Boleslawiec Polish Pottery Serving Platter
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‘Mermaids’ panel, Leicester
Image by Diego’s sideburns
The bas relief panel ‘Mermaids’ was made in 1900 at the Royal Doulton Lambeth Potteries by William J. Neatby, who was head potter in the Terracotta Department there from 1890 to 1907.
For many years it stood over the main doorway of the Leicester Wholesale Market on Halford Street until that building was demolished in 1972.
It was re-erected at its present site upon the base of a bridge pier of the old Great Central Railway in the Spring of 1980.
Antique Chinese & Japanese Pottery
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antique ceramic pot with lid
Image by sentimental.inakaya
Every niche subject has its specific, descriptive words, its recognised terminology. These are words of international understanding, conveying a clear picture of the object being described.
In the world of antiques this is extremely important, particularly when the object is not able to be seen and handled by the person receiving the descriptive information.
Antiques are a vast subject and each category under the title of “antiques” has its own specific terminology. Key descriptive terms are used for antique categories such as silver, furniture, ceramics, glass, pictures, textiles, jewellery etc.
Within my subject of antique ceramics, porcelain and pottery, I have noticed a consistent confusion over a particular group of ceramic terms. These include the terms, “soft paste” and “hard paste” porcelain.
The term “soft paste” is sometimes thought to mean that soft paste porcelain is “softer” than hard paste porcelain, (also known as, true porcelain), however, both of these terms actually refer to the kiln temperature, not the porcelain itself.
It is actually the temperature that the porcelain is fired at; soft paste referring to a “soft fire”, which is usually about 1200°C. Soft paste is also known as “artificial porcelain”, or, “pate tendre”, when referring to French porcelain.
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By contrast, hard paste porcelain is fired with a hard fire, usually about 1450°C. Hard paste, or, true porcelain, derives its name from Chinese porcelain, first produced in that country over 2000 years ago.
True or hard paste porcelain is made by the combination of two integral ingredients, white China clay, or Kaolin and “petuntse” as known in English and derived from the Chinese, “Pai-tun-tzu”.
Technically, petuntse is a natural, fusible rock, which, when worked into a paste, combined with white China clay and fired with a “hard” fire, at 1450°C, results in hard paste porcelain.
Most European, soft paste porcelains belong to the 18th century and in general terms, most European hard paste porcelains belong in the 19th century. But, as always, there are a few exceptions.
Another term which seems to be confused is the descriptive word for a ceramic figure. When the human form is depicted in porcelain or pottery, it is described as a “figure”. I have recently seen such a description with a figure described as a statue. The term statue is reserved for a life sized figure as found in a large garden or park!
Alternately, when animals are described in porcelain and pottery, they are conventionally described as a “model” i.e., a model of a seated spaniel, a model of an alert greyhound etc
Every specialist subject from the vast range of antiques has its own recognised group of descriptive terms and using the correct terminology simply makes the information being offered clear and easily understood.
The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co specialise in antique lamps with an on-line range of over 100 unique, antique lamps. Lamps are shipped ready wired for the US the UK and Australia.
For more information you are invited to visit their web site at:-
www.antiquelampshop.com
© The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co 2009
Poggi Bonsi Agata Italian Ceramic Collection
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David Frank Pottery, Plate Dipping Tongs June, 2010.mp4
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Ceramic Artists of Baltimore Clayworks Exhabition at The Clay Place, Carnegie PA
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SIMON LEACH POTTERY – Throwing a small mixing bowl – profile view !
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Hand building. This is the earliest forming method. Wares can be constructed by hand from coils of clay, flat slabs of clay, solid balls of clay or some combination of these. Parts of hand-built vessels are often joined together with the aid of slip, an aqueous suspension of clay body and water. Hand-building is slower than wheel-throwing, but it offers the potter a high degree of control over the size and shape of wares. The speed and repetitiveness of other techniques is more suitable for making precisely matched sets of wares such as tablewares although some studio potters find hand-building more conducive to create one-of-a-kind works of art.
The potter’s wheel. In a process called “throwing” (coming from the Old English word thrawan which means to twist or turn, a ball of clay is placed in the center of a turntable, called the wheel-head, which the potter rotates with a stick, with foot power or with a variable-speed electric motor.
During the process of throwing, the wheel rotates rapidly while the solid ball of soft clay is pressed, squeezed and pulled gently upwards and outwards into a hollow shape. The first step of pressing the rough ball of clay downward and inward into perfect rotational symmetry is called centering the clay–a most important skill to master before the next steps: opening (making a centered hollow into the solid ball of clay), flooring (making the flat or rounded bottom inside the pot), throwing or pulling (drawing up and shaping the walls to an even thickness), and trimming or turning (removing excess clay to refine the shape or to create a foot).
Considerable skill and experience are required to throw pots of an acceptable standard and, while the ware may have high artistic merit, the reproducibility of the method is poor. Because of its inherent limitations, throwing can only be used to create wares with radial symmetry on a vertical axis. These can then be altered by impressing, bulging, carving, fluting, and incising. In addition to the potter’s hands these techniques can use tools, including paddles, anvils & ribs, and those specifically for cutting or piercing such as knives, fluting tools and wires. Thrown pieces can be further modified by the attachment of handles, lids, feet and spouts.
Tour of a Moroccan pottery factory near Safi
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