How do I know if my pottery is salt or glazed?
How do I know if my pottery is salt or glazed?
You would need a keen eye to tell what pottery has been salt glazed….Final Appearance
- Rusty brown – a feature of the iron oxide used in the final design process.
- Blue – caused when the cobalt oxide is fired in a kiln.
- Orange peel color – the dimpled, high-gloss orange peel color does not occur evenly across the pottery.
How can you tell if salt is glazed stoneware?
A shiny, glass-like surface with occasional bumps indicates that the crock was salt-glazed and antique, since reproductions are often totally smooth. Simple decorations, which appear to be painted on freehand, are authentic, whereas printed or stamped designs are often reproductions.
How do you identify a salt glaze?
Salt-glaze or salt glaze pottery is pottery, usually stoneware, with a glaze of glossy, translucent and slightly orange-peel-like texture which was formed by throwing common salt into the kiln during the higher temperature part of the firing process.
What are drawbacks of salt glazing?
Disadvantages are that colors are limited, usually the brown or gray of the stoneware clay, and kiln damage. The sodium ions are not picky; they attack the kiln bricks (which are made of clay, of course) just as easily as the clay surfaces of the pottery.
When was salt glazed pottery?
White salt glaze stoneware was manufactured for a hundred year period between circa 1685-1785, although it was most popular from circa 1720-1770 (Edwards and Hampson 2005:30, 34, 46).
When were salt glazed crocks made?
Stoneware Crock, 1855-1880 The orange-peel-like outer glaze was created when the potter threw handfuls of common rock salt into a white-hot kiln during the piece’s firing. Salt-glazed stoneware pieces were decorated with an amazing array of designs, including the human figure and trees on this piece.
How was salt glazed stoneware made?
The rough-textured outer glaze was created when common rock salt was thrown into the kiln during firing, which vaporized and combined with melted silica from the pottery. The blue decoration–made with a cobalt oxide glaze mixture–lent variety and artistry to these otherwise plain pieces.
How does salt glazing work?
In its basic form, “salt reacts with the silica in the clay pots to produce sodium silicate.” Sodium silicate is essentially a liquid glass and therefore naturally glazed the pots, using the properties from the clay. Classic salt glazed pots often had a very distinctive orange coloring.
What were salt glazed crocks used for?
Before the advent of refrigeration, crocks were used in American kitchens to hold foodstuffs such as butter, salted meats and pickled vegetables.
Are old crocks worth money?
Collectively, antique stoneware crock values range from $500 to $400,000. However, actual antique crock selling prices depend on whether the crock has the iconic cobalt blue design.
How can you tell a vintage crock?
An antique crock typically has a thick structural wall, often with a telltale bow in the center. Antique crocks feature very simple freehand-painted decorations, usually executed in cobalt blue ink. Stenciled or hand-drawn letters and numbers also appear on most old crocks.
How can you tell if pottery is valuable?
Criteria to Tell if your Pottery is Valuable
- 1.1 1) Condition.
- 1.2 2) Rarity.
- 1.3 3) Authenticity.
- 1.4 4) Aesthetics.
- 1.5 5) Desirability.
- 1.6 6) Provenance.
- 1.9 Final Thoughts.