pottery in archaeology. cap.6

8/18/2019 Pottery in Archaeology. Cap.6

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/pottery-in-archaeology-cap6 1/11

CL SSIFIC TION

OF

FORM

ND

DECOR TION

ntroduction

Until

quite recently

the

archaeological study

of

pottery

was the

study

of

pottery forms

and

typology.

The

analysis

of

pottery forms

and decoration

hás

a long

history

and hás

been

in the vanguard of the

development

of the

discipline. There are however many difficulties

encountered

in studying

forms

especially if one is trying t o extract information

from small

sherds or

trying

to

make

a

quantitative study.

There

ar e

many

different

ways

of classifying

forms.

Th e

choice depends

partly

on the

existing conventions within your área

of

study

and

partly

on the

aims

of

your study.

t also

depends

on the use to

which others

may

wish

to put

your date

and on the

character

of the

collection under study.

Uses of form data

Certain

aspects of a vesseFs

form

are

determined

by its

intended function.

Thus

if you

were making

a

storage

jar you would

have

to

think

about the

capacity th e stability of the vessel it s strength when ful l means o f sealing the

contents

and

perhaps

means of

moving

the full

vessel.

You

would

arrive at a

completely different set of

cri

teria if you were making a drinking vessel or one

fo r use in

cooking.

t is

therefore reasonable

to

divide

an

assemblage into

basic functional classes which might then

lead to

knowledge

of the

activities

carried out on the site. Of course no t every vessel w as used entirely for its

originally-intended

purpose and there

were

and are

many

types of vessel

which

were reused having

fulfilled their

original purpose. Amphorae

an d oil

jars

are good

examples. Roman amphoras were used

as

ovens

as

containers

fo r

al i sorts

of

goods

and

even

for

burials. Italian

oil

jars

of

eighteenth-

and

nineteenth-century date were widely used

in

Jamaica

as

water containers.

There

are

therefore dangers

in assuming

that

the

presence

of

vessels

of a

particular

functional

class on a

site implies that

a

certain activity took

place

there.

Pottery

can

also

be a

médium

for

expressing social position

or

wealth.

The

large collections

of

Oriental porcelain amassed

by the

European aristocracy

in the

seventeenth

and

eighteenth centuries

and the

collections

of

Spanish

and

talian maiolica made

by

their predecessors

are an

extreme example

of the

way in

which

the

possession

of

pottery

could

reflect

status.

A t different

times

in different

places pottery played

a

similar role.

To

extract information

about

76



essels

an d

sherds

81

Fig.

6 .1 . Potters

often used the same basic form as a startin g poin t for vessels of widely

differing

function. Medieval

Surrey

Whiteware

cooking

pots

a) could be turne into

pipkins

b) simply by adding a horizonta l h andle and a pul led l ip . Sixteenth-century Malvern Chase

bowls were ma de

in a

range

of

sizes,

c) and d)

whi lst

t he

same basic shape could

be

turned

into a skillet by the addition of a handle, three

feet

and a pulled lip e), or a chaf ing dish by

piercing the sides and base and lutin g the bowl onto a separate base f). In each ware

featureless bo dy sherds of these forms are , na tura l ly

e nough,

indist inguishable .

Scale:

1 /4

of

possible materiais and techniques is

só

great that many powerfu l classifica-

tions nave been based solely on this type of data.

Th e

basic decorative methods

can be

divided into those

in

which m aterial

was applied to the surface of the pot and those in which the surface of the



82

lassification ofform an d

decoration

u

Fig. 6 .2 . Moulds were used in the classical world to make lamps and figurines and in

Mesoamerica were used to produce elaborate an thropomorphic figures. (Photo: Univers i ty

College London, Insti tute of Archaeolog y)

vessel was modified in some way. There are a range of materiais which have

been used

to

decorate vessels.

The most common ,

undoubtedly,

is

clay. Clay

was applied in a variety of consistencies, each of which produces a distinctive

appearance. Slips were made

by

adding water

to

clay

until it

formed

a

l iquid .

They could be applied as a wash, leaving an even coating over the vessel, or

could be

used

to form a design. Clay could be applied in a plastic state and

modelled on the surface of the pot. At its simplest this method could be used

to

apply strips

of

c lay, whils t

at its

most complex

th e

vessel becomes

a

sculpture

(fig.

6.2).

t is

also possible

to apply dry

clay

or

crushed

flint to the

surface of a newly formed pot. This method was used to produce roughca st



Fig. 6 .3 . Decorative techniques used on a range of eleventh- and twel f th-century jars and

pi tchers found in London a) ro l ler-stamping, b) raised bosses p inched between thum b and

forefinger, c) Lat t ice formed wi th a four- toothed comb, d) horiz onta l wav y lines incised with

a round-t ipped implem ent , e) appl ied st r ips thumbed on one side only. Scale: 1/4



essels and sherds 85

copper

appears turquoise on alkaline glazes and green to ox-blood red on

lead-based glazes, depending on its state.

Organic

paints

or

coatings

ca n

sometimes

b e

distinguished

on the surface

of a pot. For example, some

Iron

Age pot tery produced in Sussex was

decorated around the neck with a single band of material which in some cases

há s

started to peei o ff the pot.

It

h ás

not been analysed

but

was very probably

an

organic compound.

Vessels

could

also be painted

after

firing, either as part of the initial

manufacturing

process or at some later stage. In these cases the decoration is

often very

fragile.

Enamels, powdered coloured glasses, were used to decorate some stone-

wares and porcelains. Unlike other paints they were applied after a first

glazing.

A final applied techniqu e which must be m entioned is the addition of m etal

foil

to the surface. Examples are known from the

Roman

period and from

eighth- to ninth-century Europe Tating ware). In many cases the foil, tin in

th e case of Tating ware,

will

hav e decayed leaving a stained

área

com pris ing

th e

remains

of the

foil and/or

it s

adhesive.

The

many

techniques

used

to scratch cut or

impress

decoration

into the

surface of a pot can be difficult to

classify.

Th e main methods are listed below

an d illustrated in fig. 6.3:

Combing a very simple technique could be applied with a

snapped lath of wood.

Grooving decoration scratched into the surface of the

vessel

with a tool of some sort. V ariations in

th e

shape

an d

size

of the

tool will affect

th e

appearance of the decoration.

Incision in which t he surface of the vessel is actually cu t

away. One of the best kno wn examples of this

method

is

samian

ware with cut

glass

decoration.

Fretwork in which t he

wall

of the vessel is pierced

through

to

make

th e

decoration. This technique

w as

used extensively with puzzle jugs

from th e

seventeenth century onw ards, since it

immediately made the user wonder how the

vessel could still

hold

liquid.

Impressed one of the simplest metho ds of decoration. Used,

finger-tipping fo r example, o n B ritish Neolithic pottery

Peterborough ware) .

Burnishing another very comm on and very old technique.

Th e effect of polishing t he

leather-hard

surface



86 lassification of forni an d

decorat ion

of

a pot was to

al ign

the clay

mineral platelets

parallel

with the surface o f the pot, giving it a

sheen. In some cases this technique was

combined with the addition of a

slip,

f iner in

texture than t he body of the vessel.

Knife- a

knife

was often used to pare away the surface

t r immin g

of a pot and the surface

effect

produced was

sometimes used decoratively, f or example to

produce facets around the vessel.

Roller- a cylinder-s haped roller with an incised pattern

stamping i s

rolled over

th e

surface

of the

vessel

while it is

leather-hard. A repeating pattern of the design

on the roller is produced in n egative . This

technique is occasionally referred to as

rouletting (see be low) .

Rouletting a

pleasing

and complex pattern can be

produced with a flexible blade bent o ver at one

end and

held

up

against

th e

surface

of the pot

as it is turned round on the wheel. With some

adjustment,

and a

little practice,

the

blade will

judder up and down rhythmical ly, producing

bands

of fine

l ines

on the

surface

of the

pot.

The m ethod was used extensively in the first

an d

second centuries

AD to

decorate

Roman

fine wares. The alternative term, chattering, is

occasionally used fo r this technique.

Depending on the extent to which you r pottery is decorated, you will

probab ly

need a decoration type-series as

well

a s a

form

one, although if there

is a

close

correlat ion between form an d decorat ion, on e overall series will

probably

suffice.

It should describe technique as well a s design, because: (i )

particular idiosyncrasies of technique may be diagnostic of particular

sources; an d (ii) for many small sherds technique is ali that can be observed.

The description and classification of decorative patterns is a difficult an d

contentious

área

especially if attempts are made to understand the symbolic

content

of the

pat tern.

pottery in archaeology. cap.6

Documents