Recent efforts to preserve the intangible heritage of Portuguese ceramic craftsmanship have often underestimated the value of local raw materials, replacing them with commercial materials. Project 2LEGACY aims to promote sustainability in artisanal practices by exploring the role of endogenous clay in traditional ceramics production, highlighting the importance of the origin of the raw materials, and of the practices associated with their preparation.

In the project poster presented at IN2PAST’s 5th National Meeting of Researchers, held in January in Braga (Portugal), the team tells us how they are revisiting French chemist Charles Lepierre’s 1898 Estudo Chimico e Technologico sobre a Ceramica Portugueza Moderna (Chemical and Technological Study of Portuguese Modern Ceramics) to provide a new look into the history of the ceramic industry, by using an interdisciplinary approach and cutting-edge technology.

The geological and material study of the raw materials are to be compared with the analyses of the ceramic objects collected by Lepierre, conducted by the team at the Sèvres Museum, in order to establish a link between the origin of the raw materials and the identity of ceramic production.

To learn more about this exploratory project funded by IN2PAST and how it plans to contribute to reflection on policies for the protection of geological materials and other natural resources essential to artisanal production, download the poster PDF or go to the project webpage.