The tools for making Viking Age pots are neither complex nor sophisticated yet they are not primitive. Potters the whole world over have used the same tools suited to the process from the Neolithic Age until today.
YUCATAN POTTER'S TOOLS
TOOLS are sticks, stones and metal implements held in the hand.
The implements above are from Merovingian Age deposits in the Netherlands. They ar emade of bone and carefully shaped to produce patterns on a green pot.
Sticks, pins, stones and even fingers are all that are required to impress patterns on a pot which is not yet fully dry.
It is possible to make a stamp by shaping the end of a dowel .
Cord can be rolled over a surface to give a patterned finish but this is rare in Viking Age pottery. Traditional potters of today often pattern a surface so that the pot is held more safely in the hand. Patterning the pot may have a practical function, not just an aesthetic one.
Many tools of traditional potters are simple and made from things to hand. Stones, sticks and knives go a long way - it is the skill and knowledge of the potter which counts most.
The tool set at right is used by a Yucatan potter. The tree stub is the work-table. Stones are used for final polishing and pushing-out. The gourd fragments are used to form the curved surfaces of the pot. The sticks are paddles, used to beat the clay into shape. The dish contains dry clay ready to begin the process of making a pot.
The implements above are from Merovingian Age deposits in the Netherlands. They ar emade of bone and carefully shaped to produce patterns on a green pot.
Sticks, pins, stones and even fingers are all that are required to impress patterns on a pot which is not yet fully dry.
It is possible to make a stamp by shaping the end of a dowel .
Cord can be rolled over a surface to give a patterned finish but this is rare in Viking Age pottery. Traditional potters of today often pattern a surface so that the pot is held more safely in the hand. Patterning the pot may have a practical function, not just an aesthetic one.
Many tools of traditional potters are simple and made from things to hand. Stones, sticks and knives go a long way - it is the skill and knowledge of the potter which counts most.
The tool set at right is used by a Yucatan potter. The tree stub is the work-table. Stones are used for final polishing and pushing-out. The gourd fragments are used to form the curved surfaces of the pot. The sticks are paddles, used to beat the clay into shape. The dish contains dry clay ready to begin the process of making a pot.
PARAPHERNALIA encompasses boards, supports for the clay and other elements of the workspace that supplement tools.
The basic requirements are minimal. The Pueblan potter here (right) sits on a mat with clay and water to hand.
She produces pots of high quality and aesthetic standard with nothing else than this and her fingers. This is why no 'workshops' are found of potters in the Viking Age - the workshop was anywhere and not used exclusively for potting.
The basic requirements are minimal. The Pueblan potter here (right) sits on a mat with clay and water to hand.
She produces pots of high quality and aesthetic standard with nothing else than this and her fingers. This is why no 'workshops' are found of potters in the Viking Age - the workshop was anywhere and not used exclusively for potting.
Lap-board, Ghana.
Kick-wheel 16th century
Romanian woman using a cavalette 1980's.
Zapotec woman using a pair of dishes to achieve a rotating base to build her pot upon.
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WORK-BOARD : A hard work-surface is needed to allow clay to be wedged and to provide a stable workplace to build a pot. A table is not necessary, most traditional potters use a small board on the lap or a plank on the ground.
WHEEL : The classic potter's wheel is not found in European illustrations before the 14th century. Obviously turned pots are found from the 8th century in Germany and England. In the Viking homelands such pottery is unknown except for some exceptional examples from Ribe and so we conclude that the rotating wheel was not used. Cavalette : A cavalette is a very useful device - it is a simple turn-table allowing the pot to be turned as it is made., giving the potter an overview of the symmetry of her work and allowing the pot to be turned easily rather than walking round it. In fact, the rotation of the work is easily achieved by putting a little sand underneath a piece made on a board. Rotation is also achievable by building the work in a curved dish or shard of a discarded pot which allows easy turning. A cavalette is a refinement which is most suitable when producing fine forms and applying regular ornamentation. There is no evidence for it before the 11th century. |
A simple cavalette mounted on a bench.