of mammals through the Cenozoic Era that followed the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs . There are over 400 specimens from North America and South America in addition to 30 fossil skeletons of extinct mammals. The gallery's entrance begins with mammals that arose shortly after

1508-774: A pathway for pedestrians to travel safely across the Crystal. The building's design is similar to some of Libeskind's other works, notably the Jewish Museum in Berlin , the London Metropolitan University Graduate Centre and the Fredric C. Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum. The steel framework was manufactured and assembled by Walters Inc. of Hamilton, Ontario . The extruded anodized aluminum cladding

1624-634: A period of months. The first phase of the Renaissance ROM project, the "Ten Renovated Galleries in the Historic Buildings", opened to the public on 26 December 2005. The architectural opening of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal took place less than 18 months later, on 2 June 2007. The final cost of the project was about CA$ 270 million. The original building was listed by the City of Toronto on

1740-581: A rough guide, modern earthenwares are normally fired at temperatures in the range of about 1,000  °C (1,830 °F) to 1,200 °C (2,190 °F); stonewares at between about 1,100 °C (2,010 °F) to 1,300 °C (2,370 °F); and porcelains at between about 1,200 °C (2,190 °F) to 1,400 °C (2,550 °F). Historically, reaching high temperatures was a long-lasting challenge, and earthenware can be fired effectively as low as 600 °C (1,112 °F), achievable in primitive pit firing . The time spent at any particular temperature

1856-512: A waterproof barrier, and improve its durability. Below are the major types of glazing commonly used in pottery: 1. Glossy Glaze - Produces a shiny, reflective surface. - Highlights intricate patterns and textures. - Often used for decorative purposes. 2. Matte Glaze - Provides a smooth, non-reflective finish. - Suitable for modern and minimalist designs. - Ideal for functional wares like plates and mugs, as it minimizes glare. 3. Transparent Glaze - Can be glossy or matte. - Allows

1972-431: A whole. The Patricia Harris Gallery of Costumes and Textiles holds about 200 artifacts from the ROM's textile and costume collections. These pieces, which range from the 1st century BC to the present day, are rotated frequently due to their fragility. Throughout time, textiles and fashion have been used to establish identity and allow inferences to be drawn about a culture's social customs, economy and survival. The gallery

2088-543: A wide variety of objects from around the world. These range from Stone Age implements from China and Africa to 20th-century art and design. In July 2011, the museum added to this collection when a number of new permanent galleries were unveiled. Both the Government of Canada and the Royal Ontario Museum committed $ 2.75 million toward the project. The galleries are located on the first, third and fourth levels of

2204-401: Is also important, the combination of heat and time is known as heatwork . Kilns can be monitored by pyrometers , thermocouples and pyrometric devices . The atmosphere within a kiln during firing can affect the appearance of the body and glaze. Key to this is the differing colours of the various oxides of iron, such as iron(III) oxide (also known as ferric oxide or Fe 2 O 3 ) which

2320-481: Is an exhibition space on Level 1, connecting the east wing of the museum with its western half. The gallery serves as the building's main lobby past the museum's admission area. As opposed to most galleries at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery is not dedicated to a single subject. Instead, the gallery exhibits an assortment of items from the museum's collection representing them as

2436-482: Is associated with brown-red colours, whilst iron(II) oxide (also known as ferrous oxide or FeO) is associated with much darker colours, including black. The oxygen concentration in the kiln influences the type, and relative proportions, of these iron oxides in fired the body and glaze: for example, where there is a lack of oxygen during firing the associated carbon monoxide (CO) will readily react with oxygen in Fe 2 O 3 in

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2552-500: Is devoted to showcasing transformations in textile design, manufacturing, and cultural relevance throughout the ages. Weaving, needlework, printed archeological textiles and silks are all located in this space. The CIBC Discovery Gallery was designed to be a children's learning zone until its closure in 2023. It housed three main areas: In the Earth, Around the World and Close to Home. The space

2668-400: Is important part of archaeology for understanding the archaeological culture of the excavated site by studying the fabric of artifacts, such as their usage, source material composition, decorative pattern, color of patterns, etc. This helps to understand characteristics, sophistication , habits, technology, tools, trade, etc. of the people who made and used the pottery. Carbon dating reveals

2784-426: Is lit and the woman runs around the circumference of the mound touching the burning torch to the dried grass. Some mounds are still being constructed as others are already burning. Pottery may be decorated in many different ways. Some decoration can be done before or after the firing, and may be undertaken before or after glazing. Glaze is a glassy coating on pottery, and reasons to use it include decoration, ensuring

2900-425: Is made by heating materials, generally including kaolin , in a kiln to temperatures between 1,200 and 1,400 °C (2,200 and 2,600 °F). This is higher than used for the other types, and achieving these temperatures was a long struggle, as well as realizing what materials were needed. The toughness, strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainly from vitrification and

3016-426: Is named after it and, since a 2008 renovation, is decorated to resemble the ROM's collection at the platform level; Museum station's northwestern entrance directly serves the museum. Established on April 16, 1912, and opened on March 19, 1914, the ROM has maintained close relations with the University of Toronto throughout its history, often sharing expertise and resources. It was under direct control and management of

3132-633: Is normally fired below 1200 °C. Because unglazed earthenware is porous, it has limited utility for the storage of liquids or as tableware. However, earthenware has had a continuous history from the Neolithic period to today. It can be made from a wide variety of clays, some of which fire to a buff, brown or black colour, with iron in the constituent minerals resulting in a reddish-brown. Reddish coloured varieties are called terracotta , especially when unglazed or used for sculpture. The development of ceramic glaze made impermeable pottery possible, improving

3248-481: Is not always the case; for example fritware uses no or little clay, so falls outside these groups. Historic pottery of all these types is often grouped as either "fine" wares, relatively expensive and well-made, and following the aesthetic taste of the culture concerned, or alternatively "coarse", "popular", "folk" or "village" wares, mostly undecorated, or simply so, and often less well-made. Cooking in pottery became less popular once metal pots became available, but

3364-430: Is placed within the context of linguistic and migratory patterns, it becomes an even more prevalent category of social artifact. As proposed by Olivier P. Gosselain, it is possible to understand ranges of cross-cultural interaction by looking closely at the chaîne opératoire of ceramic production. The methods used to produce pottery in early Sub-Saharan Africa are divisible into three categories: techniques visible to

3480-405: Is shaped by a variety of techniques, which include: Prior to firing, the water in an article needs to be removed. A number of different stages, or conditions of the article, can be identified: Firing produces permanent and irreversible chemical and physical changes in the body. It is only after firing that the article or material is pottery. In lower-fired pottery, the changes include sintering ,

3596-455: Is still used for dishes that benefit from the qualities of pottery cooking, typically slow cooking in an oven, such as biryani , cassoulet , daube , tagine , jollof rice , kedjenou , cazuela and types of baked beans . The earliest forms of pottery were made from clays that were fired at low temperatures, initially in pit-fires or in open bonfires . They were hand formed and undecorated. Earthenware can be fired as low as 600 °C, and

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3712-400: The "clay matrix" – composed of grains of less than 0.02 mm grains which can be seen using the high-powered microscopes or a scanning electron microscope , and the "clay inclusions" – which are larger grains of clay and could be seen with the naked eye or a low-power binocular microscope. For geologists, fabric analysis means spatial arrangement of minerals in a rock. For Archaeologists,

3828-566: The "fabric analysis" of pottery entails the study of clay matrix and inclusions in the clay body as well as the firing temperature and conditions . Analysis is done to examine the following 3 in detail: The Six fabrics of Kalibangan is a good example of fabric analysis. Body , or clay body, is the material used to form pottery. Thus a potter might prepare, or order from a supplier, such an amount of earthenware body, stoneware body or porcelain body. The compositions of clay bodies varies considerably, and include both prepared and 'as dug';

3944-596: The Blue Mountain ski hill in the Blue Mountains near Collingwood. He wanted to provide a line of items for the ski hill's gift store. Tupy, who worked at the ski hill, had European training in ceramics. One day, when a new ski run was being ploughed, he stepped into some heavy clay that had been turned up. Scraping it off his boot, he commented that it resembled the clays he had worked with in Czechoslovakia. Hearing

4060-570: The Burgess Shale in British Columbia and Mistaken Point in Newfoundland and Labrador. The gallery is divided into six sections: "A Very Long Beginning" ( Precambrian ), "The Origin of Animals" ( Cambrian Explosion ), "The Bustling Seas" ( Ordovician , Silurian , and Devonian ), "The Green Earth" (Devonian and Carboniferous , including both the Mississippian and the Pennsylvanian), "Before

4176-491: The Greater Toronto Area . Originally, there were five major galleries at the ROM, one each for the fields of archaeology , geology , mineralogy , paleontology and zoology . In general, the museum pieces were labelled and arranged in a static fashion that had changed little since Edwardian times . For example, the insects' exhibit that lasted up until the 1970s housed a variety of specimens from different parts of

4292-598: The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao for using so-called "starchitecture" to attract tourism. The main lobby is a three-storey high atrium, named the Hyacinth Gloria Chen Crystal Court. The lobby is overlooked by balconies and flanked by the J. P. Driscoll Family Stair of Wonders and the Spirit House, an interstitial space formed by the intersection of the east and west crystals. Installation of

4408-611: The Neolithic period , with ceramic objects such as the Gravettian culture Venus of Dolní Věstonice figurine discovered in the Czech Republic dating back to 29,000–25,000 BC. However, the earliest known pottery vessels were discovered in Jiangxi , China, which date back to 18,000 BC. Other early Neolithic and pre-Neolithic pottery artifacts have been found, in Jōmon Japan (10,500 BC),

4524-526: The Russian Far East (14,000 BC), Sub-Saharan Africa (9,400 BC), South America (9,000s–7,000s BC), and the Middle East (7,000s–6,000s BC). Pottery is made by forming a clay body into objects of a desired shape and heating them to high temperatures (600–1600 °C) in a bonfire , pit or kiln , which induces reactions that lead to permanent changes including increasing the strength and rigidity of

4640-520: The red clay items with the distinctive glazing started in 1953–1954. The company went on to produce various types of pottery, from animal figurines to jugs, pots, and vases. One specialty item was a mug commemorating the Canadian Centennial in 1967. All of their products had the "BMP Canada" logo on the underside. The company initially sold its products in Ontario, but expanded, first across Canada, and then internationally. Blue Mountain pottery

4756-727: The Ark itself. One complete set sold for $ 7,000, prior to 2014. In July 2022, the Craigleith Heritage Depot , the Blue Mountains Public Library, and the Blue Mountain Pottery Collectors Club put on a weekend retrospective of the Blue Mountain Pottery, at the Beaver Valley Community Centre in Thornbury, Ontario. The retrospective included a sales floor, exhibits of pottery from local museums, and displays about

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4872-580: The Blue Mountain ski hill afloat during the summers. The pottery was originally located in a building on the ski hill, but then expanded to a location in Craigleith, and finally to a factory in Collingwood. "When we put pottery under high heat and used drip glazes, they produced a variegated pattern. No batch was entirely the same because they reacted differently. The items had an individuality about them. That

4988-548: The Centennial mugs. Many of the pieces are in the classic blue-green glaze, but there are also pieces in other glazes, showing the range of experimentation in the pottery studio. The collection includes donations made by members of the Blue Mountain Pottery Collectors Club in 2003, and also donations from Robert Blair, the last president of Blue Mountain Pottery, in 2005. The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto also has

5104-641: The Great Dying" ( Permian ) and "Dawn of a New Era" (Triassic). Notable specimens include the Burgess Shale , orthocones and sea scorpions and other fossils from Ontario and the holotype of Dimetrodon borealis . The ROM also has a Zuul crurivastator skeleton from the Judith River Formation in Montana in its dinosaur collection, which is one of the most complete examples of an ankylosaurid specimen ever found. The world culture galleries display

5220-463: The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. The structure was created by architect Daniel Libeskind , whose design was selected from among 50 finalists in an international competition. The design of the Crystal required the Terrace Galleries to be torn down (the curatorial centre to the south remains). Existing galleries and buildings were also upgraded, along with the installation of multiple new exhibits over

5336-632: The Municipal Heritage Register on 20 June 1973, designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 2003, with a Heritage Easement on the buildings. Much of the museum's Bloor Street–facing side is being renovated since February 2024, as well as correcting architectural deficiencies to the Crystal while respecting Libeskind's original architectural design. Renovations include an expanded skylight to provide more natural lighting to its atrium, as well as an additional staircase within

5452-507: The ROM: fascinating visuals, architectural artifacts and environment, art, correspondence between object and space and stories within the visuals. The C5 restaurant Lounge is designed by IV Design Associated Inc. In October 2007, the Lee-Chin Crystal was reported to have suffered from significant water leakage, causing concerns for the building's resilience to weather, especially in the face of

5568-425: The Royal Ontario Museum to the public. The museum's location at the edge of Toronto's built-up area, far from the city's central business district , was selected mainly for its proximity to the University of Toronto. The original building was constructed on the western edge of the property along the university's Philosopher's Walk , with its main entrance facing out onto Bloor Street housing five separate museums of

5684-804: The Royal Ontario Museum's contemporary art exhibitions. This high-ceilinged multimedia gallery of approximately 6,000 sq ft (600 m ) serves as the ICC's main exhibition space, typically featuring exhibits that tie in contemporary culture and events, with the museum's natural and world collection. The gallery has featured exhibitions on fashion photography, street art, modern Chinese urban design and architecture, and contemporary Japanese art. In 2018, it exhibited Here We Are: Black Canadian Contemporary Art , featuring Black Canadian artists such as Sandra Brewster , Michèle Pearson Clarke , Sylvia D. Hamilton , Bushra Junaid , Charmaine Lurch , and Esmaa Mohamoud . The natural history galleries are all gathered on

5800-586: The United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The pottery is popular among collectors; examples are held by the Royal Ontario Museum and the George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art . The company was founded in 1953 by Jozo Weider, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two other immigrants from Czechoslovakia, Dennis Tupy and Mirek Hambalek, also played key roles in the early days of the company. Weider owned

5916-400: The University of Toronto until 1968, when it became an independent Crown agency of the Government of Ontario . It is Canada's largest field-research institution, with research and conservation activities worldwide. With more than 18 million items and 40 galleries, the museum's diverse collections of world culture and natural history contribute to its international reputation. It contains

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6032-503: The ability of the involved parties to communicate effectively, implying pre-existing norms of contact or a shared language between the two. Thus, the patterns of technical diffusion in pot-making that are visible via archaeological findings also reveal patterns in societal interaction. Chronologies based on pottery are often essential for dating non-literate cultures and are often of help in the dating of historic cultures as well. Trace-element analysis , mostly by neutron activation , allows

6148-452: The age. Sites with similar pottery characteristics have the same culture, those sites which have distinct cultural characteristics but with some overlap are indicative of cultural exchange such as trade or living in vicinity or continuity of habitation, etc. Examples are black and red ware , redware , Sothi-Siswal culture and Painted Grey Ware culture . The six fabrics of Kalibangan is a good example of use of fabric analysis in identifying

6264-405: The architectural elements—the deep cornice, decorative top, eave brackets—add to this strength that the ROM possessed, as it was purely a structure with the function of collecting, but not of exhibiting. During the mid-2010s, the eastern entrance was used as a café. Since late 2017, the eastern entrance is undergoing renovation to become an alternate entrance, complete with the addition of ramps to

6380-557: The atrium, as well as the reconstruction of the entrance plaza to be level to allow for street performances. Designed by Toronto architects Frank Darling and John A. Pearson , the architectural style of the original building (now the western wing) is a synthesis of Italianate and Neo-Romanesque . The structure is heavily massed and punctuated by rounded and segmented arched windows with heavy surrounds and hood mouldings. Other features include applied decorative eave brackets, quoins and cornices . The eastern wing facing Queen's Park

6496-474: The bat cave reopened on 27 February 2010 after extensive renovations. The 1,700-square-foot (160 m ) exhibit most notably includes a recreation of St. Clair Cave located in Saint Catherine Parish of central Jamaica. The original cave was formed by an underground river that flowed 30 metres (98 ft) below ground through the limestone and was three kilometres long. This cave was then recreated in

6612-417: The branches and then grass is piled high to complete the mound. Although the mound contains the pots of many women, who are related through their husbands' extended families, each women is responsible for her own or her immediate family's pots within the mound. When a mound is completed and the ground around has been swept clean of residual combustible material, a senior potter lights the fire. A handful of grass

6728-423: The building is a surprise and a pleasant one; the somewhat complicated ornament of the façade is forgotten and a plan on the grand manner unfolds itself. It is simple, direct and big in scale. One is convinced that the early Beaux-Arts training of the designer has not been in vain. The outstanding feature of the interior is the glass mosaic ceiling of the entrance rotunda. It is executed in colours and gold and strikes

6844-565: The comment, Weider began to work with Tupy on a pottery project, experimenting with local clays from the Georgian Bay area. Weider then began Blue Mountain Pottery Ltd. as an offshoot of the ski hill. Tupy worked at the moulds for the products, while Hambalek, who had training in glazing techniques, became the chief glazer for the pottery. They built their own kilns for their product. As the pottery took off, it provided an income stream that kept

6960-472: The conservation of Earth's biodiversity . The Life in Crisis gallery is organized into three zones exploring the central themes: Life is Diverse, Life is interconnected, and Life is at Risk. Anthony Reich, principal at Reich+Petch, called biodiversity "a big subject that's become more relevant to everybody. The challenge was how to tell this big story in a 10,000-square-foot (900 m ) space. We decided to design

7076-431: The cultural development of the societies that produced or acquired pottery. The study of pottery may also allow inferences to be drawn about a culture's daily life, religion, social relationships, attitudes towards neighbours, attitudes to their own world and even the way the culture understood the universe. It is valuable to look into pottery as an archaeological record of potential interaction between peoples. When pottery

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7192-480: The duration of firing influences the final characteristics of the ceramic. Thus, the maximum temperature within a kiln is often held constant for a period of time to soak the wares to produce the maturity required in the body of the wares. Kilns may be heated by burning combustible materials, such as wood , coal and gas , or by electricity . The use of microwave energy has been investigated. When used as fuels, coal and wood can introduce smoke, soot and ash into

7308-466: The east wing fronting onto Queen's Park and required the demolition of Argyle House, a Victorian mansion at 100 Queen's Park. As this occurred during the Great Depression , an effort was made to use primarily local building materials and to make use of workers capable of manually excavating the building's foundations. Teams of workers alternated weeks of service due to the physically draining nature of

7424-405: The eastern entrance. The eastern entrance is a few steps from the main entrance to Museum station . Designed by Toronto architect Gene Kinoshita, with Mathers & Haldenby, the curatorial centre forms the southern section of the museum. Completed in 1984, it was built during the same expansion as the former Queen Elizabeth II Terrace Galleries, which stood on the north side of the museum before

7540-631: The exhibit is Gordo , one of the most complete examples of the Barosaurus in North America and the largest dinosaur on display in Canada. The Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life opened in 2021 in the former Peter F. Bronfman Hall, and focuses on the evolution of life in the Paleozoic from billions of years ago up to the Late Triassic . It highlights many fossil sites and collections from Canada, such as

7656-596: The experience of walking through a cave as a colony of bats fly out. The original galleries were simply named after their subject material, but in more recent years, individual galleries have been named in honour of sponsors who have donated significant funds or collections to the institution. There are now two main categories of galleries present in the ROM: the Natural History Galleries and the World Culture Galleries. The Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery

7772-428: The extinction of the woolly mammoth , offering several different leading theories on the issue for the visitor to ponder. This trend continued and up until the present day, the galleries became less staid and more dynamic or descriptive and interpretive. This trend arguably came to a culmination in the 1980s with the opening of The Bat Cave , where a sound system, strobe lights and gentle puffs of air attempts to recreate

7888-469: The extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. A highlight of this gallery is the sabre-toothed nimravid Dinictis . The James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs and Gallery of the Age of Mammals feature many examples of complete non-avian dinosaur skeletons, as well as those of early birds, reptiles, mammals and marine animals ranging from the Jurassic to Cretaceous periods. The highlight of

8004-460: The eye (decoration, firing and post-firing techniques), techniques related to the materials (selection or processing of clay, etc.), and techniques of molding or fashioning the clay. These three categories can be used to consider the implications of the reoccurrence of a particular sort of pottery in different areas. Generally, the techniques that are easily visible (the first category of those mentioned above) are thus readily imitated, and may indicate

8120-546: The façade also contains elements of Gothic Revival in its relief carvings, gargoyles and statues. The ornate ceiling of the rotunda is covered predominantly in gold back painted glass mosaic tiles, with coloured mosaic geometric patterns and images of real and mythical animals. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 1933, A. S. Mathers said of the expansion: The interior of

8236-559: The firing process, each piece obtained a unique appearance. The company developed a particular combination of glazes, with light colours mixed with dark. The most iconic was a blue-green glaze, with an additional dark grey or black glaze. These colours were said to have been inspired by the evergreen trees which grew on the Blue Mountains. However, they also experimented with many other glaze combinations, such as harvest gold, cobalt blue, mocha, pewter, red, brown, and white. Production of

8352-414: The following fields: Archaeology, Palaeontology, Mineralogy, Zoology, and Geology. It cost CA$ 400,000 to construct. This was the first phase of a two-part construction plan intended to expand toward Queen's Park Crescent, ultimately creating an H-shaped structure. The first expansion to the Royal Ontario Museum publicly opened on October 12, 1933. The CA$ 1.8 -million renovation saw the construction of

8468-430: The following stages: Before being shaped, clay must be prepared. This may include kneading to ensure an even moisture content throughout the body. Air trapped within the clay body needs to be removed, or de-aired, and can be accomplished either by a machine called a vacuum pug or manually by wedging . Wedging can also help produce an even moisture content. Once a clay body has been kneaded and de-aired or wedged, it

8584-431: The foot) is left unglazed or, alternatively, special refractory " spurs " are used as supports. These are removed and discarded after the firing. Some specialised glazing techniques include: Types of Glazing in Pottery. Glazing in pottery is the process of applying a coating or layer of material to ceramics that, when fired, forms a vitreous or glass-like surface. Glazes enhance the aesthetic appeal of pottery, provide

8700-642: The form of layered terraces, each rising layer stepping back from Bloor Street. The design of this expansion won a Governor-General's Award in Architecture . In 1989, activists complained about its Into the Heart of Africa exhibit, which featured stereotypes of Africans, forcing curator Jeanne Cannizzo to resign. Beginning in 2002, the museum underwent a major renovation and expansion project dubbed as Renaissance ROM. The Ontario and Canadian governments, both supporters of this venture, contributed $ 60 million toward

8816-646: The formation of the mineral mullite within the body at these high temperatures. Although porcelain was first made in China , the Chinese traditionally do not recognise it as a distinct category, grouping it with stoneware as "high-fired" ware, opposed to "low-fired" earthenware. This confuses the issue of when it was first made. A degree of translucency and whiteness was achieved by the Tang dynasty (AD 618–906), and considerable quantities were being exported. The modern level of whiteness

8932-443: The former being by far the dominant type for studio and industry. The properties also vary considerably, and include plasticity and mechanical strength before firing; the firing temperature needed to mature them; properties after firing, such as permeability, mechanical strength and colour. There can be regional variations in the properties of raw materials used for pottery, and these can lead to wares that are unique in character to

9048-412: The fusing together of coarser particles in the body at their points of contact with each other. In the case of porcelain, where higher firing-temperatures are used, the physical, chemical and mineralogical properties of the constituents in the body are greatly altered. In all cases, the reason for firing is to permanently harden the wares, and the firing regime must be appropriate to the materials used. As

9164-592: The glaze. Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum ( ROM ) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year, making it the most-visited museum in Canada . It is north of Queen's Park , in the University of Toronto district, with its main entrance on Bloor Street West . Museum subway station

9280-493: The heritage buildings were cleaned and restored. The restoration of the 1914 and 1933 buildings was the largest heritage project undertaken in Canada. The renovation also included the newly restored Rotunda with reproductions of the original oak doors, a restored axial view from the Rotunda west through to windows onto Philosophers' Walk and ten renovated galleries comprising a total of 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq ft). In

9396-400: The history of pottery. Pottery experts, former employees of Blue Mountain Pottery, and Conrad Biernacki, author of an upcoming book on Blue Mountain Pottery, all attended. There was also the premiere of a documentary, entitled Blue Clay . The documentary was shown again two years later at a local film fest. Pottery Pottery is one of the oldest human inventions , originating before

9512-417: The item is impermeable to liquids, and minimizing the adherence of pollutants. Glaze may be applied by spraying, dipping, trailing or brushing on an aqueous suspension of the unfired glaze. The colour of a glaze after it has been fired may be significantly different from before firing. To prevent glazed wares sticking to kiln furniture during firing, either a small part of the object being fired (for example,

9628-469: The job. In 1947, the ROM was dissolved as a body corporate , with all assets transferred to the University of Toronto. The museum remained a part of the university until 1968, when the museum and the McLaughlin Planetarium were separated from the university to form a new corporation. On 26 October 1968, the ROM opened the McLaughlin Planetarium on the south end of the property after receiving

9744-431: The kiln which can affect the appearance of unprotected wares. For this reason, wares fired in wood- or coal-fired kilns are often placed in the kiln in saggars , ceramic boxes, to protect them. Modern kilns fuelled by gas or electricity are cleaner and more easily controlled than older wood- or coal-fired kilns and often allow shorter firing times to be used. Niche techniques include: [...] pots are positioned on and amid

9860-577: The late Louise Hawley Stone, who donated a number of artifacts and various collections to the museum. In her will, she transferred C$ 49.7 million to the Louise Hawley Stone Charitable Trust, created to help with the upkeep of the building and to the acquisition of new artifacts. Replacing the Queen Elizabeth II Terrace Galleries was the controversial "Michael Lee-Chin Crystal", a multimillion-dollar expansion to

9976-576: The late Middle Ages, as European kilns were less efficient, and the right type of clay less common. It remained a speciality of Germany until the Renaissance. Stoneware is very tough and practical, and much of it has always been utilitarian, for the kitchen or storage rather than the table. But "fine" stoneware has been important in China , Japan and the West, and continues to be made. Many utilitarian types have also come to be appreciated as art. Porcelain

10092-469: The lead manager was Robert Blair. In 1987, when International Silver went into receivership, Blair bought the Blue Mountain assets, including the moulds, and maintained operations. The company finally closed on December 31, 2004, unable to compete with cheap imports. At its peak, it had been one of Canada's largest potteries. The Royal Ontario Museum has a large collection of Blue Mountain pottery, including both decorative and functional pieces, and one of

10208-420: The master plan designed by Darling and Pearson in 1909, the ROM took a form similar to that of J. N. L. Durand's ideal model of the museum. It was envisioned as a square plan with corridors running through the centre of the composition, converging in the middle with a domed rotunda. Overall, it referenced the upper-class palaces of the 17th and 18th centuries and aimed at having a strong sense of monumentality. All

10324-472: The merits of its angular design. On its opening, Globe and Mail architecture critic Lisa Rochon complained that "the new ROM rages at the world", was oppressive, angsty and hellish, while others—perhaps championed by her Toronto Star counterpart, Christopher Hume—hailed it as a monument. Some critics have ranked it as one of the ten ugliest buildings in the world. The project also experienced budget and construction time over-runs, and drew comparisons to

10440-465: The museum based on ROM fieldwork conducted in Jamaica in 1984. A large amount of bat research has been conducted with support from the ROM. In 2011, the ROM hosted a "bat workshop" connected with the 41st Annual North American Symposium on Bat Research. The Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth's Treasures features almost 3,000 specimens of minerals, gems, meteorites and rocks ranging from 4.5 billion years ago to

10556-431: The museum designed by Daniel Libeskind , including a new sliding door entrance on Bloor Street, first opened in 2007. The Deconstructivist crystalline form is clad in 25 percent glass and 75 percent aluminum , sitting on top of a steel frame . The Crystal's canted walls do not touch the sides of the existing heritage buildings but are used to close the envelope between the new form and existing walls. These walls act as

10672-478: The museum was the Queen Elizabeth II Terrace Galleries on the north side of the building and a curatorial centre built on the south, which started in 1978 and was completed in 1984. The new construction meant that a former outdoor "Chinese Garden" to the north of the building facing Bloor, along with an adjoining indoor restaurant, had to be dismantled. Opened in 1984 by Queen Elizabeth II , the CA$ 55 million expansion took

10788-511: The need to protect the natural environment and the need to educate the public about the main causes of extinction —overhunting, habitat destruction , and climate change . In September 2009, the gallery received an Award of Excellence by the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario . In addition to showcasing the museum's natural collection, the Schad Gallery also aims to promote

10904-537: The new structure's proximate first winter. Although a two-layer cladding system was incorporated into the design of the Crystal to prevent the formation of dangerous snow loads on the structure, past architectural creations of Daniel Libeskind (including the Denver Art Museum) have also suffered from weather-related complications. Collections at the ROM not displayed at the ROM itself or in other museums are stored in various unclassified and offsite locations around

11020-424: The object. Much pottery is purely utilitarian, but some can also be regarded as ceramic art . An article can be decorated before or after firing. Pottery is traditionally divided into three types: earthenware , stoneware and porcelain . All three may be glazed and unglazed. All may also be decorated by various techniques. In many examples the group a piece belongs to is immediately visually apparent, but this

11136-483: The passenger pigeon. These exhibits were later moved to the Schad Gallery. The Royal Ontario Museum purchased a beached blue whale off the coast of Newfoundland at Trout River and displayed its skeleton and heart as a ROM-original travelling exhibit until 4 September 2017. The Bat Cave is an immersive experience for visitors that presents over 20 bats and 800 models in a recreated habitat, with accompanying educational panels and video. Originally opened in 1988,

11252-405: The permanent galleries of the Lee-Chin Crystal began mid-June 2007, after a ten-day period when all the empty gallery spaces were open to the public. Within the Crystal there is a gift shop, C5 restaurant lounge (closed until further notice), a cafeteria, seven additional galleries and Canada's largest temporary exhibition hall in a museum. The galleries added to the Crystal gave different aspects to

11368-502: The popularity and practicality of pottery vessels. Decoration has evolved and developed through history. Stoneware is pottery that has been fired in a kiln at a relatively high temperature, from about 1,100 °C to 1,200 °C, and is stronger and non-porous to liquids. The Chinese, who developed stoneware very early on, classify this together with porcelain as high-fired wares. In contrast, stoneware could only be produced in Europe from

11484-503: The present. These items were found in many different locations including the Earth, Moon and beyond, and represent the Earth's dynamic geological environment. Notable specimens at the Teck Suite of Galleries include fragments of the Tagish Lake meteorite . The Light of the Desert , the world's largest faceted cerussite , is another notable piece displayed in the gallery. Galleries that are

11600-404: The project, and Michael Lee-Chin donated $ 30 million. The campaign aimed not only to raise annual visitor attendance from 750,000 to between 1.4 and 1.6 million, but also to generate additional funding opportunities to support the museum's research, conservation, galleries and educational public programs. The centrepiece of the project was a deconstructivist crystalline-form structure called

11716-421: The raw materials and cause it to be reduced to FeO. An oxygen deficient condition, called a reducing atmosphere, is generated by preventing the complete combustion of the kiln fuel; this is achieved by deliberately restricting the supply of air or by supplying an excess of fuel. Firing pottery can be done using a variety of methods, with a kiln being the usual firing method. Both the maximum temperature and

11832-464: The second floor of the museum, containing collections and examples of various specimens such as bats, birds and dinosaurs. The Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity, designed by Reich+Petch and opened in late 2009, features endangered species , including specimens of a polar bear , a giant panda , a white rhinoceros , a Burmese python , Canadian coral , a leatherback sea turtle ,

11948-467: The sources of clay to be accurately identified and the thermoluminescence test can be used to provide an estimate of the date of last firing. Examining sherds from prehistory, scientists learned that during high-temperature firing, iron materials in clay record the state of the Earth's magnetic field at that moment. The "clay body" is also called the "paste" or the "fabric" , which consists of 2 things,

12064-441: The studio potter, who helped expand the company and the popularity of its wares in the 1960s, particularly with large pieces made on a potter's wheel. Starting in 1982, David Bennett was the master mould maker and designer with the company. Weider sold the company in 1968, to allow him to focus on developing the Blue Mountain ski resort. Blue Mountain Pottery was acquired by International Silver Company of Canada. From 1971 onwards,

12180-572: The tallgrass prairies and savannas. The Gallery of Birds has on display many bird specimens from past centuries. The Gallery of Birds is dominated by the broad "Birds in flight" display where stuffed birds are enclosed in a glass display for visitors to experience. Dioramas allow visitors to learn about the many bird species and how environmental and habitual changes have put bird species in danger of extinction. Pull-out drawers let visitors examine eggs, feathers, footprints and nests more closely. The gallery included exhibits of other extinct species such as

12296-426: The terrace galleries were replaced with the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. The architecture is a simple modernist style of poured concrete, glass, and pre-cast concrete and aggregate panels. The curatorial centre houses the museum's administrative and curatorial services and provides storage for artifacts that are not on exhibit. In 2006, the curatorial centre was renamed to Louise Hawley Stone Curatorial Centre in honour of

12412-569: The underlying decoration or texture of the pottery to show through. - Often used over underglaze decorations. 4. Opaque Glaze - Completely covers the surface of the pottery, hiding any underlying texture or decoration. - Useful for creating uniform, bold colors. 5. Celadon Glaze - A translucent glaze, usually in shades of green or blue. - Originated in China and is popular in East Asian ceramics. - Accentuates carved or textured designs beneath

12528-520: The world in long rows of glass cases. Insects of the same genus were pinned to the inside of the cabinet, with only the species name and location found as a description. By the 1960s, more interpretive displays were ushered in, among the first being the original dinosaur gallery, established in the mid-1960s. Dinosaur fossils were now staged in dynamic poses against backdrop paintings and models of contemporaneous landscapes and vegetation. The displays became more descriptive and interpretive sometimes, as with

12644-474: Was built in a neo-Byzantine style with rusticated stone, triple windows contained within recessed arches and different-coloured stones arranged in a variety of patterns. This development from the Roman-inspired Italianate to a Byzantine-influenced style reflected the historical development of Byzantine architecture from Roman architecture . Common among neo- Byzantine buildings in North America,

12760-466: Was designed by Alfred H. Chapman and James Oxley . Opened in 1933, it included the museum's elaborate art deco , Byzantine-inspired rotunda and a new main entrance. The linking wing and rear (west) façade of the Queen's Park wing were originally done in the same yellow brick as the 1914 building, with minor Italianate detailing. This façade broke away from the heavy Italianate style of the original structure. It

12876-505: Was fabricated by Josef Gartner in Germany , the only company in the world that can produce the material. The company also provided the titanium cladding for Frank Gehry 's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao , Spain . On 1 June 2007, the governor-general of Canada, Michaëlle Jean , attended the Crystal's architectural opening. This caused controversy because public opinion had been divided concerning

12992-657: Was formally established on April 16, 1912, and was jointly governed by the Government of Ontario and the University of Toronto . Its first assets were transferred from the university and the Ontario Department of Education , coming from its predecessor, the Museum of Natural History and Fine Arts at the Toronto Normal School . On 19 March 1914, the Duke of Connaught , also the governor general of Canada , officially opened

13108-434: Was inspired by the ROM's collections and enabled children to participate in interactive activities involving touchable artifacts and specimens, costumes, digging for dinosaur bones and examining fossils and meteorites. There was also a special area for preschoolers. The Patrick and Barbara Keenan Family Gallery of Hands-On Biodiversity introduces visitors to the complicated relationships, which occur among all living things in

13224-512: Was not reached until much later, in the 14th century. Porcelain was also made in Korea and in Japan from the end of the 16th century, after suitable kaolin was located in those countries. It was not made effectively outside East Asia until the 18th century. The study of pottery can help to provide an insight into past cultures. Fabric analysis (see section below), used to analyse the fabric of pottery ,

13340-401: Was part of the charm. You were really buying a piece of Blue Mountain." — George Weider, son of Joseph   Weider Blue Mountain Pottery were known for their combinations of glazes that gave each item a unique finish. The initial glaze used was a deep blue-green, combined with a darker glaze. This combination of glazes, called a "flow glaze" or a "drip glaze" process, meant that during

13456-469: Was very popular in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s, often as wedding gifts. The company also expanded into the export trade, with sales to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean. At one point, sixty per cent of the company's sales were for export, with two-thirds of those sales being to the United States. Tupy worked with the company until 1960. Dominic Stanzione became

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