(Part 2) Top products from r/Pottery

>Im just amazed you could get so much from one shard!

I've looked at a lot of this stuff, most of it in smaller pieces than that. I worked cataloging ceramics finds for an excavation in 2011 that covered a range of about 1730-1840; the job is pretty much pull as much information from little fragments as you can as quickly and accurately as possible. You get to a point where you can pull the basic info out pretty quickly, and Pearlware is one of the ones I ran into a fair amount of.

>could you also provide the coat of arms you think its a part of?

It's a variation of this crest. Someone who knows their English heraldry might be able to get an exact variation, but it's also a fair chance that the potter was copying a lower crest, or missed a bit, or didn't have a good image to copy from. I actually recognize it from doing the decorating on these, which are reproductions of a 1741 sgraffito harvest jug in the Potteries Museum in Stoke-On-Trent. Original partly pictured on cover here; can't find a photo of the damn thing online and don't have permission to post mine.


>do you mind me asking what specifically makes you so sure of the dating and everything?

The short answer is experience. The long answer:

I'm fairly sure it's Pearlware because of the craquelure pattern, color and design. Creamware doesn't usually have that crazing and is slightly yellow tinted. It could be Whiteware, but is a little bit blue-grey tinted (which would indicate for Pearlware). Also Whiteware can be a bit later, at which point it would be far less likely to find a British royal crest on a pot in the US.

I'm fairly sure it's hand painted because of the uneven application of the design. It could be an exceptionally poor and badly fired transfer print (which would push the date later), but I don't think so.

The date range is pretty standard. Pearlware is usually somewhere 1780-1840. Pottery styles change, so it's pretty easy to date things based on that. I've narrowed to 1780-1820 because after about 1820 printed design is dominant rather than handpainted. To be honest I could probably call it 1780-1800 based on the design, but without being a bit more certain of that I'd rather keep to the wide range.

Some of this stuff is amazingly datable. If you have a bit of the rim, there are common types of shell-edge Pearlware that you can date within 5 or 10 years. The exact molding of the rim changes shape, and the color gets changed. If I had the books on me (and they're several thousand miles away from me at the moment, so I can't) I could get a date within 10 years for a piece of shell-edge rim a lot smaller than this.

It's partly luck - this piece happens to have a reasonably identifiable design - and partly having done this a lot and having looked through a load of archaeological literature on the subject.


Edit: It's worth noting that Pearlware, Creamware, and Whiteware are archaeological terms, not ceramics terms. Each category encompasses a certain level of variation and a number of discrete styles for the simple reason that it's pretty rare to be able to further differentiate based only on the tiny sherds that are typically recovered.

The studio I work at has a copy of this book and we LOVE it. I am basically a beginner - I have been at this just over a year now, and I find it incredibly helpful to figure out my problems before pestering my two instructors with questions. I'm a big believer in self-taught troubleshooting. This book is helpful too because sometimes even they dont know what the particular problem is, and we can learn about it together!

I think you're a great friend for willing to spend (a fair bit) of money on another friend's hobby :)

Clay and Glazes For the Potter is the best resource for glaze formulation. An older edition can be picked up pretty cheaply. I think I paid $15 for my copy. http://www.amazon.ca/Clay-Glazes-Potter-Daniel-Rhodes/dp/0873418638

The ceramic spectrum is also pretty good as well http://www.amazon.ca/Ceramic-Spectrum-Simplified-Approach-Development/dp/0873418212

Ceramics by Philip Rawson has been really helpful. It's a pretty well rounded book, giving you both a history to pottery, and principles by which to work by. It's also just a fun read. It's 13 bucks used on amazon, so pretty cheap too.

Welcome to the clay world and this sub. I highly recommend you pick up a copy of A Potters Workbook. https://www.amazon.com/Potters-Workbook-Clary-Illian/dp/0877456712 It is the best at teaching you the underlying concepts of form. I try and run through the exercises every few years and am always learning.

I think he'd find this book quite interesting if he's into technical stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Pottery-Handbook-Revised/dp/1568365527

If he fires at home, getting him a glaze recipe book is always cool. I've got a book on Cone 6 glazes and I love to just look at the different example pieces. They usually have a lot of info on chemistry too.

Glazes that contain manganese and copper can be safe for food if they're properly formulated. The studio technician should be able to tell you which glazes are safe for food. The smart thing for a studio to do is to completely avoid glazes that are not food safe.

If you want to do some research on glaze safety, a great book is Mastering Cone Six Glazes, but it's really tailored for people who are mixing their own glazes.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Potters-Book-Glaze-Recipes/dp/0812237714 is my go to book for glazes, its a great guide to glazing as well as having loads of tested recipies.

Propane and natural gas burners are not compatible. Make sure whatever your source of fuel matches the burner you buy.

These are good for raku temperatures and beyond.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006NXASIC

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00282LP34

I just ordered "Pinch Pottery" by Susan Halls. I saw it in the class I was taking and loved it. It is a focus on various handbuilding techniques.

Pinch Pottery: Functional, Modern Handbuilding https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1454704136/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Z-csyb3D70WP9

This book is also good for mold making of more than 2 parts. https://www.amazon.es/Plaster-Model-Making-Charles-Chaney/dp/0671764675

Fred Olsen's Kiln Book

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Wood-Fired-Ceramics-Marc-Lancet/dp/0873497422

http://www.amazon.com/Wood-Fired-Stoneware-Porcelain-Jack-Troy/dp/080198484X/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1464209094&sr=1-3-fkmr0&keywords=Woodfiring+principles

Those are my two favourites.

The White Road

https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Pottery-Machine-Brushless-Ceramic/dp/B07WC16TNH/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=pottery%2Bwheel&qid=1572064049&sprefix=pottery%2B&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNzNWVDUwRk45SUFXJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDc5MTE5MjJOQU9CWUdBSDNMUyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODUwMjY5VTNFTTgxS1JWTVlWJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1

My professor made [very large pots](http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/gallery/current%20work/current-14.htm
) too.

He also has a fantastic book showing his methods.

(Throwaway account because I don't want any alumni from that school to see the weird stuff I post)

I'm a fan of doing and trying new things. Building a kiln is probably something you could do. I'd just warn you that the brick in your existing grill probably won't stand up to the heat of a high fire kiln. There are specific bricks formulated as fire brick and they are rated to various temps.

If you like the idea of building you own then go for it! I'd start with some research. Maybe buy your wife a kiln book for Christmas then see what she says?

https://www.amazon.com/Kiln-Book-Frederick-L-Olsen/dp/0812221869/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481064608&sr=8-1&keywords=kiln+book