The Armour Archive

Thanks to a light summer work load, I've got the chance to spend a few hours every day in the pottery studio again. In the past two weeks, I've already worked through 125lb of clay making a mixture of modern mugs and medieval pitchers, and I plan to offer much of what I make here for sale in a few months (look for it in September).

I really like making early period shapes, and I've been throwing a lot of Viking Age continental and English pieces. I've also been dabbling with a few 14th century mug shapes, and might make a few pitchers. Here's what I was working on today (the clay's still wet; most of these will become spouted pitchers):


(for a sense of scale, the middle shelf is about 14" tall)

Here are some of the pieces I've sold here in the past:


Anglo-Saxon pitcher


Another Anglo-Saxon pitcher

More early period pieces: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=116471
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=120389




Some 14th century jugs (with a modern mug for scale) - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=119169



While I'm not so much interested in taking on individual commissions (they often stress me out, and part of why I'm doing this work is to relax from my real job), I am interested in hearing what sorts of things you would like to see me put up for sale here in a few months to give me some ideas for new projects to try.

More early period pitchers, mugs and bowls!
My friend sniped your last pieces before I could get any. Dibs!!!!!

I put five 11th century cups in the kiln today to test out new glazes, threw seven bowls and two more cups on the wheel this afternoon, and made nine spouts for some 8-9th and 11th century pitchers that I've half finished. I'll have things for you to choose from!

any chance on you making any plates to match the mugs and bowls I got from you on your last post...?

Alric of Drentha wrote:I put five 11th century cups in the kiln today to test out new glazes, threw seven bowls and two more cups on the wheel this afternoon, and made nine spouts for some 8-9th and 11th century pitchers that I've half finished. I'll have things for you to choose from!

YAAAAAAAY!!!!!

Evidence for early period ceramic plates is scare in the sources I've examined, but I might be able to work up something plausible.

In general, I try to stick to shapes that I can find in archaeological reports and museum pieces, but is there some wider interest in early period style plates, even if the documentation is a little sketchy?

I definitely want one of those gorgeous Anglo-Saxon pitchers and six cups to go with it! Bowls would be great, too!

Yes, there is interest in early period plates as well as other feast gear.

Amphoras to store wine! they keep it cool without refrigeration!

Alric do you have any 14th century mugs in stock? I thought it would be a good idea place my helm on top of mine, and, oddly enough, I'm now without a mug.

I would love to see more like the middle mug pictured here; with the wide basin at the bottom but straighter lip to make it easier to drink from without splashing like a slob. I have a mug in this style with the wide lip (tulip shaped?) that i use every day for my coffee, but it requires you to drink slowly in sips. Great in practice for hot coffee and the first beer, bad for cold coffee and the 4th beer.

I also dig the size in which you make these. The one i have holds about a quart, and it's sort of heavy and burdensome to carry around all day. This has a lot to do with the size of the basin, i think. If it were made smaller so that the basin could be held in the hand as opposed to by the handle it would seem less clunky.

PM sent.

Lucian Ro wrote:Alric do you have any 14th century mugs in stock? I thought it would be a good idea place my helm on top of mine, and, oddly enough, I'm now without a mug.

Nothing in stock yet - I'm still working with wet clay, and it'll be a few weeks before anything is finished. I am working on a few 14th c. mugs right now, however, and I could let you know so you can see if you like them once they're finished. Nothing will be done before Pennsic, unfortunately, if you're looking for something by then.

Alric of Drentha wrote:

Lucian Ro wrote:Alric do you have any 14th century mugs in stock? I thought it would be a good idea place my helm on top of mine, and, oddly enough, I'm now without a mug.

Nothing in stock yet - I'm still working with wet clay, and it'll be a few weeks before anything is finished. I am working on a few 14th c. mugs right now, however, and I could let you know so you can see if you like them once they're finished. Nothing will be done before Pennsic, unfortunately, if you're looking for something by then.

I am indeed but I can always be talked into another. Looking forward to see what you're making.

16th century food prep and eating ware and majolica drug jars/albarellos might be an interesting project for you.

Lots of neat shapes and nuances of design.

Here's a teaser of what I'm working on (I'll be posting these and many more for sale sometime in September).

I just pulled these pitchers and cups out of the kiln this evening! The cream pitchers and cups are 10/11th century Anglo-Saxon. The black cup is my first attempt to reproduce the foil decoration found on Tatingware pitchers like the ones found at Birka (8-9th century).



Here are more of the same style of cup that are waiting to be bisque fired (the first firing, in which the raw clay is hardened so it can be glazed and fired a second time):



A few 10/11th century Anglo-Saxon lamps, fresh off the wheel and still wet:



I'm working on a few different styles of 14th century mugs, jugs, and pitchers, as well some other types of early period pitchers, cups, and bowls. Stay tuned for more in progress pictures as I get everything fired!

[whine] I miss having a kickwheel and a kiln. I wanna get my hands in some clay and start playing again! [/whine]
Stellar work, Alric. Are the cream pieces just salt-fired, or did you gas-fire with a glaze? Love the foil decoration; how did you do that?
Really like the grooves you put in the bellies of the Anglo-Saxon cups; that's a beautifully subtle detail that often can get overlooked.

Dansknecht wrote:16th century food prep and eating ware and majolica drug jars/albarellos might be an interesting project for you.

This

Keegan Ingrassia wrote:[whine] I miss having a kickwheel and a kiln. I wanna get my hands in some clay and start playing again! [/whine]
Stellar work, Alric. Are the cream pieces just salt-fired, or did you gas-fire with a glaze? Love the foil decoration; how did you do that?
Really like the grooves you put in the bellies of the Anglo-Saxon cups; that's a beautifully subtle detail that often can get overlooked.

Thanks, Keegan! I've admired some of your work that you've posted here in the past as well, it sucks that you don't have access to a kiln right now. I had to take a year off as I got settled into grad school and it hurt; I feel your pain!

Everything is fired in an electric kiln, believe it or not, which is all I have available at present. I had to do a lot of tinkering to get the right look, and I'm thrilled with how this stuff turned out (I just got it out of the kiln two hours ago). I'm hoping to get access to a wood kiln again, but that's a big maybe at this point. I'm planning on making a few earthenware pieces for myself and smoke firing them, but I'll probably keep all of those pieces for myself as they won't be glazed or nearly as durable as these stoneware pieces.

The foil on the black cup was glued on after the firing, which appears to be what was done on the original Tatingware pieces, from what I've read thus far.

Byzantine tableware (plates and such)

Ever try a salt firing? That makes an impressive "glaze". We did one in my ceramics class many years ago.

I would be happy to take a tatingware pitcher and 4 cups off your hands.....

Haldan

Glaukos the Athenian wrote:Amphoras to store wine! they keep it cool without refrigeration!

DITO for sure!

NorthHammer wrote:

Glaukos the Athenian wrote:Amphoras to store wine! they keep it cool without refrigeration!

DITO for sure!

This is from the Landsknecht forum: "I've been looking for nice round copper cauldrons that I could afford for years! They all seem to be soo expensive. I've never found anyone making the amphora style tall cooking pots." I had not heard of cooking in an amphora (apparently held in a tripod stand) before(?) Is anyone familiar with the pros and cons of this type of cooking vessel (other than it also stores wine)?

Very interested in 14th century pitchers, mugs, plates. Let me know when your 14c stuff gets done and I will certainly take some off your hands.

Late Romano British, really early (600) NorthUmbrian, Irish, or Scottish styles here please. I have a feeling my chances of getting any from this years batch is pretty slim

Thanks to everyone for some really cool ideas! I've been using my relatively flexible grad school summer schedule to put in forty hour weeks in the studio over the past month, and I've been able to make a lot, but time constraints have limited the number of new projects I've been able to try. It's the typical craftsperson dilemma: do I spend a day making several dozen pieces of a style I've already mastered, or spend that day fiddling with something new and challenging, and thereby learn new skills but not produce very much.

In the fall, however, I'll be back into a full load of courses. So I'll only have a few hours a week to dabble, making it harder to set up a production line and easier to master some new styles. I'll be looking in to many of your ideas!

Galileo wrote:Ever try a salt firing? That makes an impressive "glaze". We did one in my ceramics class many years ago.

I haven't, though I'd very much like to! I often wish I were in an arts program so I could play with all the wonderful firing techniques I haven't tried yet.

kaolin wrote:Late Romano British, really early (600) NorthUmbrian, Irish, or Scottish styles here please. I have a feeling my chances of getting any from this years batch is pretty slim

What sort of North Umbrian pottery? Cups and bowls, or something more complex? I've been researching 6th century North Umbrian burials since last semester (for my grad studies, not reenactment), so anything from this time and place interests me very much.

I would definately be interested in plates.. nothing specific as far as time.. just plain ole at least 10" wide.. plates Hubby is a Saxon and I'm Irish and couple hundred years apart.. so if you need a time period, between 900 and 1250.

[quote="Alric of Drentha
What sort of North Umbrian pottery? Cups and bowls, or something more complex? I've been researching 6th century North Umbrian burials since last semester (for my grad studies, not reenactment), so anything from this time and place interests me very much.[/quote]

Cups, pitchers, plates, bowls, storage vessels, cooking vessels you name it I'm really, really interested in it. I guess a couple of cooking vessels would be first on my want list. I have both the York Pottery book and the Flixsburrough Artifacts book if you need me to scan some of the profiles and descriptions in just let me know.

BTW are you willing to part with your Anglo-saxon pitchers right now?

Mead mazers. That is all.

YES! Mead mazers!

+1 to vote

I though mazers were typically made out of wood? If not, and there's evidence to ceramic mazers, awesome!

Keegan Ingrassia wrote:I though mazers were typically made out of wood? If not, and there's evidence to ceramic mazers, awesome!

I may have been in error- I could have sworn Gayre's book had illustrations of ceramic mazers- I shall have to check further!

I'd love a source for ancient Greek styled Kylix cups. They can even be undecorated.

T. Finkas wrote:I'd love a source for ancient Greek styled Kylix cups. They can even be undecorated.

Now this makes me really sad, that I don't have a wheel.