Clay and Its Usage in Contemporary Pottery Practice in Southwestern Nigeria

Clay is arguably the most available ceramic material in the world. Its typology is characterised by geological formation as well as physical and elemental composition. Clay is being used for various pottery and ceramic activities across the globe as a result of its malleability and high thermal property. Scholastic publications on various types of clay and its usage are abounding in diverse field of studies including ceramics. Still there is scholarship gap on clays that are used in contemporary pottery in Southwestern Nigeria. This study therefore identified twenty clay deposits that were actively used by indigenous potters, formal art schools and workshop and small scale ceramic industries in Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo States. It analyses its elemental compositions and examines various contemporary usage of clay among potters. Direct field survey, laboratory examination and participatory observation methodologies were employed. Results of PIXE analysis revealed silica, alumina and iron were the dominant elements with other elements in varying proportions. Moreover, the study observes that the potters were using manual means of prospecting and preparing their clays. Handbuilt and throwing are the major methods of production while casting and jiggering and jolleying techniques are seldom used. Pottery products in Southwestern Nigeria perform various utilitarian, decorative, social, ceremony and religious purposes, they however are limited in typology when compare to pottery and ceramic wares from industrialised countries.