its members' welfare, and educate the public of the trade.

From classical antiquity until about the 18th century, while pottery was universally available, it was low status, and the rich used silver domestic plate for eating off, serving food, and a variety of functions such as candlesticks. At the same time, the lack of banks and attractive and stable places to invest spare cash meant that rich families were ready to keep a good deal of their wealth in the form