2023-02-01
Stoneware is a type of ceramic made from clay with an admixture of chamotte or quartz sand. It is fired at a temperature of 1230-1300 °C. Before firing, the earthenware is coated with table salt, which causes a glaze to appear on the surface during firing.
History of stoneware
Stoneware vessels range in colour from white, cream, and grey to brown, brown, or even black. They are characterized by their high hardness and are impermeable and non-reflective. Stoneware was known as far back as antiquity, as evidenced by vessels from the Far East from as early as the fifth century BC. In Europe, on the other hand, it was produced in the early Middle Ages in Germany and France. At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the production of stoneware particularly developed in the Rhineland and on the Meuse – the wares produced there were light-brown, glazed and richly decorated with either engraved ornaments or imprinted masks or figures. In Poland, stoneware production developed in Lower Silesia, as evidenced by the ever-present centre in the form of Bolesławiec.
Popularity of stoneware
Stoneware gained its greatest popularity in the 18th century when it began to be produced in numerous manufactories due to the fact that its production process was not complicated and did not generate high costs. As a result, stoneware was available at lower prices and could be afforded by the lower classes of society. Among other things, stoneware was used to make food storage containers, barrels, pots, baking tins and tableware.