‘Unglazed’ presents eight millennia of ceramic art from around the world, emphasising how diverse cultures have transformed clay into myriad forms for thousands of years. In contrast to the smooth, frictionless and glossy surfaces that typify today’s digital culture, this exhibition celebrates the earthy ‘unglazed’ quality of ancient ceramic work. ‘Unglazed’ is attuned to the physical, human touch and creative spirit of anonymous makers. The exhibition title emphasises the raw quality of the works on display, which show the texture of the clay, its unevenness, cracks and imperfections. From the earliest piece in the show – a Neolithic fertility goddess from Anatolia c.5000-6000 BCE, to the latest, an enigmatic Costa Rican vessel in the form of a bird, c.1100-1500 CE, these works possess a sense of immediacy, playfulness and sometimes strangeness that transcends time. Whether a Bronze Age mask from Israel c.2700-1700 BCE, or a hump-backed
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