The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Potter's Craft, by Charles F. Binns This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Potter's Craft A Practical Guide for the Studio and Workshop Author: Charles F. Binns Release Date: August 4, 2012 [EBook #40411] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE POTTER'S CRAFT *** Produced by Mark C. Orton, tallforasmurf and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Frontispiece Stoneware Made by the Author. The Potter's Craft A Practical Guide for the Studio and Workshop B y C H A R LE S F. B I N N S Director of the New York State School of Clay-Working and Ceramics ¶ Some time a Superintendent in the Royal Porcelain Works, Worcester, England SECOND EDITION SECOND PRINTING 26 PLATES AND 20 TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS colophon NEW YORK D. VAN NOSTRAND COMPANY, Inc. EIGHT WARREN STREET Copyright, 1910, 1922 by D. Van Nostrand Company All rights reserved, including that of translation into the Scandinavian and other foreign languages. Printed in the United States of America LANCASTER PRESS, INC. LANCASTER, PA. "A book is written, not to multiply the voice merely, not to carry it merely, but to perpetuate it. The author has something to say which he perceives to be true and useful, or helpfully beautiful. So far as he knows, no one has yet said it; so far as he knows, no one else can say it. He is bound to say it clearly and melodiously if he may; clearly, at all events." —Ruskin. P R E FA C E TO S E C O N D E D I T I O N Since the publication of the first edition of this book eleven years have elapsed, years packed full of varied and interesting experiences. During that time it has been the pleasant fortune of the author to conduct classes, especially summer classes, in the science and art of pottery production. These have been occasions of meeting many fine and noble personalities whom to know is a liberal education. As one of the consequences of these experiences the book has been revised and some new chapters have been written. Especial acknowledgments are due and are gratefully made to Elsie Binns for the chapter on Clay-Working for Children and to Maude Robinson for that on Alkaline Glazes. The photographs are by the Taylor Studios, Hornell, N. Y. C. F. B. Alfred, New York. March, 1922. P R E FA C E TO F I R S T E D I T I O N This Book is the outcome of an experience extending over a period of thirty-six years. Twenty years ago it would have been impossible, for the science of ceramics was not then born. Ten years ago it would have been wasted for the Artist-potter in America had not arrived, but now the individual workers are many and the science is well established. Written teaching must be imperfect, but I have endeavored to set down the exact methods by which my students are taught, in the hope that those who cannot secure personal instruction may read and understand. As far as possible didactic statements have been avoided and the attempt has been made to lead every student to experiment and to think for himself. In other words, I have tried to erect sign-posts and occasional warnings rather than to remove all obstacles from the road. C. F. B. Alfred, New York. March, 1922. C O N T E N T S Introduction.—The Present Need xiii Chapter I. Applied Art 1 II. Pottery 9 III. Porcelain 23 IV. The Nature and Properties of Clay 29 V. The Preparation of Clay 37 VI. Mold-Making and Plaster 43 VII. Cases and Working Molds 58 VIII. Building by Hand 68 IX. The Potter's Wheel 74 X. Turning 99 XI. Making Large Pieces 107 XII. Cups and Saucers and Plates 124 [v] [vii] [viii] [ix] XIII. Casting 129 XIV. Tiles 133 XV. Glazes and Glazing Part I 140 Part II—Matt Glazes 152 Part III—Fritted Glazes 157 Part IV—Recipes 160 Part V—The Defects of Glazes 164 Part VI—Alkaline Glazes 167 XVI. Decoration 173 XVII. The Fire 179 XVIII. High Temperature Wares 188 XIX. Clay-working for Children 194 INDEX 201 LI S T O F P LAT E S Frontispiece.—Stoneware made by the Author. Plate. Page. I Throwing.—Lesson II, 1 80 II Throwing.—Lesson II, 2 81 III Throwing.—Lesson II, 3 82 IV Throwing.—Lesson III, 1 83 V Throwing.—Lesson III, 2 86 VI Throwing.—Lesson IV, 1 87 VII Throwing.—Lesson IV, 2 89 VIII Throwing.—Lesson V 90 IX Throwing.—Lesson VI, 1 92 X Throwing.—Lesson VI, 2 93 XI Throwing.—Lesson VII 95 XII Throwing.—Lesson VIII, 1 96 XIII Throwing.—Lesson VIII, 2 97 XIV Making Large Pieces. The First Section 109 XV Making Large Pieces. Measuring the Foundation of the Second Section 110 XVI Making Large Pieces. Drawing up the Second Section 111 XVII Making Large Pieces. Shaping the Third Section 112 XVIII Making Large Pieces. The Three Sections Completed 113 XIX Making Large Pieces. Turning the Edge of the First Section 114 XX Making Large Pieces. Finishing the Bottom of the First Section 116 XXI Making Large Pieces. Checking the Size of the Second Section 117 XXII Making Large Pieces. Fitting Together Dry 119 XXIII Making Large Pieces. Setting the Third Section in Place 120 XXIV Making Large Pieces. The Three Sections Set Together in the Rough 121 XXV Making Large Pieces. The Finished Vase 122 I N T R O D UC T I O N T he P r esent N eed Many times it has been proven, in the history of the world, that it is not possible to force a reform or a novelty upon an unwilling people. Such things are organic. In order to live they must grow and in order to grow must live. No attempt will be made, therefore, in these pages to foster an idea or propound a thought which may exist only in the predilection of the author. [xi] [xii] [xiii] The trend of the present demand, a persistent growth of several years, is towards a personal and individual expression in the crafts or industrial arts. This tendency is the natural swing of the pendulum from the machine-made product of the manufactory which in its turn was the inevitable result of mechanical invention. When the artisan was an artist and the designer a craftsman, there was but a limited production of industrial art. The articles made were expensive and for the wealthy alone. The common utensils necessary to the household were made on the farm and were of the rudest possible character. But with the gradual development of machinery there came an abandonment of rural activities, a flocking to the city, manufacturing on a large scale, lower prices, and a huge output. This has, of course, taken many years to develop, but the utmost limit of the swing has been reached and the question is "What next?" Will the factory cease its labors? Will output decrease in bulk and improve in quality? Will there ever, in a word, be a return to medieval conditions? Not only may all these questions be answered in the negative but it may be stated with all sincerity that there is no need for any other answer. What then, are not manufactured products as now put forth a menace to the art life of the nation? Are not the people being educated in the use of and belief in machine-made ornament and meretricious display? Perhaps so, but no good purpose will be served by a ruthless condemnation of these things. Art appreciation is a most subtle thing and no one may dictate to his neighbor as to what he should or should not admire. It took time for the public to understand and patronize the product of the machine even though the price was favorable. It will take time for an appreciation of craftsmanship to influence the land but this consummation will most assuredly come. On the one hand there is the manufactory, teeming with "hands," riotous with wheels, turning out its wares by the thousand and supplying the demand of the many; on the other, there is the artist-artisan. He labors at his bench in sincere devotion to his chosen vocation. His work is laborious and exacting, he can make but a few things and for them he must ask a price relatively high. Both these conditions are necessary. The craftsman cannot supply the need of the people and the manufacturer has no time or thought for disinterested production. Herein lies the need and here is the mission of the individual worker. In every age it is given to some to discern more than the multitude and it is theirs to teach. The people are anxious to learn, are eager to be led. What they demand will be manufactured and so by the irresistible lever of public opinion the man at the bench, if he be true to himself and to his craft, may move the millionaire manufacturer to make wares which, if not truly artistic, shall at least be inoffensive. Such a mission is not to be accomplished without suffering. The man who essays to attack a giant must be sure both of his ground and of his personal condition. He who would establish his craft in the knowledge and affection of men must possess enthusiasm, skill, discrimination and infinite patience. It is not enough to discern the good, the hand must follow the brain with diligent care. Furthermore, it is not enough to be able to make things well, one must also make them good and know it. The artist-artisan must have courage to destroy that which is below standard, and self-denial to resist the temptation to sell an unworthy product. The country needs craftsmen of this type and for them there is an important work. For such, if they elect to join the ranks of the potters, these words are written and in the hope that some may be stimulated, encouraged, guided and helped the counsel of a fellow craftsman is offered. C H A P T E R I A ppl i ed A r t It is not intended, in these lines, to consider what are generally termed the Fine Arts, painting and sculpture. These are perfectly competent to take care of themselves and, indeed, the author can make no claim to an ability to discuss them. In the field of applied art, however, there are certain principles to be observed, principles, moreover, which are frequently lost sight of because of the lamentable separation of the functions of the artist and artificer. It is extremely difficult to draw the line between art and manufacture. For example, a wall paper, designed with skill and executed by machinery in actual reproduction of the work of the designer; is it a work of art or is it a product of the factory? It is both. Primarily a work of art is the product of the artist's own hand. It reveals his individuality. It is the language in which he expresses himself to his audience. It is the note of his voice. Such a work may or may not appeal to a large section of the public. This will always be so. An artist, be he poet, musician, painter or craftsman, is one who can see more than others. What he sees he endeavors to express but it is inevitable that he be sometimes misunderstood. Hence it the more necessary that his message be delivered at first hand. To look upon a replica of the work of an artist is like reading a sermon or an oration from a printed page. One may gather much of the teaching but the personal note, the tone and gesture, must be lost. But there are many who can gather the words of great men only from books. There are, moreover, books which have never been spoken and wherein alone the message is to be found. In like manner there are works, emanating from the hand of great designers which can only be made available for the many in a form of reproduction. The wall paper cited as an illustration is of this class. Were it not for the printing press this beautiful design could not have passed beyond the studio, and while it is a great thing if a wealthy man can commission a Whistler to decorate a peacock room, it is an advantage by no means to be ignored that a well designed wall paper can be purchased by the piece. But while this is true of such of the household goods as cannot be procured except by the medium of the machine, there are other examples. In the case of the wall paper the function of the machine is simply to transfer the proper design to the paper itself. This has no identity except as a surface. It is no more to be considered than is a canvas upon which a picture is painted. But when a chair or a table is formed out of pieces of lumber uniformly shaped by one machine, the seat or top put together by another and the [xiv] [xv] [xvi] [1] [2] [3] legs or back carved or stamped by a third, art or individuality is lost because mechanical construction is involved. Still more is this the case in the product of the manufactory of pottery. In commercial practice not only is a shape designed without regard to decoration but the same decoration is placed upon several forms, or a single form is made to suffer as the vehicle for many decorations. Some of the results may be pleasing, even beautiful, but it is more by luck than guidance and no piece produced in this way has any claim to be classed as a work of art. On the other hand it may happen that a work of art, in the sense of individual expression, may not even be beautiful and one is tempted to ask the reason. If a work which is a genuine expression of a man's personality fail to please the senses of those who are trained in the finer perceptions there must be something wrong. If the adverse opinion be at all general amongst the critics it may be assumed that they are right and that the worker is wrong. For example, the form of a flower is not a fit receptacle for a . It often happens that a designer, struck with the beauty of, say, a tulip, has modeled the flower in clay and made it into a candlestick. Now it is obvious that the more closely the model simulates the flower the less appropriate it is for such a purpose. If the model be heavy enough to be of use it must be far removed from its prototype. If a conventional design for a candlestick be adopted the petals of a flower may be shown in relief upon it but there must always be a solid foundation to account for the possibility of use. A favorite form with some designers is a bird's nest made into a flower holder. In this the same criticism applies. A bird's nest is always built to let water escape. Even a mud-lined nest is not impervious and the idea is obviously inappropriate. It is important that imitation be avoided and especially the imitation of material. One often hears the remark "How beautiful, it looks just like bronze." This, of course, comes from the casual observer to whom the skill of the imitation appeals but it cannot be too strongly insisted upon that to imitate one material in another is false from every point of view. Nor is it necessary. Clay is sufficient in itself. There are so many effects possible in pottery which are not possible in any other medium that it is entirely superfluous to seek outlandish texture and color. To be sure, such things are popular but that does not make them sound in principle or true in taste. It should not be a purpose of any craft to make pieces merely as an exhibition of skill. This is done sometimes by such versatile workers as the Japanese, but it may be laid down as a law that a production of the nature of a tour-de-force, an object which simply excites wonder at the skill of the worker, is undignified and meretricious. It is akin to the work of certain painters who delight in painting marble or velvet so as to exhibit a perfect texture only and is but one degree removed from the skill of the pavement artist who with colored chalk draws a lamb chop or a banana in such a manner that the real article seems to be lying on the ground at his feet. The true artist, be he potter or painter, works primarily for his own satisfaction. It sometimes happens that a defect, not large enough to be obvious, is a temptation to concealment. The public will never know. But the consciousness of the existence of such a blemish will destroy the pride of achievement which should accompany every finished piece. If the worker aims to draw any expression of opinion from the untrained observer it should be in the nature of a remark on how easy the work looks. Art will always conceal effort. Just as the poet or orator is at his best when he clothes sublime thought in simple words so the artist or craftsman glorifies his vocation when he makes use of means which appear to be within the reach of every observer. In addition to the work of the producer there must be considered the function of the critic. Artists are commonly impatient of criticism. Tennyson voiced this sentiment when he wrote of "Irresponsible indolent reviewers," but the power of the critic is rarer than the skill of the craftsman. True, there are critics and critics. There is the man who knows what he likes and who cannot be persuaded that he likes what is false, and there is the trained critic who sees with an educated eye and dissects with an unerring word. It is not common to find critic and craftsman in one and the same person and it not infrequently happens that the persons exercising these functions are at variance with each other. But if the critic be correct why is the craftsman wrong? In this let it be presumed that there is nothing wrong with his craft as such; that he handles his tools skilfully and has perfect control over his material. More than this, however, is necessary. The first requirement is a sense of form, a term which includes outline, proportion and structure. Often and often it is found that a designer depends upon novelty alone for acceptance. He is not altogether to blame in this for the great American public will, more often than not, ask, "Is it new?" Novelty in itself is no claim to consideration; in fact, on being shown some product of which it is said "Nothing like it has ever been seen before," the temptation is great to respond, "May its like never be seen again." Novelty apart, form must possess proportion, balance and grace. A chair must invite the sitter, a vase must stand securely, a carpet must lie flat. The absence of these things may evidence an individuality on the part of the designer but it is art at the expense of truth. The second necessary condition is fitness which again is expressed in several ways. A porcelain vase is required to be light, graceful and refined. A piece of ruder pottery may be no less satisfactory if it exhibit vigor, strength and solidity. A large pot for a growing tree is, for these reasons, more appropriate in grès than in porcelain. Porcelain is translucent but such a quality is of no advantage in the case of a flower pot; the strength of a massive body is, however, demanded by the circumstances of use and hence the unfitness of the one and the fitness of the other. Another point of fitness is concerned in the correspondence between size, form and weight. It often happens that one takes hold of a piece of pottery and experiences a shock. The mind unconsciously forms an estimate of what the weight will be but the piece does not respond. The effort put forth in accordance with the appearance of the object either lifts it suddenly into the air or fails to raise it from the table. The artist critic takes note of these things. To handle his wares is a constant pleasure, for one is not continually disappointed by unexpected violences. This correspondence or equilibrium is apart from the use of a piece of pottery. It is quite as legitimate to express one's ideas in clay in the presentation of simple beauty as it is to express them with paint upon [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] canvas. At the same time there is always a satisfaction in a vase or flower pot that it can be used if required. Thus a vase which will not hold water is technically imperfect and the bête noire of the conscientious potter. It is in the harmony of these things that the rôle of the critic is seen to advantage. If the artist be capable of criticizing his own work he is in a position to command attention but he must either discipline himself or be disciplined by others, which, after all, is the way of the world at large. C H A P T E R I I P otter y It must always be an open question how much credit for artistic feeling can be given to primitive races. The production of pottery was, at first, the supplying of a need. Clay offered a medium for the making of household utensils which were at once fireproof and impervious. The work does not belong strictly to the earliest stages of civilization but is a development of advancing refinement.[A] Crude and unprepared clays were used for the most part but the makers could scarcely have been conscious of the charming color-play produced by the burning of a red clay in a smoky fire. The pottery of the Indians is artistic in the sense of being an expression of an indigenous art and much of it is beautiful, though whether the makers possessed any real appreciation of beauty is open to doubt. The pottery was exclusively the work of the women. No wheel was employed but the ware was mainly constructed by coiling. Long strips of clay were rolled under the hands and made of uniform size and these were then coiled in spiral form, the rolls being welded together with water. After proceeding a certain height the walls of the growing jar would become weak under their own weight. The piece would then be set aside to undergo a partial hardening upon which the work would be carried forward another stage. The shape being completed and partially dried, the maker would work over the whole surface with stones or simple tools until the marks of the coils had disappeared and the walls had reached a sufficient thinness. A great deal of skill was exercised in accomplishing this. Many of the Indian forms are transitional. The basket, the gourd and the bark-made jar suggested their shapes to the potter; indeed it is sometimes evident that clay vessels were constructed as linings to wicker forms, the outer layer of twigs being afterwards burned off. The firing was performed in the open flame without any protection, a fact which accounts for the great irregularity found in quality and color. The decorations used by the Indian women were of the type common to unglazed wares. The clay was incised or embossed and natural earths were used as pigments. This accounts in great measure for the fitness which may be observed in aboriginal decoration. There is an absence of artificial coloring, nor is there any straining after effect, but instead there is shown a sober strength and a sane expression of values which would do credit to a modern designer. America is fortunate in possessing abundant relics of primitive times but it cannot be doubted that in other lands similar work was done, making allowance, of course, for the characteristic variations in national traits. The potter's craft is of such a nature, using an omnipresent material and requiring the minimum of tools, that almost every nation on the globe has practiced it. In some it has never been developed beyond the narrow limits of the stone age, in others it has reached the utmost perfection of cultured skill. For perfection of quality in crude pottery, no ware has ever surpassed that of Greece. It is not practicable here to deal with the numerous branches and sub-branches of Greek pottery; let it suffice for the present purpose to speak of only two main groups. In the first, the background of the decoration was supplied by the tint of the bare clay; in the second, this tint afforded the color of the decoration itself, the background being covered with a black pigment. To speak briefly these groups are known as black-figured and red-figured wares. The wheel was early adopted by the Grecian potters as a means of producing form and although molds were sometimes used, the wheel was, to all intents and purposes, the sole method of manufacture. Greek pottery is once fired. Birch classes it as glazed terra cotta, but the glaze is nothing more than the black pigment with which the decoration is carried out. The uncolored part of the clay is not glazed but polished with a hard tool. Probably some famous potters employed assistants either to make the pieces or to decorate but it does not appear that there was any reproduction, at least, during the best period. At first primitive ideas prevailed. Geometric designs were succeeded by rhythmic friezes of beasts and birds done in black. When the human figure made its appearance the faces were all in profile with full-fronting eye while the prominent details of feature and drapery were scratched with a sharp point before burning. The change of method to red on black gave much wider scope for the treatment of the human figure, rendered a fuller expression possible and enlarged the power of pictorial action. Great skill in drawing was manifested and details of both drapery and features were expressed with great care by means of the brush. Such was the state of the art when the decadence set in and the work fell into the hands of plagiarists and charlatans. Meretricious coloring and gaudy ornament succeeded the refinement and restraint of the earlier days and so the art perished. To the inventive power of the Romans the ceramic art owes more than one novelty. It would appear that the desideratum of the early days was a black ware. Homer in his hymn wrote: "Pay me my price, potters, and I will sing. Attend, O Pallas, and with lifted arm protect their ovens, [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Let all their cups and sacred vessels blacken well And baked with good success yield them Both fair renown and profit." The Greeks accomplished this blackening by means of a pigment, the Romans secured a similar result by a manipulation of the fire. It is well known that the oxide of iron which imparts to the clay a red color will, if burned in what is known as a "reducing" fire, turn black. This is accomplished by keeping the air supply at the lowest possible point and the effect is heightened by the smoke which is partly absorbed by the clay. This black ware is known as Upchurch pottery from the name of a locality in England where large quantities have been found, but numerous examples occur in Germany and, indeed, wherever the Roman hosts encamped. A second type of pottery is called Castor ware and consists of a dark clay upon which the decoration is traced in clay of a lighter color. The decoration was applied as a slip or cream and hence was the forerunner of the modern slip painting or pâte-sur- pâte. This ware is well worth a study. The decorations consisted largely of conventional borders and panels but it is specially notable on account of the free use of motives drawn from daily life. One of the commonest scenes depicted is the hunt of hare or stag, the animals and trees being often woven into an almost conventional frieze. The most valued type of Roman pottery seems to have been the Aretine or Samian ware. This is a bright red color and possesses an extremely thin glaze. A particular clay was evidently used, but all knowledge of its source has been lost. With the importation of Chinese porcelain by the Dutch the whole trend of pottery manufacture was changed. No longer was black a desirable color, white was seen to be much more delicate and beautiful and henceforth the endeavor of the potter was to produce a ware which should be as nearly like porcelain as possible. The crudeness of the clay kept this ideal from being realized, but various expedients were adopted and gradually better results were obtained. Throughout the East a type of white pottery was made which, though stimulated by the Chinese example, may have been a relic of the knowledge of the Egyptians. A crude clay was coated with a white preparation, possibly ground quartz, and upon this there were painted conventional designs in sombre colors. A clear glaze covered the whole and imparted to the colors a beautiful quality as of pebbles under water. The nature of the glaze is made evident by the hues assumed by the metallic oxides employed as colorants. Copper oxide affords a turquoise blue, manganese, a wine purple, and iron, a brick red. If the glaze had contained any considerable amount of lead oxide, these colors would have been quite different; copper would have produced green, manganese, dark brown, and iron, yellowish brown. The iron pigment was evidently a clay, sometimes spoken of as Armenian bole. The red color is always in raised masses because if a thin wash had been used the color would have yielded to the action of the glaze. This ware, commonly called Oriental engobe ware, affords a fruitful study. Effects similar in character were produced by the late Theodore Deck of Paris, but no considerable use of the ancient methods has ever been attempted. The use of tin and lead in glazing was known to the Arabian and Moorish potters but these ingredients were not abundant in the East. When, however, the Moorish hosts conquered a part of Spain in the twelfth century it was found that both lead and tin were available. The result was the development of the enameled ware known by the generic name Maiolica. Some have maintained that this was first made in Italy but the name is derived from the island of Maiorca from which much of the pottery was exported. The famous Alhambra vase remains as a monument to the skill of the Hispano-Moresque craftsmen, but it was the Italian artists of the Renaissance who brought the enameled wares to perfection. The interest here is artistic and technical rather than historical, but no one can study the work of the period without learning something of Luca della Robbia and Giorgio Andreoli, of Gubbio and Pesaro and Castel Durante. The use of lead in the glaze proved seductive. It simplified the technical problems and provided a brilliant surface but alas! the colors suffered and one by one they succumbed. The blue of cobalt, however, proved indestructible and so, when the technical knowledge of the South met the traditions borrowed from the Chinese, there was born, in the little town of Delft in Holland, the blue enameled ware which has ever since been known by the name of its native place. As to the technical details of the production of Delft ware a great deal of information is available. The clay used contained a goodly proportion of lime and this served to hold the enamel in perfect union with the body. The decoration was painted in cobalt blue upon the unburned surface of the enamel. This was, in a measure, courting a difficulty but it is the glory of the craft that a difficulty is cheerfully accepted if in the overcoming there is found success. If the Delft potters had burned their enamel in order to make the painting easy, the world would never have enjoyed the tender tone of blue for which this pottery is famous. By painting the blue color over the powdery enamel, a more perfect union of enamel and color was accomplished than would have been possible by any other means. This fact alone is sufficient to account for the unsatisfactory nature of the modern, so-called, Delft. Difficulties have been avoided rather than met and the success of the early masters has eluded their recent followers. Much of the pottery made in France in the seventeenth century was inspired by the Italian renaissance. In fact the word faience is due to the avowed intention of the manufacturers of Nevers to copy the enameled pottery of Faenza. Almost the only novelty of the time was the inversion, by the Nevers potters, of the Delft idea. Instead of a white enamel with a blue decoration they used, in part, a blue ground with a decoration in white. It is not known that this variation found acceptance in any other place but in many localities, notably at Rouen, the manufacture of enameled wares was pursued with great success. The only real difference between the wares of Spain, Italy and France, lies in the decorative treatment. Sometimes the emphasis was laid upon lustres, sometimes on blue and white and again upon polychrome painting. In one place there was an extensive use made of pictorial treatment, in another all was conventional. The differences are interesting to a student or a collector but to the craftsman enameled pottery affords but one, though by no means an unimportant, means of expression. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] France, however, gave birth to two important and interesting departures from the beaten track; the so-called Henri deux ware, and the faience of Bernard Palissy. Important as these are to the ceramist, it is a remarkable fact that neither of them had any appreciable influence upon the art as a whole nor did they leave any descendants. A good deal of controversy has raged around the pottery commonly known as Henri II, some authorities claiming that it should be called Faience d'Oiron, and others assigning to it the name Saint Porchaire. It was, quite evidently, the production of an individual or group of individuals who had no connection with ordinary pottery manufacture, and the small quantity produced is evidence that it was made for personal pleasure. The name Henri II is undoubtedly satisfactory, for it was made in the reign of the second Henry and some pieces bear the monogram of the king. On the other hand H may be the initial of Helene d'Hengest, who occupied the chateau d'Oiron and who had in her employ one Bernard who filled the position of librarian. The style of the work seems to indicate a devotion to books, for the patterns are suggestive of book-binding tool work but were not produced in the same way. The ware was made of a natural cream-colored clay and the shapes were modeled with great skill. Upon the plain surface patterns were tooled or incised and the hollows thus formed were filled in with dark-colored clays. The whole was then covered with a clear lead glaze which afforded a finish very much like modern earthenware. The origin of this work is a matter of little more than academic interest but the technical details are of such importance as to be well worth a study. The ware is original and unique. No pottery either before or since has approached it in method, and the quality of most of the pieces is all that could be desired. Such was the elaboration of detail that no price could have been set upon the ware and it was evidently not made for sale. A distinct growth in style can be traced. The first pieces were somewhat archaic and even crude but as skill was acquired greater perfection was attained. As is too often the case, however, the skillful hand overreached itself and the later pieces are loaded with meretricious detail in many colors. There are only about fifty pieces known and these are equally divided between the museums of France and England. Bernard Palissy was a versatile genius but is here only considered as a potter. He states in his records that he was inspired by seeing an enameled cup. It was at one time supposed that this cup was of Italian maiolica but later authorities incline to the belief that it was a piece of Chinese porcelain which Palissy supposed to have been enameled. No white clay was known to him but enameled wares were quite accessible. It can scarcely be believed that maiolica was a novelty but it can easily be understood that a piece of white porcelain, viewed in the light of the contemporary knowledge of enamels, would appear of marvellous quality. Palissy essayed to imitate this wonder but attacked the problem from the standpoint of an opaque glaze. He spent fifteen years in experimenting but never realized his ideal. He did, however, produce a palette of marvellous colored enamels. He was a close student of nature and modeled all kinds of natural objects, glazing them in the proper hues. He also designed and made vases and service pieces, some with figure embossments. The story of his struggles is readily accessible to any who are interested. Palissy left little or no impression upon the ceramic art of his time but in recent years some work has been done in colored glazes fusible at a low temperature. This ware is sometimes sold under the name of maiolica but it is more nearly an imitation of Palissy. The main difference between the two types is that while the maiolica or tin-glazed pottery of Spain, Italy and France consisted for the most part of a white enameled surface upon which painting was applied, Palissy used little or no white enamel but decorated his wares with tinted glazes which themselves supplied the colors. In the low countries and the German states there was made the striking and original pottery known as Grès de Flandres. The clay was of the type commonly used for the manufacture of stone-ware and appears in three colors, brown, gray and cream. The ware was made on the wheel and embossments more or less elaborate were subsequently added. The unique feature consisted in the method of applying the glaze. This was simply common salt, thrown into the heated kiln and volatilized. The salt vapor bathed the glowing pottery and combined with its substance, thus producing the delightful orange-skin texture known as salt glaze. The knowledge of this method was conveyed to England in the seventeenth century and gained wide acceptance there. The English potters preferred to use clays which were almost white, and after glazing a decoration in brilliant colors was sometimes added. Naturalistic treatment was not attempted but conventionalized subjects were used with almost the effect of jewelry. The temperature at which this work can be produced varies with the clay. Many fusible clays will take a salt glaze but the beauty of the product depends to a large extent upon the purity of the body. This necessitates a hard fire, for white-burning clays always need a high temperature for vitrification. The early potteries of England were dependent largely upon clay effects. Some little enameled ware was made and is known as English Delft; but the bulk of the work was slip painted, incised, marbled or embossed. Each of these methods is capable of an intelligent application and all are within the reach of the artist potter. C H A P T E R I I I P or cel ai n The production of porcelain is the goal of the potter. The pure white of the clay and the possibility of unlimited fire treatment exert a profound influence upon the imagination while the difficulties of manipulation only serve to stimulate the energy of the enthusiast. For present purposes not much is to be learned from the soft porcelains of France nor from the bone china of England. German and French hard porcelain are but developments of the Chinese idea and therefore need not be studied apart from their prototype. The earliest date of Chinese porcelain is unknown. The records of the nation are very ancient but their meaning is often obscured by the fact that in the Chinese language the same word was used of old to denote both porcelain and earthenware. Specimens dating from only the tenth century A. D. look almost incredibly old. They are coarse and heavy in structure but are aglow with vibrant color. The finest porcelains date from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and these are the ideals towards which every [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] modern potter looks. Broadly it may be stated that two methods prevailed. In the former the glaze itself was charged with color or the coloring matter was applied to the clay beneath the glaze. In the latter the porcelain was finished as to body and glaze and the decoration was applied at a subsequent and much lighter burn. The first named class is called single-colored porcelain; the second has several names such as the famille rose and famille verte as defined by Jacquemart. In the single-color class it is evident that the potters were not at all sure of their results. In many museums there are to be found examples of ox-blood red, more or less fine, and, with them, other pieces which were intended to be red but which failed in the fire. The wonder is, in these cases, that the pieces, even though failures, are beautiful. The knowledge required for the production of these wares is largely scientific; at the same time it is not to be believed that the Chinese had any special scientific training. They evidently traveled a long and tortuous path before the goal was reached, in fact, they often fell short of it altogether, but they had plenty of time and unlimited patience. The modern potter is, if less patient, more fortunate in that the course has been marked out with more or less accuracy and, if the landmarks of science be heeded, a certain degree of success may be attained. This single-color work is the true field of the ceramist. Anyone possessing the power of using a pencil, and with a large stock of patience, may produce over-glaze decoration, but to prepare glazes of many hues and to consign them unprotected to the fury of the furnace, requires skill, patience, courage and enthusiasm. During the last twenty years a new school has arisen which combines in a measure the advantages of the two Chinese methods. Colors are prepared from refractory materials and upon clay or soft burned biscuit ware, scenes, in more or less conventional form, are painted, or else a design purely conventional in character is applied by the artist. The ware is then glazed and subjected to the severe fire which all porcelain undergoes. The result is that the porcelain and the painting are united in a sense that can never be the case with over-glaze treatment. The colors become part of a purely ceramic unit; the spirit of the artist is fixed by the fire. To this class belong the porcelain of Copenhagen and the recent product of Sevres. These, of course, represent the result of much arduous training and many tedious experiments. Both the training and the experiments are necessary to some extent for every worker, not only because pottery clays vary much in composition, but because individuality can only be obtained by the preparation, in the laboratory, of the desired compounds. The Chinese, doubtless, stumbled upon many of their successes by accident, helped by the fact that the character of the fire employed influenced many of their colors. This will be explained in a later chapter. They were, however, quick to seize upon that which was good. Many fanciful names were given to the rarest colors, such as "the violet of wild apples," "liquid dawn" and "the red of the bean blossom." This idea has been carried further in France by the invention of such names as "Sang-de-boeuf," "Sang-de- poulet," "clair-de-lune," etc., and pursued in this country in "Peach blow." In the over-glaze treatment, the type named "famille verte" is characterized by a clear green glaze or enamel over a design in black. The whole is painted over the porcelain glaze and the green enamel is so soft that it is often decomposed on the surface. When a broad black mass is covered with green the decomposition gives rise to prismatic colors and occasions the term "raven's wing black." Some of this ware has also been gilt but the gold lines have disappeared and can only be located by the slight dullness of the enamel where they once were. Well known to collectors also are the rose-back plates. These belong to the "famille rose" in which the characteristic note is a delicate rose pink. This color is prepared from gold and when it is placed upon the back of an egg-shell plate a tender rosy transparency is imparted to the piece. One of the best known of the single colors is the pale sea green named celadon by the French. This color in China was called "the sky after rain" and was considered both rare and valuable. The porcelain of Copenhagen is the product of scientific skill and artistic taste. In the studios attached to the Royal Manufactory there has grown up a tradition of work and criticism which is fostered by ladies of birth and position. Many of these paint upon the porcelain themselves and so constitute a school which has become world famous. Natural objects are, for the most part, chosen and, as the palette of colors is, owing to the intense fire, quite limited and low in key, a tone of quiet atmosphere pervades the painting. This is accentuated by the use of the air-brush to distribute a ground color upon the ware in graduated strength. At the National Manufactory of Sevres there has been some attempt to follow the Copenhagen method but to a greater extent the work is along the lines of conventionalized form. In this treatment the French artists excel, being wonderfully accurate—almost too accurate—in their lines and spacing. Several individual workers in France have also pursued this plan, designing and executing the pieces which have made the French artist-potters famous. In the porcelains of Berlin the quality lies largely in the complete mastery of technical details. The work is, as would be expected, German in style, but the paste is pure and the colors are well prepared. From this brief review it will be seen that the interest in the manufacture of porcelain lies not so much in variety as in the value of individual results. In the pottery described in the previous chapter a great many different clays were used and each one proved suggestive to the potter. In porcelain, on the other hand, the body clay is almost identical wherever prepared, the requirement of a white translucent paste being paramount. C H A P T E R I V T he N atur e and P r oper ti es of C l ay [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] Clay differs from earth or soil in that it possesses certain characteristics which these do not possess. Its distribution is very wide but for the most part it lies concealed from view. In certain parts of the country it is so abundant that it breaks through the surface or is exposed as an outcrop but usually it is covered by the soil which supports vegetation. Unless the subsoil consists of sand it is easy to expose a clay by plowing or digging with a spade. It usually appears as a greenish or bluish substance of close and uniform structure. The texture is sometimes smooth but more often numerous small stones are found imbedded in the mass. Such clays as are commonly found can be used for the manufacture of some kind of pottery but in the great majority of cases the ware will be red when fired because the clay contains a proportion of oxide of iron. A pure clay does not contain this and therefore becomes white or nearly white in the kiln. Pure clay, known as clay base or clay substance forms a part of all natural clays though sometimes only a small part. It consists of silica, alumina and water in a state of combination and is thus known as a hydrous aluminium silicate. While this substance is very common as an ingredient of ordinary clay, it is rarely found alone or uncontaminated. Commercial or workable clays may be said to consist of clay base and sand, with or without other impurities such as lime and oxide of iron. For working purposes it may be granted that the potter has to deal with a mixture of clay and sand. But sand is not a definite expression. It may vary both physically and chemically within wide limits. The physical nature has to do with condition, the chemical with composition. Thus a sand may be almost as coarse as gravel or as fine as the clay itself. It may be a pure quartz sand or it may be a crushed rock of almost any composition. The former is known as quartz, the latter as feldspar or feldspathic sand because it approaches in composition the group of minerals known as feldspars. Each of these ingredients, clay, quartz and feldspar, has an important part to play in the transformation of clay into pottery. Few of the clays used in making white pottery possess these ingredients in the correct proportions so that it becomes necessary to make a mixture in which the necessary proportions will be found. For successful pottery making three properties are demanded in a clay. First, plasticity. Without this, clay could not be shaped at all. It constitutes the obedience of a clay to the forming influence whether hand or mold. The necessity for this quality may be illustrated by the proverb "Making ropes of sand" as an example of the impossible. Sand, possessing no plasticity, cannot be shaped or made to hold together. The second property is porosity. A clay which exhibits a high degree of plasticity can be easily shaped but it cannot be safely dried. The water of plasticity cannot escape and therefore the clay warps and cracks. The function of porosity is to prevent this. A porous clay permits the water to escape freely and the clay can be dried without damage. This condition is produced by the admixture of sand or by the presence of sand in a natural clay. A coarse sand is more effective than a fine sand but a sand that is too coarse will interfere with delicate working while a sand that is too fine approximates the action of the clay itself and produces a substance which is dense rather than porous. Porosity is therefore the reverse of plasticity and these two properties must be adjusted so as to balance each other. The third necessary property is commonly known as vitrification but could be better named "densification" because complete vitrification is not attained in ordinary clay wares. This property may be defined as that which causes a clay to yield to the action of a high temperature so that the result is a ware, more or less dense, which is hard, durable and sonorous. With this there must be coupled a certain amount of resistance to heat treatment so that the pottery does not fuse or collapse during the firing. Here also is found the need for adjustment. The clay must yield to the fire but not completely. It must resist but not entirely. Plasticity is...