Traditional ceramics – Overview and raw materials

One cannot discuss an article on "traditional ceramics" without mentioning that ceramics was one of humanity's earliest industries and that the term "ceramics" itself originates from the ancient Greek word "keramos" (κεραμος), which refers to fire-resistant clay. This is not simply a matter of general knowledge, but will serve as the guiding thread throughout this document.

Our ancestors observed that clay hardened when exposed to fire while retaining the shape they had given it. This observation enabled them to create objects that were useful in everyday life, but also to give free rein to their imagination to design aesthetic or symbolic pieces. This brings us to the definition we propose in this article for "traditional ceramics":

• objects made by subjecting natural mineral raw materials, among which clay plays a major role, to fire after shaping;

• and intended for everyday domestic use or construction, meeting functional and aesthetic requirements.

Today, this includes tableware ceramics, floor and wall tiles, sanitary ceramics, and terracotta materials for construction, such as tiles and bricks. This is what we will refer to here as traditional ceramics.

From a technological perspective, several commonalities arise from this definition.

• Clay must meet numerous requirements in terms of rheology, plasticity, and mechanical strength to enable shaping and maintain the integrity of the piece during all the handling it undergoes before entering the kiln.

• Natural silicate raw materials induce a specific consolidation process that generates significant interactions between the formulation, firing, and properties of the finished products.

• And aesthetic requirements, which account for a large part of the value, weigh heavily on the choice of raw materials and processes used to achieve the required shape and decoration.

Readers will quickly realize that traditional ceramics are based on highly technical foundations: the complexity of natural raw materials, the diversity of uses, and aesthetic requirements pose high-level scientific challenges, demanding multidisciplinarity and experience on the part of engineers, as well as remarkable expertise on the part of technicians and operators.

It is also an industrial sector that remains very dynamic in Europe, both in terms of raw material extraction and manufacturing. Contrary to popular belief, innovation is much more vibrant than one might think.

In line with our guiding principle, this document proposes a plan that starts...