Salt Glaze Pottery - A Brief History

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Since time immemorial, salt has been a part of human existence and has been held as a valuable commodity. It has been (and still is) used in the preservation of food and other things; in ancient Egypt, salt was used for the preservation for mummies. Recorded history shows how salt has been used and valued by civilizations all over the world. It has also been shown by Biblical texts.

When salt was used for the production of pottery is known to have started in the Rhine Valley of Germany back in the 1500's when an anonymous potter threw salt into his kiln whilst a piece of earthenware was being fired. Upon removing the piece of pottery, he found that it acquired a glassy, translucent finish best place to buy Japanese porcelain ware. This kind of surface - a coating of sodium silicate - was the result of a chemical reaction between the salt and the silica contained in the clay. Pottery manufactured through the mentioned procedure is known as salt glaze.

Salt glaze pottery is very durable and non-toxic. Its glaze may be brown (by adding iron oxide), blue (by adding cobalt oxide), or purple (by adding manganese oxide). It is not confined to earthen ware, though; stonewares were also made. Salt glaze also has a bumpy texture which got it the nickname "orange peel."

Although salt glaze pottery is very attractive, making it is quite tricky and unpredictable because the medium leaves the potter with little control. Also, since salt is corrosive, special kilns are used for making wares of this kind.

During the seventeenth century, English potters in Staffordshire were influenced by German techniques which were imported. At the same time, the emergence of a large middle class prompted potters to produce wares that were more affordable. Despite the immense popularity of the porcelain wares imported from China then, it commanded a high price; one of the cheaper alternatives to them was salt glaze pottery. Compared with their German counterparts, these English wares were rimmed with gilt to prevent chipping because they were thinner.

In the 1780's, some German potters immigrated to the United States and applied their knowledge to the earthenware produced there. Soon they were to help in producing quality pottery that rivaled that of England. In the meantime, earthenware had been causing lead-poisoning due to the lead glaze necessary to make it vitreous. Since salt glaze was lead-free and safe, it easily became popular among the Americans.

Salt glaze pottery began to appear in Japan in the middle of the 20th century through Japanese potter Shoji Hamada and British potter Bernard Leach - founders of the Leach Pottery.

Examples of salt glaze pottery are teapots, wall pockets, snuffer figurines (figurines in animal or human form that were used to snuff out candles), jugs, pitchers and tankards. These pieces were sometimes made in the shape of small houses and small animals like squirrels, birds and snakes. The usual decorations were flowers, leaves, vines and seashells painted in cobalt blue.