Pottery

Materials

Crafts - Clay

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Pottery

Potters make vessels for storage and preparation of food, as well as vessels for carrying and keeping various liquids and other dishes. The fired clay is called pottery (ital.terracota). It is also known as folk ceramics. The craft was developed wherever the findings of red clay were discovered in the area. Pottery used to be one of the most widespread crafts in all of Serbia. After the WorldWarII production of pottery abruptly decreased.

Pottery served the basic needs of Serbia’s population for hundreds of years./p>

Pottery was manufactured usually in workshops located in both towns, and cities. The famous centres of pottery in Serbia are: Pirot, Bela Palanka, Nis, Vranje, Negotin, Zajecar, Prizren, Kosovska Mitrovica, Arandjelovac. Pottery prevails today to a much lesser extent and with an altered structure of production.

The methodology of manufacturing

First, the appropriate earth clay material is selected. It is then blended/compounded with water in order to obtain a paste-like mass ready for handshaping (with or without a potter’s wheel). The pottery pieces are baked in special kilns and thereupon the objects are gradually dried and possibly glazed, hand painted and decorated with incising.

There are four different techniques of pottery making in the Balkans :

Handmade pottery;
Pottery made on handwheel;
Pottery made on footwheel;
Pottery made with a mold;

As regards technologies of the material itself, ceramics are divided into the following categories: - Earthenware (temperature of approximately 850 C) - Faenze, tin glazed earthenware of Italian influence (temp. of app. 1050 C) - Majolica, tin glazed earthenware of the Italian influence (temp. of app. 1050 C) - Stoneware (1280 C) - Porcelain (heating of app.1350 C).

C* means Celsius temp. scale.

Materials

Crafts - Clay

Pottery

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