Creamware printers to Josiah Wedgwood by 1763, for example. By 1760 creamware was often enamelled for decoration, using a technique adopted from the early porcelain industry. This consisted of painting overglaze on the ware with pigments made from finely powdered coloured glass and then firing again to fuse the enamel to the ware. The varied enamel colours did not fuse at the same temperature so several firings were generally needed, adding to the expense. There were approximately 130 potteries in North Staffordshire during the 1750s, rising to around 150 by 1763 and employing up to 7,000 people – a large number
Pottery was heavily influenced by Greek pottery and often imported Greek potters and painters. Ancient Roman pottery made much less use of painting, but used moulded decoration, allowing industrialized production on a huge scale. Much of the so-called red Samian ware of the Early Roman Empire was in fact produced in modern Germany and France, where entrepreneurs established large potteries. Pottery was hardly seen on the tables of elites from Hellenistic times until the Renaissance, and most medieval wares were coarse and utilitarian, as the elites ate off metal vessels. Imports from Asia revived interest in fine pottery, which European manufacturers