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everything from bowls to
flower vases and urns. As
the wheel turns, the potter
uses his or her hands to
shape the clay into the
desired form. Well-trained
potters can even add
tapered bases or necks to
pieces as the pieces spin on
their pottery wheel.
There is some debate
over when the potter’s
wheel was first used.
However, we know it dates
Ceramic vessel remains, bag-shaped jars made some 20,000 calendar years ago back to at least 2500 BC.
discovered at the Xianrendong Cave in China. A total of 282 pottery sherds were That is because Egyptian
recovered from the oldest levels of the cave. They have uneven thick walls between hieroglyphics from that time
1.4-1.5 inches, with round bases and inorganic (sand – mainly quartz or feldspar)
temper. The paste has a brittle and loose texture and a heterogeneous reddish and depict the use of potter’s
brown color from uneven, open-air firing. They appear to have been made with two wheels. We also know that
certain shapes, such as that
different techniques: sheet laminating or coil and paddle techniques. photo: Thought & Co.
of a well-formed goblet,
The Earliest Method of Producing Pottery were impossible to produce The Potter, 1574
The earliest pottery was produced using a method called open firing. without a potter’s wheel.
Open firing does not use a kiln or any specific Pre-wheel versions of such shapes may have existed, but they
structure. The pottery is simply heated over a were roughly formed.
fuel source. The fuel source used impacts the Modern potter’s wheels are designed for maximum effective-
way the pottery turns out. Some fuels burn ness and comfort. They are electrical and positioned at a perfect
slowly, while others, such as straw, burn quickly. height to save wear and tear on a potter’s back. However, most
Therefore, early potters had to learn to master early wheels were spun using foot power, which could be
the ability to control the heat by varying the cumbersome and tiring for potters working at their craft all day.
fuel used. Early potters also had other problems
with open firing. For example, open firing can Pottery Making and Decorating
reach temperatures of up to 900 degrees Techniques
Celsius. That’s over 1650 degrees Fahrenheit. Throwing may be what you traditionally
Working with such high heat had dangers on its own, but an added think of when you think of a potter working
danger was moisture. Any damp pottery exposed to such heat is capable at a wheel. It is a technique where the potter
of exploding. Thus, pottery had to be meticulously dried before firing. starts the wheel spinning then adds a ball of
clay. As the wheel keeps turning, the potter
The Addition of Kilns uses his or her hands to turn the ball of clay
Most experts agree the ancient Egyptian potters were probably into some sort of hollow, rounded vessel,
the first to use kilns for pottery making. A kiln is essentially an oven such as a vase or pot. The proper technique
used solely to make pottery, bearing no resemblance to ovens used for gives the walls of the vessel the same thick-
cooking food. ness throughout, which is difficult to achieve
Kilns throughout the ages have varied in size, shape, and construc- for potters who are not using a wheel.
tion from one region Coiling is another technique whereby
and time period to Above left: Medieval cup; coils of clay are distributed and hand
the next. However, At left: Greek 13th century pinched to create vessel walls. Hand coiling
the basic concept of pot with reversed color is an ancient process. Since the work has to
how they are used be spun as the coiling is done, it is difficult
remained the same. to do it by hand. Eventually, hand potters developed the process of
The purpose was to building their creations on top of flat plates they could turn. From that
create an insulated sprung the use of something called a “tournette,” which is a turntable.
and dry environment It was a precursor to the potter’s wheel. Even today, some potters still
in which to fire practice “fast coiling” on a wheel. But others simply throw and shape
pottery. Some kilns balls of clay.
were designed so
both the fuel and the The Good Potter and So Much More
clay to be fired were in the same chamber while others kept the fuel Early on potters were often members of a household looking to
sources separated from the pottery. create a specific item for a specific purpose. As the craft developed,
Kilns gave potters a new-found ability to control the environment those who designed and crafted higher-end and decorative pottery
around their pottery. By keeping environmental factors out of the tended to have certain characteristics. They were often gifted artists,
equation, pottery could be fired more safely. The distinct disadvantage chemists, naturalists, scientists, and curious enough to take chances
over open firing was the fact that temperatures never got as high in a with the clay, its shape, and application of color. They were also those
kiln as they did in the open air. Thus, kiln-fired pottery had its own that set trends and had the strength to work with heavy clay while being
distinctive properties and was not a replacement for open-fired pottery. delicate enough to create the very finest of delicate examples. Their days
and nights were long and hot and hard.
How the Invention of the Typically, the day-to-day makers of utilitarian pottery were not
Potter’s Wheel Changed Pottery necessarily the richest within society but were able to do the task put
Since its invention, the potter’s wheel has made the creation of forth by the overseer/supervisor. As far as physical attributes, upper
earthenware vessels with round shapes much easier. Such vessels include body strength, flexibility, and a good sense of touch were key. Tools

18 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles