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The Architecture of Norman England . By Eric Fernie. 276mm. Pp xvi plus 352, 196 b/w and 4 col pls. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0198174063. £75.

This is the first book to survey Byzantine pottery as a whole, from the humblest cooking pots to the finest decorated plates. The first book on glazed Byzantine pottery, by David Talbot Rice, was published over fifty years ago, in 1950; since then studies have been mainly on specific sites, such as Corinth or the Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors at Constantinople, or on pottery types such as Aegean or Zeuxippus wares. Dark describes the pottery of the Byzantine empire, putting it in the broad context of Byzantine history from the fifth to the midfifteenth centuries AD, and suggests that there was a thousand-year continuity of production of coarse wares, stretching even further back, until a break in the fifteenth century. He then deals with the fine wares: despite the many new finds, the origins of medieval glaze are still as hotly debated as they were thirty years ago when I organized a symposium on the subject (Hurst 1969). Dark demonstrates that three main phases of Byzantine political and cultural history have distinctive pottery types, which implies that his Early, Middle (eighth century to 1204) and Late Byzantine periods have some expression in the circumstances of everyday life. The author draws attention to the pottery production sites known, and gives a comprehensive survey of marketing and trade. He shows how ceramics are a source for reconstructing many aspects of Byzantine culture unevidenced by texts or other art forms: for example, pottery can suggest how food may have been prepared or consumed, and how this might have changed over time. Of particular interest to north-west European researchers is the introduction, in the eighth century, of chafing dishes to keep food warm: this implies long, structured meals. Further changes in dining habits are suggested by the disappearance of these dishes in the Late Byzantine period. The last chapter discusses the problems of the possible continuity of Byzantine pottery into the Ottoman period. Finally, there is a twenty-seven-page catalogue of fifty-one pottery types with descriptions, section drawings, date range, generalized distributions and possible sources. The colour plates are most important, in view of the varied colours of Byzantine pottery. There is a useful glossary and a full twelve-page bibliography, organized as notes by subjects. The volume is well produced, as is expected from Tempus. This book is a major advance in Byzantine studies, which are all too often still concentrated on historical and art aspects. For many years researchers have had to consult an increasing number of articles, many in obscure periodicals. It will now be possible to go straight to the various pottery types in this comprehensive volume, which goes far beyond earlier studies, to place Byzantine pottery in its social and economic context.