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 Neoclassicism.

Comprehensive, engrossing, and lavishly illustrated, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in ceramics and their history.