DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1401#0488
434
THE ILLUSTRATED EXHIBITOR.
sembling that of turning in the common lathe. In this
manner all circular forms are produced ; vessels, and the
parts of vessels, which are not circular, such as the
handles, spouts, feet, &c, are produced by moulding or
casting, and are afterwards attached to the vessels which
have been formed upon the lathe, as already described.
The surface of the vessels thus formed is rough, and the
texture of the material more or less porous, so that it would
imbibe any liquid which might be poured into it. To
prevent this, and to give greater beauty and durability to
the article, it is dipped into a liquid of creamy consistency,
which holds in suspension some substance capable of vit-
rifaction. After immersion, a coating of this creamy
liquid adheres to the surface of the vessel. ^ The water
which holds the vitrifiable substance in suspension is partly
imbibed by the material of the vessel. The vessel thus
ornamentation is produced are metallic oxides. "When the
pattern or design has been drawn upon the surface, the arti-
cle is again submitted to the agency of fire, by which the
colours which have been laid upon it are not only vitri-
fied, but changed in their tints. It is therefore necessarv
that the manufacturer should have the skill to foresee the
effect of fire upon his colouring materials. In this he
often errs, and is therefore obliged to retouch his work
and submit it a second time to the oven before it can be
regarded as finished.
The first attempts made in Europe to fabricate a hard
earthenware covered with a coloured glaze are ascribed to
the Moors of the Spanish Peainsula in the 19th century.
After this the manufacture was established in the island
of Majorca, where it was carried on upon a considerable
scale. In the 14th century a manufactory of earthen-
A
VIEW OP THE SEVPvES ROOM IN THE GREAT EXHIBITION.
coated is placed in an oven, and again exposed to the
action of heat of sufficient intensity to vitrify the coating
with which it is invested, so that when withdrawn from
the oven the coating is converted into a true glass, and
the vessel is said to be glazed. In the coarser sorts of
pottery, the material of which is red or brown clay, the
glaze is coloured and opaque, so that the vessel coated
with it takes the colour of the glaze, the clay composing it
being concealed. In the finer earthenware, the material
of which is white clay, the glaze is generally colourless
and perfectly transparent, so that after vitrifaction the
surface of the earthenware is seen through the glaze,
which is, in fact, nothing more than a coating of trans-
parent and colourless glass. Sometimes a pattern in
colours is made upon the surface of the article before the
glaze is produced upon it. In such case the pattern is
seen through the glaze, and is preserved by it. In other
cases, however, the ornamentation is made after and
upon the glaze. The colouring materials with which the
ware, which afterwards obtained considerable celebrity.
was erected at Faenza, in the States of the Church,
where a commerce in stoneware was carried on upon a
considerable scale, and from which that description of
ware came to be known in France and on the continent
by the name of " Faience/' This ware was, however,
made of a red clay, and was necessarily coated with a
coloured and opaque glaze. After some time it was
imitated with considerable success, and was much im-
proved both in France and Holland. A manufactory was
established by the celebrated Bernard de Palissy, at
Saintes, in France; and another, on a not less considerable
scale, at Delft, in Holland. From this latter place large
exportations of this ware were made to England, whence
it came to be called in this country " delft." f During this
period considerable improvement was made in its manu-
facture, a white plastic clay being discovered and substi-
tuted for the red clay of Faenza, and a transparent colour-
less glaze substituted for the opaque and coloured coating
im
THE ILLUSTRATED EXHIBITOR.
sembling that of turning in the common lathe. In this
manner all circular forms are produced ; vessels, and the
parts of vessels, which are not circular, such as the
handles, spouts, feet, &c, are produced by moulding or
casting, and are afterwards attached to the vessels which
have been formed upon the lathe, as already described.
The surface of the vessels thus formed is rough, and the
texture of the material more or less porous, so that it would
imbibe any liquid which might be poured into it. To
prevent this, and to give greater beauty and durability to
the article, it is dipped into a liquid of creamy consistency,
which holds in suspension some substance capable of vit-
rifaction. After immersion, a coating of this creamy
liquid adheres to the surface of the vessel. ^ The water
which holds the vitrifiable substance in suspension is partly
imbibed by the material of the vessel. The vessel thus
ornamentation is produced are metallic oxides. "When the
pattern or design has been drawn upon the surface, the arti-
cle is again submitted to the agency of fire, by which the
colours which have been laid upon it are not only vitri-
fied, but changed in their tints. It is therefore necessarv
that the manufacturer should have the skill to foresee the
effect of fire upon his colouring materials. In this he
often errs, and is therefore obliged to retouch his work
and submit it a second time to the oven before it can be
regarded as finished.
The first attempts made in Europe to fabricate a hard
earthenware covered with a coloured glaze are ascribed to
the Moors of the Spanish Peainsula in the 19th century.
After this the manufacture was established in the island
of Majorca, where it was carried on upon a considerable
scale. In the 14th century a manufactory of earthen-
A
VIEW OP THE SEVPvES ROOM IN THE GREAT EXHIBITION.
coated is placed in an oven, and again exposed to the
action of heat of sufficient intensity to vitrify the coating
with which it is invested, so that when withdrawn from
the oven the coating is converted into a true glass, and
the vessel is said to be glazed. In the coarser sorts of
pottery, the material of which is red or brown clay, the
glaze is coloured and opaque, so that the vessel coated
with it takes the colour of the glaze, the clay composing it
being concealed. In the finer earthenware, the material
of which is white clay, the glaze is generally colourless
and perfectly transparent, so that after vitrifaction the
surface of the earthenware is seen through the glaze,
which is, in fact, nothing more than a coating of trans-
parent and colourless glass. Sometimes a pattern in
colours is made upon the surface of the article before the
glaze is produced upon it. In such case the pattern is
seen through the glaze, and is preserved by it. In other
cases, however, the ornamentation is made after and
upon the glaze. The colouring materials with which the
ware, which afterwards obtained considerable celebrity.
was erected at Faenza, in the States of the Church,
where a commerce in stoneware was carried on upon a
considerable scale, and from which that description of
ware came to be known in France and on the continent
by the name of " Faience/' This ware was, however,
made of a red clay, and was necessarily coated with a
coloured and opaque glaze. After some time it was
imitated with considerable success, and was much im-
proved both in France and Holland. A manufactory was
established by the celebrated Bernard de Palissy, at
Saintes, in France; and another, on a not less considerable
scale, at Delft, in Holland. From this latter place large
exportations of this ware were made to England, whence
it came to be called in this country " delft." f During this
period considerable improvement was made in its manu-
facture, a white plastic clay being discovered and substi-
tuted for the red clay of Faenza, and a transparent colour-
less glaze substituted for the opaque and coloured coating
im