For instance, ancient potters all had the skill to go out and collect local rocks and minerals and make them into glazes, but few potters today have this same skill.
As the Industrial Revolution arose in France, England, Germany and other parts of Europe, pottery underwent a transition from village craft to mass production. Dinner plates, for example, had been made of pewter or wood prior to the Industrial Revolution. In 1769, Josiah Wedgewood opened the first ceramics factory, located in England, where one person would make a dinner plate, and then factory workers would produce hundreds of replicas by pouring slip (liquid clay) into molds. Whatever benefits may have been derived from the introduction of these and subsequent industrial and technological techniques, much of great value has been lost, including vast treasures of practical knowledge that ancient people had of their craft. For instance, ancient potters all had the skill to go out and collect local rocks and minerals and make them into glazes, but few potters today have this same skill. Our modern knowledge of glazes is mostly limited to the refined powders that we purchase and mix together to achieve our desired results.