Here you can see how I provide a Westerwald style jug with it’s typical glaze. This jug is a replica made after an example from the second half of the 17th or early 18th century. The original is part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Are there more reasons? Maybe! This is what I could think of and what seemed to make sense to me. By the way: traces of soot are found only on some of the dishes. Maybe the owners of the more heavily decorated dishes liked to keep their treasures clean or at least intact… especially since some of them were used to commemorate important moments in peoples personal lives like weddings for example.
By the way: a lot of the original dishes have less than three clearly visible imprints. It would be interesting to do some research into this but I wouldn’t be surprised if the average amount of impressions is only one.
A little experiment. I might do this more often in the future when I manage to sell the imperfect pieces. I think that re-enactors, museums and collectors might actually like the imperfections more when they realise it’s one step closer to to the original pieces.
Lavabo = Latin for “I will wash”. It’s a device for hand washing, usually combined with a bowl or basin to catch the water. Here I’m decorating the bottom of the lavabo with a fine white clay. The original lavabo is from Dordrecht NL and dates back to ca. 1400. You can hang this device by its handles and serve yourself by tilting the vessel with one hand while washing the other. Hence the two spouts.
Here’s a demonstration of how a bartmann face is applied on a jug. An earthenware mould is used to make an imprint into a very thin piece of clay. Next, the clay face can be stuck to the neck of the jug. The original moulds that were used for decorating bartmann jugs in the 16th and 17th centuries have been found by archaeologists in production sites like Frechen, Köln and Siegburg.
Here’s what happens if you fire your stoneware like a medieval potter: the pots stick together due to the high temperature in the kiln (1280°C). Modern potters often build separate levels in their kilns and make sure no piece is touching another one. It’s safer but also less efficient because every piece takes up a lot more space. The medieval stoneware potters of Siegburg often took the risk of having their pots stuck together in order to load their kilns as full as possible. To get the proper looks on these 15th century bowls, I took the same risk. The fire created a charming blush on the outside rim of the bowls but has left the insides and bottoms grey because of the way they were stacked, exactly like the original pieces from that period.
Below a video of the throwing process of a replica stoneware jug from the 15th century. This kind of stoneware was often thrown thin, fast and without care for perfection. The best replica’s of this type of pottery are a little bit askew and dented due to rough handling of the soft clay.
A behind the scenes video of the reconstruction of a 17th century Dutch porringer with the image of a dog.
Construction of a late medieval costrel from several parts.
Bartmann jugs, sometimes referred to as “Bellarmine jugs”, are among the most popular stoneware products of all time. How were they originally made? In the video below you can see how a thrown jug is decorated with a facemask, acanthus leaves and portrait medallions, following the 16th century production process.
Baardmankruiken, soms ook wel “Bellarmines” genoemd, behoren tot de populairste kruiken aller tijden. Hoe werden deze kruiken oorspronkelijk gemaakt? In de onderstaande video kan je zien hoe een gedraaide kruik op authentieke wijze wordt voorzien van een baardig gezicht, acanthusbladeren en portret -medaillons.
Some rare medieval ceramics have been decorated with erect penises. Whether they were intended as a joke or rather as a fertility symbol isn’t plain to see. However, we do know how they were made. In the video below you can see how a replica is being decorated with some puzzling willies. The beaker is made after an original in the Stadtmuseum Siegburg, dating back to the second half of the 14th century.
Enkele zeldzame middeleeuwse keramiekproducten zijn gedecoreerd met erecte penissen. Of deze waren bedoeld als grap of als vruchtbaarheidssymbool is niet duidelijk. We weten echter wel hoe ze werden gemaakt. In de onderstaande video kan je zien hoe een replica wordt versierd met zulke mysterieuze piemels. De beker is gemaakt naar voorbeeld van een origineel in het Stadtmuseum Siegburg en dateert uit de tweede helft van de 14de eeuw.
The video below is about the recreation of a 15th century maiolica albarello from Italy. These storage jars have been around since the middle ages and they remained a much appreciated ceramic art object in the Renaissance. Spanish and Italian potters adopted both the Arabic tin-glaze and the shape of the albarello and they sold their wares throughout Europe. If you want to learn more about the medieval albarello click here.
Onderstaande video gaat over de reproductie van een 15de eeuwse majolica albarello uit Italië. Deze voorraadpotten zijn in omloop sinds de middeleeuwen en ze bleven gewaardeerde kunstvoorwerpen tot in de Renaissance. Spaanse en Italiaanse pottenbakkers namen zowel de techniek van het tinglazuur als de vorm van de albarello van de Arabieren over en ze verkochten hun producten door heel Europa. Als je meer over de middeleeuwse albarello te weten wil komen klik hier.
Behind the scenes in the pottery during the assembly of a 15th century costrel reconstruction.
Video below: assembly of a medieval penis pipkin. Intro & outro pictures ©2019 D.Provost Sliding pipkin pictures © Raakvlak The original penis pipkin was found in Bruges and dates back to the 15th century. It’s in the heritage service collection Raakvlak in Bruges.
How was a 16th century tankard made? This stoneware cup, sometimes called ‘stein’ was inspired by pewter tankards from the same period. The stoneware variety was made in great quantities in Raeren and traded across Europe. It became one of the most common drinking vessels of the century. In the three videos below you can follow every step in the production process of a replica tankard. In this case it’s about the reproction of a rare variation of the “normal” plain cup with a decoration of scratched stripes.
Hoe werden 16de eeuwse pullen gemaakt? Deze steengoed beker, in Duitsland ook wel ‘stein’ genoemd, was geïnspireerd op tinnen pullen uit dezelfde periode. De steengoed variant werd in grote hoeveelheden in Raeren geproduceerd en door heel Europa verhandeld. Het werd een van de meest gebruikelijke drinkbekers van de eeuw. In de drie onderstaande video’s kan je het productieproces van een replica pul stap voor stap volgen. In dit geval gaat het om een replica van een zeldzame variatie op de “gewone” kale beker met een decor van ingekerfde strepen.