This study explores the narrative and the commemorative aspect of the contemporary ceramic vessel. It examines the context of the narrative and the commemorative and how it manifests in the works of Grayson Perry, Wonderboy Nxumalo and Hylton Nel. I have tended to take an approach that is Post Modernist and deconstructive which attempts to be inclusive. The narrative and the commemorative are explored and defined within the discourse of literary theory. Hence the concept of memory, history, time, narrative structure and semiotics are evident within these definitions. The relationship between the image and text is also explored and how the artist exploits this narrative device. The contemporary vessel is used within the narrative in the appropriation of ceramic tradition and is explored in the works of these artists. Futhermore these traditions are subverted and manipulated in order to convey the narrative, whose content is both private and collective and extends and transgresses the confines of societal boundaries. It will be demonstrated how each of the artists convey their own dialogue that is driven by their own personal histories. The chapters therefore explore thematically, many aspects of the narratives, all of which are relevant to the artists: · The Concept of the Child · The Didactic Nature of the Narrative. · Narrative, Genre and sign. · Sexuality, Transgression and Queer Politics. · Recalling the Past; History and Nostalgia. I n the final chapter I explore my own work from the required exhibition. Object /Vessel: Narratives of Containment. The subject of the narrative is explored within the context of the ceramic vessel and the mixed media drawing. Many of the aspects of the narrative explored in this study have influenced my own work, in particular the concept of memory, nostalgia and the past.

No / This paper presents the results of the chemical analysis of materials recovered from two of the earliest agricultural villages in southwestern Iran and a late Neolithic pastoral encampment in nearby Khuzistan. Gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed biomarker compounds characteristic of bitumen in residues from ceramic vessels supporting the excavators¿ contention that the interior surfaces of some vessels were coated with a thin layer of such material and confirmed that ¿fragments¿ collected during excavation were indeed bitumen. Biomolecular and isotopic analysis of the bitumen indicated that the sources utilized lie in the Susa and Deh Luran regions of southwestern Iran. / NERC (MSc); AHRC (PhD)

In this paper I will discuss the occurrence of ceramic vessels in the graves of the Pitted ware culture on the island of Gotland, Sweden. I will focus on four sites and compare these sites, with hopes of finding some similarities or interesting differences. The sites are Ajvide in Eksta parish, Visby in Visby parish, Västerbjers in Gothem parish and Fridtorp in Västerhejde parish. The idea is to look at the grave goods, with focus on the ceramic vessels, or at least, the bottoms of the vessels, where one can clearly see that it's been deposited in the grave. I will try to analyze the vessels (shape and in some cases height), look where in the grave they've been placed, how many graves contain vessels, who's been given these vessels and if the vessels have filled a certain purpose once they've been deposited in the graves. / Neolitiska Livsstilar

No / In contrast with artefactual studies of long-distance trade and exchange in South Asia during the Prehistoric and Early Historic periods (Ardika et al . 1993; Gogte 1997; Krishnan and Coningham 1997; Tomber 2000; Gupta et al . 2001; Ford et al . 2005), few scientifically orientated analyses have focused on artefacts from the region¿s Historic period. During excavations at the ancient city of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka, a number of buff ware ceramics with a putative organic coating on the interior were recovered (Coningham 2006). Dated stylistically to between the third and ninth centuries AD , analysis of the coatings using gas chromatography¿mass spectrometry (GC¿MS) and stable isotope analysis (carbon and deuterium) confirmed that the coatings are bitumen¿an organic product associated with petroleum deposits. There are no known bitumen sources in Sri Lanka, and biomarker distributions and isotopic signatures suggest that the majority of the samples appear to have come from a single bitumen source near Susa in Iran. The relationship between the bitumen coatings and the vessels is discussed, and it is suggested that the coatings were used to seal permeable ceramic containers to allow them to transport liquid commodities. This study enhances our knowledge of networks of trade and exchange between Sri Lanka and western Asia during Historic times.