Ferret Creek Antiques
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Glossary of Pottery Terms
The terms are divided into these three areas damage, manufacturing defects, and glaze descriptions.
Damage:
A chip is damage done to the rim, base or design where pottery is gone. A chip can be described as small or large and measurements of a chip should ALWAYS be given to the nearest mm or cm.
A crack compromises the structural integrity of the piece. When you run your fingernail over the crack your nail will catch the crack. Water should never be placed in a vessel with a crack, water can seep through the crack and the vessel can break. Measurements of cracks should always be given.
A glaze fleck is when a small piece of glaze falls off often due to age or water damage. A jagged area is exposed, but there is no pottery loss.
A hairline crack does not compromise the structure of the vessel. It is not felt when you run your fingernail over the hairline. Water may seep through, and should never be placed in any vessel with a crack of any kind. Great care should be taken in handling pottery with hairline cracks. Hairlines should be noted, but often measurements are not given.
A nip is a tiny place where a minute piece of pottery and glaze is gone. A nip is less than 1-2 mm, barely measurable. All others are chips (see chip).
Manufacturing Defects:
A glaze skip is an area where the pottery is exposed. The glaze did not adhere to the area. This is common on the rim and around the base.
A glaze "pop" is when a tiny bubble of glaze bursts and no pottery is exposed just a visible blemish.
A glaze "pop" is when a tiny bubble of glaze bursts and no pottery is exposed just a visible blemish.
A kiln "kiss" is when a piece of pottery touches another piece of pottery or the side of the kiln during firing. When it is pulled apart after the firing process, a small defect is left behind.
A kiln pull is when the pottery is left in the kiln a little too long, and when it is pulled off some of the bottom glaze is removed. It can resemble a chip, but it is under the base and not on the rim of the base.
Mold lines are often found in pottery that is not thrown. When pottery had raised designs then it is most likely made from 2 sides of a mold that has been then pressed together while still wet. Often lines are evident where the two sides have been pressed together.
Thin glaze is found on heavily glazed pieces, when an area is thin on a heavily glazed piece you can see the pottery underneath. The pottery is not exposed like it is in a glaze skip.
Glaze Descriptions
Alligatoring describes glaze that has taken on a spotty appearance after firing, like snake skin.
Charcoaling is used to describe a glaze that has dramatic black or dark grey highlights, as in TECO pottery.
Crazing is when the glaze has a spider web appearance usually due to age. It can be described as heavy or light.
Crystalline glaze has small glaze crystals that look like bursts. Fulper is well known for this effect.
Cucumber glaze is thick and bumpy matte glaze like the skin of a cucumber. Highly desirable in Grueby pottery.
Curdled glaze has the appearance of cottage cheese, and often leaves pottery exposed between curdled areas.
Heather Solis
