Ceramic art is one of Uzbekistan’s oldest and most renowned forms of applied art, which in 2023 was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Through engaging accounts of the work of current ceramists from across the country and beautiful new photography of these artists and their finest work, Born in the Clay introduces this fascinating subject to new audiences across the world.

Authors Rolando Montecalvo and Dinara Dultaeva take readers on a cultural tour – beginning in the capital, Tashkent, and ranging across the Fergana Valley, Bukhara, Khorezm, Samarkand and Andijan – and present an enlightening and accessible account of the history and techniques of Uzbek ceramics. Born in the Clay is the definitive guide to this uniquely vibrant and distinctive artistic tradition.

Dinara Dultaeva is a media professional and creative entrepreneur who works on tourism promotion and nation-branding initiatives that showcase her native Uzbekistan. She founded Dinara&Co., a publishing house known for premium coffee-table books and Visit Uzbekistan magazine. A Chevening Scholar and graduate of Cardiff University, she has taught communications at Webster University and MDIS.

Rolando Montecalvo is a writer and editor based in Uzbekistan. Italian by nationality, he spent 15 years in the US, where he earned a PhD in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley. He has also worked in India, Thailand, Switzerland, and Cambodia. He has been involved in many book projects while working in-house for OUP and Penguin, and as a freelance copyeditor and ghostwriter.