We talk of things being “out of proportion” when the relative size of two things seems wrong or out of balance. For example our justice system is considered “proportional” when the “punishment fits the crime.” Consider a student caught chewing gum in class against school policy. Most people would agree that expulsion from school would be a disproportionate penalty. It would be too large a punishment for a relatively small behavior problem. However we might think that expulsion from school is an appropriate penalty in the case of a greater offense, such as theft or violence.

Proportion refers to the size relationship between two or more things. Proportions can be between parts of one thing or between one thing and another thing. For example we see a house and decide that we think that the windows are out of proportion (too small) for such a large house or we see a house and think it is too large in comparison to other houses in the neighborhood.

Let’s consider the proportions of the humble hen’s egg. It is longer than it is wide. It is wider at one end than the other. Its outside shape, or profile, tapers inward more gradually toward the small end than toward the wide end.

All hens’ eggs have these proportions and are close to the same size.

Proportions can be the same even when sizes are different. Notice how the goose’s egg (below on the left) and the conure’s egg (below on the right) have very similar proportions as the hen’s egg (below in the center) -- even though the eggs are quite different in size.

The relative size of the two ends, the relationship of height to width, and the angle of taper toward the two ends is almost exactly the same for most of these eggs. That is, the proportions are nearly the same even though the sizes are quite different.

Below are many different kinds of birds’ eggs.

Can you pick out some eggs the proportions of which are different from the hen’s egg? Which egg is most slender? Can you find any eggs that don’t taper on either end?

Now let’s think about proportions in ceramic vessels. Just as we can compare eggs by their proportions, we can use proportions to compare ceramic pieces. For example, none of these pots made in the village of Mata Ortiz in northern Mexico, have identical proportions. The two pots on the right are most similar to each other in size.

However the pots most nearly equal in size are not the most similar in proportions. The two pots on the left are most alike in proportions. They have quite small necks in relation to the main body of the pot. The top half of each pot’s belly is about equal in size to the bottom half of the belly. Both above and below its widest point, the belly of the pot tapers in quite sharply (rather than curving in gradually).

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