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Earthenware
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<h2 id="characteristics">Characteristics</h2> <p>Generally, unfired earthenware bodies exhibit higher <a href="/facts/Plasticity_(physics)/2VKo6keA">plasticity</a> than most whiteware<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> bodies and hence are easier to shape by <a href="/facts/RAM_press/LLCBWqs0">RAM press</a>, <a href="/facts/Glossary_of_pottery_terms/PRYVx1Vg">roller-head</a> or <a href="/facts/Potter%2527s_wheel/T3IuyAtF">potter's wheel</a> than bone china or porcelain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <p>Due to its porosity, fired earthenware, with a water absorption of 5-8%, must be <a href="/facts/Ceramic_glaze/eWJqJTYk">glazed</a> to be watertight.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> Earthenware has lower <a href="/facts/Strength_of_materials/CE77cUcB">mechanical strength</a> than bone china, porcelain or stoneware, and consequently articles are commonly made in thicker cross-section, although they are still more easily chipped.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p><p>Darker-coloured <a href="/facts/Terracotta/Yze0TnSH">terracotta</a> earthenware, typically orange or red due to a comparatively high content of <a href="/facts/Iron_oxide/KDo8hLWn">iron oxides</a>, are widely used for flower pots, tiles and some decorative and oven ware.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="production">Production</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Pottery/XLcUT1mX">Pottery § Production</a></p> <h3>Materials</h3> <p>The compositions of earthenware bodies vary considerably, and include both prepared and 'as dug'; the former being by far the dominant type for studio and industry. A general body formulation for contemporary earthenware is 25% <a href="/facts/Kaolin/N7D6K65q">kaolin</a>, 25% <a href="/facts/Ball_clay/PLgqNuD0">ball clay</a>, 35% <a href="/facts/Quartz/4n86tE2G">quartz</a> and 15% <a href="/facts/Feldspar/DVvFnfA9">feldspar</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h3>Firing</h3> <p>Earthenware can be produced at firing temperatures as low as 600 °C (1,112 °F) and many clays will not fire successfully above about 1,000 °C (1,830 °F). Much historical pottery was fired somewhere around 800 °C (1,470 °F), giving a wide margin of error where there was no precise way of measuring temperature, and very variable conditions within the kiln. </p> <p>Modern earthenware may be <a href="/facts/Biscuit_(pottery)/z7eYkPh2">biscuit</a> (or "bisque")<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> fired to temperatures between 1,000 and 1,150 °C (1,830 and 2,100 °F) and <a href="/facts/Glost_firing/eWJqJTYk">glost-fired</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> (or "glaze-fired")<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> to between 950 and 1,050 °C (1,740 and 1,920 °F). Some studio potters follow the reverse practice, with a low-temperature biscuit firing and a high-temperature glost firing. Oxidising atmospheres are the most common. </p><p>After firing, most earthenware bodies will be colored white, buff or red. For iron-rich bodies earthenware, firing at comparatively low temperature in an oxidising atmosphere results in a red colour, whilst higher temperatures with a reducing atmosphere results in darker colours, including black. Higher firing temperatures may cause earthenware to <a href="/facts/List_of_pottery_terms/PRYVx1Vg">bloat</a>. </p> <h2 id="examples-of-earthenware">Examples of earthenware</h2> <p>Despite the most highly valued types of pottery often switching to stoneware and porcelain as these were developed by a particular culture, there are many artistically important types of earthenware. All <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek_pottery/nkaEDXbD">ancient Greek</a> and <a href="/facts/Ancient_Roman_pottery/dj14TSfL">ancient Roman pottery</a> is earthenware, as is the <a href="/facts/Hispano-Moresque_ware/r3rz7nLd">Hispano-Moresque ware</a> of the late Middle Ages, which developed into <a href="/facts/Tin-glazed_pottery/ywk4JX5b">tin-glazed pottery</a> or <a href="/facts/Faience/Tlb7dgFh">faience</a> traditions in several parts of Europe, mostly notably the painted <a href="/facts/Maiolica/5Vp9DXCk">maiolica</a> of the Italian Renaissance, and Dutch <a href="/facts/Delftware/CoXc5qcR">Delftware</a>. With a white glaze, these were able to imitate porcelains both from <a href="/facts/East_Asia/D8yGVCQX">East Asia</a> and Europe. </p><p>Amongst the most complicated earthenware ever made are the life-size <a href="/facts/Yixian_glazed_pottery_luohans/45lRfCbU">Yixian glazed pottery luohans</a> of the <a href="/facts/Liao_dynasty/aLMKfWr7">Liao dynasty</a> (907–1125), <a href="/facts/Saint-Porchaire_ware/EbU8anTd">Saint-Porchaire ware</a> of the mid-16th century, apparently made for the French court and the life-size majolica peacocks by <a href="/facts/Mintons/l9hrP0RL">Mintons</a> in the 1860s. </p><p>In the 18th century, especially in English <a href="/facts/Staffordshire_pottery/VEq8GJ5x">Staffordshire pottery</a>, technical improvements enabled very fine wares such as <a href="/facts/Wedgwood/KIWHUycS">Wedgwood</a>'s <a href="/facts/Creamware/cfmGV4Kk">creamware</a>, that competed with porcelain with considerable success, as his huge creamware <a href="/facts/Frog_Service/IEWTIrMf">Frog Service</a> for <a href="/facts/Catherine_the_Great/FTVM1heM">Catherine the Great</a> showed. The invention of <a href="/facts/Transfer_printing/HYDXNCVh">transfer printing</a> processes made highly decorated wares cheap enough for far wider sections of the population in Europe. </p><p>In China, <a href="/facts/Sancai/53GntlRE">sancai</a> glazed wares were <a href="/facts/Lead-glazed_earthenware/It4IPIdt">lead-glazed earthenware</a>, and as elsewhere, terracotta remained important for sculpture. The <a href="/facts/Etruscans/yw3dmLgd">Etruscans</a> had made large sculptures such as statues in it, where the Romans used it mainly for figurines and <a href="/facts/Campana_relief/29JC2KPn">Campana reliefs</a>. Chinese painted or <a href="/facts/Tang_dynasty_tomb_figures/t3AFKGWI">Tang dynasty tomb figures</a> were earthenware as were the later Yixian glazed pottery luohans. After the ceramic figurine was revived in European porcelain, earthenware figures followed, such as the popular English <a href="/facts/Staffordshire_figures/venscUeg">Staffordshire figures</a>. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <p>Other types of earthenware or other examples include: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Terracotta/Yze0TnSH">Terracotta</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Redware/Vbjj1c8h">Redware</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Victorian_majolica/A2HwszHu">Victorian majolica</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Lusterware/fte2Esej">Lusterware</a>, which uses iridescent glazes</li> <li><a href="/facts/Raku_ware/scUzXzV7">Raku</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Ironstone_china/6y2yfgKG">Ironstone china</a>, on the border of earthenware and <a href="/facts/Stoneware/h6JS15YF">stoneware</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Yellowware/o5luJbcf">Yellowware</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_classifications_of_pottery/E2lunnsa">List of classifications of pottery</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Rado, P. An Introduction to the Technology Of Pottery. 2nd edition. <a href="/facts/Pergamon_Press/qe6ctSTB">Pergamon Press</a>, 1988.</li> <li>Ryan W. and Radford, C. Whitewares: Production, Testing And Quality Control. Pergamon Press, 1987.</li> <li>Hamer, Frank and Janet. <i>The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques.</i> A & C Black Publishers Limited, London, England, Third Edition, 1991. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-8122-3112-0.</li> <li>Peterson, Susan; Peterson, Jan (2003). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=PAZR-A9Ra6EC&pg=PA143"><i>The Craft and Art of Clay: A Complete Potter's Handbook</i></a>. Laurence King Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1856693546 – via google books.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/DLDecArts/DLDecArts-idx?id=DLDecArts.RepManEarth">Digital Version of "A Representation of the manufacturing of earthenware"</a> — 1827 text on the manufacture of earthenware</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070831123241/http://www.nfb.ca/objectifdocumentaire/index.php?mode=view&filmId=12&language=english&sort=title">Short film on pottery making around the world</a></li> <li><a href="https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O21195/button/">Tin-glazed earthenware livery-button, ca 1651</a>, <a href="/facts/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum/vUMjeHBn">Victoria & Albert museum</a> <a href="/facts/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum/vUMjeHBn">jewellery collection</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>ASTM C242 – 15. Standard Terminology Of Ceramic Whitewares And Related Products <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Art & Architecture Thesaurus Full Record Display (Getty Research)". www.getty.edu. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2018. <a href="http://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?find=earthenware&logic=AND¬e=&english=N&prev_page=1&subjectid=300140803" target="_blank">http://www.getty.edu/vow/AATFullDisplay?find=earthenware&logic=AND¬e=&english=N&prev_page=1&subjectid=300140803</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Dora Billington, The Technique of Pottery, London: B.T.Batsford, 1962 <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>David W. Richerson; William Edward Lee (31 January 1992). Modern Ceramic Engineering: Properties, Processing, and Use in Design, Third Edition. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-8247-8634-2. <a href="978-0-8247-8634-2" target="_blank">978-0-8247-8634-2</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Rice, Prudence M. (March 1999). "On the Origins of Pottery". Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. 6 (1): 1–54. doi:10.1023/A:1022924709609. S2CID 140760300. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Combined Nomenclature of the European Union published by the EC Commission in Luxembourg, 1987 <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Dora Billington, The Technique of Pottery, London: B.T.Batsford, 1962 <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Combined Nomenclature of the European Union published by the EC Commission in Luxembourg, 1987 <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>An industry term for ceramics including tableware and sanitary ware <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Whitewares: Testing and Quality Control. W.Ryan and C.Radford. Institute of Ceramics & Pergamon. 1987. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Pottery Science: Materials, Process And Products. Allen Dinsdale. Ellis Horwood. 1986. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>J. R. Taylor; A. C. Bull (1986). Ceramics Glaze Technology. Institute of Ceramics & Pergamon Press. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ygvFQgAACAAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=ygvFQgAACAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Whitewares: Testing and Quality Control. W.Ryan and C.Radford. Institute of Ceramics & Pergamon. 1987. <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Dora Billington, The Technique of Pottery, London: B.T.Batsford, 1962 <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Whitewares: Testing and Quality Control. W.Ryan and C.Radford. Institute of Ceramics & Pergamon. 1987. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Dictionary of Ceramics, 3rd edition. A. E. Dodd & D. Murfin. Maney Publishing. 1994. <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Rich, Jack C. (1988). The Materials and Methods of Sculpture. Courier Dover Publications. pp. 49. ISBN 9780486257426. <a href="9780486257426" target="_blank">9780486257426</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Ceramic Arts Daily – Ten Basics of Firing Electric Kilns". ceramicartsdaily.org. 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012. <a href="http://ceramicartsdaily.org/firing-techniques/electric-kiln-firing/ten-basics-of-firing-electric-kilns/" target="_blank">http://ceramicartsdaily.org/firing-techniques/electric-kiln-firing/ten-basics-of-firing-electric-kilns/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>Norton, F.H. (1960). Ceramics an Illustrated Primer. Hanover House. pp. 74–79. <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Dora Billington, The Technique of Pottery, London: B.T.Batsford, 1962 <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Frank and Janet Hamer, The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>