A scientific study of Choson white ware: early porcelain from a royal kiln at Kwangju Usanni

Scientific study of kiln site no. 9 at Usanni, one of the earliest royal Kwangju kiln complexes in operation (from the early 15th to the early 16th century), shows that the technological expertise used to produce white ware was inherited from the celadon technology of the Koryo dynasty. The body material, of low Al₂O₃ and high SiO₂ content, is based on porcelain stone. Such a material, with almost no titanium and a low level of iron, was a rediscovery of the white ware material used earlier at the Sori kiln from the 9th century through to the 11th century. Ash continued to be one of the major ingredients of the glaze, and wares were fired in much the same way as the Koryo celadon, in kilns constructed of mud and rocks and in two steps. The Confucian philosophy and aesthetic of frugality and simplicity adopted from the Ming dynasty onwards by the new government acted as the catalyst for the successful ascent of the new technology.     

A 17th-Century Kiln Site at Potterspury,Northamptonshire

Abstract

This report describes the excavation in 1965 of two adjacent wood-fired pottery kilns producing decorated and undecorated coarse wares and glazed fine wares during the second half of the 17th century. One kiln was of single flue type; the other, larger kiln, was double flued. The post-medieval kilns at Potterspury in Northamptonshire are reasonably well documented and it seems fairly certain that the kilns at present under discussion belonged to Leonard Benton. Their working lives began slightly before 1646 and terminated shortly after 1664. The products of the kiln are very diverse and include a great variety of the lead glazed, slip decorated wares which bear remarkable similarities to the Metropolitan wares of the London area and to the late 17th-century slip wares of Yorkshire.     

Polesworth: a north Warwickshire country pottery

Abstract

In 1986 excavations for house foundations at Polesworth in northern Warwickshire (SK 263 980) uncovered a pottery waster dump. Fine wares, lead glazed and unglazed coarsewares, including a number a horticultural vessels, were recovered, together with kiln furniture. An archaeological excavation adjacent to the construction site revealed stratigraphy relating to the backfilling of a clay pit with potting waste early in the 18th century. Documentary and other evidence shows that the pottery was in production from the late 17th to early 19th centuries.     

A 17th-century Kiln Site at Woolwich

Abstract

This report describes the results of the excavation of two adjacent kilns at Woolwich, one producing earthenware and one producing stoneware. Both date from the third quarter of the 17th century, though evidence suggests that the stoneware kiln is the earlier of the two. The report also includes a discussion of an earlier feature, a clay-lined pit, as well as several features associated with the three main features. The earthenware kiln had twin stoke holes and produced domestic pottery. The stoneware kiln had a single stoke hole and produced Bellarmine jugs with other stoneware vessels, and is the only stoneware kiln of this period yet discovered in Britain.¹     

The development of the bottle kiln in pottery manufacture in Britain

Abstract

This paper describes the types of bottle-shaped kiln used in the British pottery industry in the 1950s. It reviews the evidence of standing structures, archaeological fieldwork and documentary sources for their operation and antecedents. It concludes that their origins are to be found in developments of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, and that their widespread adoption was as much for cultural as for technical reasons.     

The Monuments in the Parish Church,Colyton, Devon

Abstract

This paper provides an edition of a stray duchy of Lancaster building account currently located in the archives of the Spalding Gentleman’s Society and relating to building works at Pontefract castle. The roll contains what are referred to as ‘the parcells’ of account for the year 1406–07. Few such accounts survive for this period. Pontefract was an important centre under Henry IV, having housed the deposed Richard II until his death. The work being done at the castle was part of the rebuilding of the quarters of Robert Waterton, constable of Pontefract. Robert de Gamelston of Nottinghamshire is known from other sources as a quarryman and master mason, but this account extends the period for which he is known to have been active. Details of the quarries and of the work and wages of the masons, carpenters and smiths are provided.     

Publications

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a fabric study of the late Roman coarse wares (3rd century–6th century A.D.) from the Roman coastal town of Potentia (Porto Recanati) Marche, Italy). The petrographic analysis established the presence of several imported coarse ware classes, originating from the eastern Mediterranean to northern Africa. Of particular interest are the Adriatic common wares, which allow us to examine and define the extent, scale, and configuration of ancient trade within Adriatic Italy. While it is difficult to trace trade routes, items transported as a secondary commodity, like regional coarse wares, can help in reconstructing ancient economic interaction. The burnished coarse ware discussed here documents the ancient N-S trade routes from the Po region to the central Adriatic. Moreover, the identification of a northern Italian ware in central Adriatic Italy shows that this burnished coarse pottery had economic value and was part of a wider distribution network within the Adriatic.     

COOKING AND PAINTED WARE FROM SAN GIUSTO (LUCERA,FOGGIA): THE PRODUCTION CYCLE,FROM THE SUPPLY OF RAW MATERIALS TO THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF PRODUCTS*

Archaeological excavation at the San Giusto site (Lucera, Italy) has unearthed a Late Antique kiln that was most certainly dedicated to the production of cooking ware. An archaeometric study of numerous specimens of cooking and painted ware found at this site was carried out using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, micro‐Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence, inductively coupled plasma mass and optical emission spectrometry and instrumental neutron activation analysis. The integration of historical–archaeological data with archaeometric data has revealed that these specimens can be attributed to the San Giusto site. Furthermore, the production cycle of this ware can thus be reconstructed: from the diversified supply of raw materials (fluvial and marine sediments), to the relatively complex preparation of the paste, to firing at variable temperatures (600–750°C for cooking ware; 850–1050°C for painted ware).     

钧窑三问——论钧窑研究中的几个问题

本文结合古代文献对钧窑研究中的三个问题进行了考证。第一,今人多将钧窑视为宋代的“五大名窑”之一,实际上钧窑在宋至明初大体默默无闻,明后期的文献中始对其记载,但直到民国时期仍未能列入“五大名窑”,20世纪后半叶钧窑才名列“五大名窑”,前提是“钧官窑”概念的确立,是建立在某些推论基础上的产物。第二,古代文献中所指的钧窑,除了指今之钧窑的一些特殊产品外,还可能指古钧州境内其他窑场的产品,现所称的钧釉瓷可能是某些文献所记之汝窑器。第三,《清波杂志》中关于窑变朱砂红瓷的记载,应指北宋末钧窑生产的红釉瓷。     

Housing the Loom, 1790-1850: A study of industrial building and mechanisation in a transitional period

Abstract

The architecture of the textile mill changed radically during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Influences affecting mill design included the way in which production was organised and the degree to which processes were mechanised. This article examines how the industry developed new building types to accommodate looms. In the early period, handlooms were frequently concentrated in distinctive loomshops. The powerloom, introduced in the early 19th century, presented new problems, and in an experimental period different branches of the industry developed different means of housing the new machines. The single-storeyed shed was the dominant building type adopted for powered weaving, but there were in the silk and tape branches prominent examples of factories in which powerlooms were housed in purpose-built multi-storeyed mills.     

Regional Journals in Geography: A Vision for the 21st Century*

Abstract

This paper (originally published in The North West Geographer, 1997, 1(1), 2–17)) contributes to the debate on journals in geography and the production of geographical knowledge by considering a hitherto neglected issue – the role of regional journals of geography. Initially, an overview is provided which considers issues such as the status of the regional journal within the discipline and its fortune relative to the changing concerns of geography in the late 20th Century. A case study of The Manchester Geographer then critically appraises this particular journal's contribution to geographical knowledge. Finally, and in conclusion, some suggestions are offered which it is believed would ensure that regional journals perform a useful and unique role in the production of geographical knowledge in the 21st Century.     

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF ROMAN AFRICAN RED SLIP WARE KILNS

Roman African Red Slip ware (ARS) sherds from four ARS kiln sites in modern-day Tunisia (El Mahrine, El Ala, Oudna and Pheradi Maius) have been analysed using instrumental neutron activation analysis. Multivariate statistical methods (including cluster analysis and Manhattan City Block distances), with a dilution correction applied to the data, were used to interpret the concentration data. Reference groups for each of the four kiln sites were established. Both El Mahrine and Oudna were described by two dilution-related groups. These kiln groups were all shown to be compositionally distinct from each other and suitable for use in provenance studies.     

A Clay Fireback at Hitchin,Hertforshire

Abstract

Two discoveries of pottery kilns at Brill, Buckinghamshire, during construction work in 1974 and 1975 are described. One, a fairly complete kiln, is dated to the early seventeenth century and two others to the latter half of that century. The last working Brill kiln of 19th-century date was also re-discovered. The longevity of the industry is briefly discussed and the products of the post-medieval phase described.     

Reviews

Abstract

An analysis of a group of underglaze-painted stonepaste vessels produced in Bilad al-Sham (Greater Syria) is presented. Decorated in turquoise and black pigments under a colourless glaze, this ware was probably manufactured for a relatively limited period in the mid to late fourteenth century. The strong stylistic affinities exhibited in the underglaze painting and vessel profiles of the surviving corpus indicate that the bulk of the 'turquoise and black' ware was made by a single workshop. Comparisons are drawn with fourteenth-century decorated stonepaste wares recovered from excavations in Iraq. In the conclusion, it is speculated that Iraqi potters may have travelled west in the mid fourteenth century and established new workshops in Syria.     

POTTERY VESSELS FROM A NEWLY DISCOVERED AMMONITE DOVECOTE AT AIN AL-BAIDA,AMMAN

Abstract

This paper deals with pottery vessels from a newly discovered Ammonite dovecote located at Ain al-Baida in north-east Amman. This dovecote may have operated independently or as an adjunct to a large estate or farm holding. Based on parallel ceramic studies, the writers date the establishment to the period from the late eighth to the sixth centuries BC. This discovery is unique, since no other comparable example from the late Iron Age is attested in Jordan.     

Tracing the origin of blue and white Chinese Porcelain ordered for the Portuguese market during the Ming dynasty using INAA

The existing documentary history of Chinese porcelain ordered for the Portuguese market (mainly Ming dynasty.) is reasonably advanced; nevertheless detailed laboratory analyses able to reveal new aspects like the number and/or diversity of producing centers involved in the trade with Portugal are lacking.In this work, the chemical characterization of porcelain fragments collected during recent archaeological excavations from Portugal (Lisbon and Coimbra) was done for provenance issues: identification/differentiation of Chinese porcelain kilns used. Chemical analysis was performed by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) using the Portuguese Research Reactor. Core samples were taken from the ceramic body avoiding contamination form the surface layers constituents. The results obtained so far point to: (1) the existence of three main chemical-based clusters; and (2) a general attribution of the porcelains studied to southern China kilns; (3) a few samples are specifically attributed to Jingdezhen and Zhangzhou kiln sites. In a chronological point of view, for the studied samples we assist to an increasing improvement of the production procedure from late 15th till the 17th centuries of the Chinese porcelains sent to Portugal, especially enhanced by the association of late porcelains with refining processes of the original raw material, consistent with removal of more heavy minerals. In the case of some samples a kiln attribution was possible, but for the majority of the samples we haven't found yet the specific kilns.     

BYZANTINE CERAMIC PRODUCTION FROM CUMA (CAMPI FLEGREI,NAPOLI)*

Samples of table and cooking ware, dating back to the Byzantine period of the ancient Greek colony of Cuma, were analysed by optical microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, in order to reconstruct the main technological properties of these manufactures. The comparison of minero‐petrographical data from these samples with those of some kiln wastes allowed us to hypothesize a local manufacture for most of the investigated specimens and to confirm the relative reference groups. A restricted number of samples did not link with the main groups, indicating a regional (or maybe extra‐regional) production, in agreement with the widespread circulation of this high‐medieval ceramic production in southern Italy.     

试论越窑的衰落

越窑是中国古代著名的青瓷窑,约创建于东汉晚期,中晚唐逐渐进入辉煌时期,北宋中期开始出现衰落的迹象,北宋晚期全面衰落,约公元13世纪早期以后停烧。从其出现衰落迹象到停烧,历时约150多年,其间并非简单、缓慢地直线下滑,而是经历了一个较为复杂、耐人寻味的过程。衰落的前期即北宋晚期,形势急转直下,经营者们显得极度无奈;南宋早期似有所醒悟,之后,开始改革青釉的配方,调整产品,但终因衰落时间太久,行动太晚,奇迹未能出现。其衰落的根本原因是缺乏创新,盲目将生产的重点转向刻、划花青瓷,放弃了自己的特色,刻、划花青瓷又质量平平,使产品逐渐失去了市场竞争力,丧失了生存的基础。     

The Excavation of a Medieval Bastion at St. Nicholas's Almshouses,King Street,Bristol

SUMMARY

The paper describes the discovery of the lower portion of a bastion of the late 13th century, its construction and destruction. This monument remains to a height of 8 ft. and has three arrow-slits and standins remaining. The bastion was at one time part of the Marsh Wall defences of Bristol. A small but interesting group of pottery including south-western French types is associated with its construction. The method of construction of the Almshouses, which were built above the bastion, required the deposition of considerable domestic rubbish including a large quantity of pottery types, many of which were previously only loosely datable. The opening of the Almshouses in 1656 provides a firm dating for this large and varied collection.