Pottery Party!

Did you know that we don't just have Roman objects in our collection? We have a wide array of objects, from sedan chairs, stone coffins and even mammoth teeth. But perhaps one of the most important finds we have is pottery. Pottery is a great tool for archaeologists as it gives an approximate time period for their excavation. But how do we know this? To figure it out, we employ the help of our trusty pottery flow chart.

The aim of this pottery game is to follow the questions on the flow chart to work out which time period your piece is from. If you are unsure about what a word means, scroll to the bottom of this article for our 'fun pottery words'. Let’s have a go together with this piece of pottery:

 

Do you think it is coated?

 

Coating is a shiny glaze which is put on the pottery for either decorative or waterproofing purposes - sometimes both! This sherd does have coating, as you can see the shiny green colour. Great! You answered the first question! Follow the flow chart to see where you end up next...

 

Is it coated only on the inside, only on the outside, or all over?

 

This piece is coated all over, as you can see the shiny green colour everywhere. It even has some lovely decorative addition on one side, with a motif that suggests nature and perhaps a recurring pattern. This takes us down to either Late Georgian period or the Victorian period. Congratulations! You narrowed it down to a much smaller time period. This piece is Victorian, and we can tell because of the fantastic colour and the decoration style.

 

Its intense green colour and the decoration tells us it is part of a 'Majolica' ware - a type of brightly coloured serving platter or plate that had recurring motifs with foliage or nature imagery on the top side. It would have been quite common in Victorian England.  You can see that this is a rim piece, showing a beautiful amount of detail in the patterning. 

This sherd came from an excavation in the Lower Borough Walls in Bath. Historically, the majolica ware's glaze was made from tin oxide which gave it the fantastically bright colour. Modern day majolica is still made today, but the tin has been replaced with something safer.

 

These are the kind of questions we ask ourselves as curators, archaeologists, and specialists to figure out the approximate time period of a pottery fragment, and now you've done it too. Consider yourself a pottery expert!

 

Fun Pottery Words

 

Ceramic or pottery – Pots, plates, cups and more that have been made from clay and heated to harden into a permanent shape.

 

Glaze – a glassy, shiny coating on the pottery used for both decoration and for protection, for example to make it waterproof.

 

Slip – a mixture normally made from clay and water that is put on the pottery before firing it. This slip can be colourful and decorative, and pottery with decorative slip is called ‘slipware’.

 

Kiln – a special oven made for firing pottery.

 

Firing – the process of putting the pottery in a kiln or fire at a high heat to harden the clay and make the pot usable. The exact process is different depending on what type of clay you are using, and what type of pottery you are making.

 

Handmade pottery – this is the oldest pottery technique. Handmade pottery involves shaping the pottery with your hands, such as pushing the clay into a curve with your fingers.

 

Wheel made or wheel thrown pottery – pottery that has been made on a spinning wheel to make it round. The spinning wheel has a flat, spinning surface that you can shape the pot on. This can also be called wheel thrown pottery, as you ‘throw’ the clay on the spinning wheel. Wheel made pottery is easier and quicker to make than handmade pottery.

Georgie

Collections placement student