Pottery question ???

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Albus Culter

Maker
Jan 14, 2013
1,379
1
West Yorkshire
Hi all

I've got a reproduction Neolithic Beaker (clay cup) which is meant for display only.

Nah

I'd like to use it for drinking from. Unfortunately it's porous (think terracotta).

I vaguely recal someone mentioning milk to seal pottery. And obviously I could apply beeswax.

Can I ask the collective forum brain? Thoughts on what was done originally to seal them for drinking? These were also for cooking with (in larger form) so what would have been used with heat as beeswax would just melt. And how do you do the milk sealing?
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
They were originally sealed (well, some of them up here at least, look up croggies /cragans) by firing them in a hearth fire and then when on the cooling ashes and not cold, but not so that they'll crack, rinsed inside and out with milk. The lipids seal the porosity and settle in among the clay and make it waterproof.
It's also how to seal a cracked fine china teacup, just boil it in milk.

No reason you can't boil your beaker in milk so long as it is real clay and it has actually been fired and not just dried.

Interested to hear how you get on with it :D

M
 

Albus Culter

Maker
Jan 14, 2013
1,379
1
West Yorkshire
Cheers Toddy

It implies it's fired etc, to resemble originals.

Will be a shame to kill it if it doesn't work. But for me it's to be used, not just looked at. I've a bottle of mead that needs a suitable drinking cup :eek:
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
I have only one caveat, and that's that we don't know what else might have been used in the clay. Some ornamental glazes are the kind of metals that you don't want to be drinking from, and we have no idea how pure the clay was that the beaker was made from. Technically any organics ought to have burned out in the firing process, but if it's still porous then that firing only partially ceramicised the clay body. Hearth fires 'can' reach 600degC but it's a heck of fire to reach that. Common bisque ware (soft pottery stuff) is about 945degC.
We just have no idea what the firing temperature was :dunno:

Was it made by one of the known reenactor's potters ? They're pretty good at answering queries if it was.

M
 

Albus Culter

Maker
Jan 14, 2013
1,379
1
West Yorkshire
Was bought while visiting Stonehenge and is from http://www.pottedhistory.co.uk/Replica_Ancient_Pottery.html

So hoping it's pretty good.

image.jpg

image.jpg

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The little beaker
Then it took a bath in some milk and was heated for a while
I drained the milk and put the pot (wiped) in a warm oven for a while to help the milk dry a bit

I let the pot cool and then rinsed it off under running water and have it a wipe down. It's now got a slightly shiny (if greasy) feel. It seems to have sealed it a bit as water runs on the surface now, but does slowly still absorb. Maybe needed longer, or higher temp. Not sure.

I will let it sit out for a while and dry more and see.

I would say, my bottom lip no longer sticks to the surface when offered to the mouth. So a result there.
 

Albus Culter

Maker
Jan 14, 2013
1,379
1
West Yorkshire
A big thank you to Toddy for all the advice

And I'm pretty sure it was her knowledge about milk in a previous article a while ago that I'd remembered.

Well, I'm impatient. So mead has been drunk.

The beaker was cleaned. Left to dry (maybe not that long :eek: ). And now christened with a good measure of mead.

And is working well
 

Dave Budd

Gold Trader
Staff member
Jan 8, 2006
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Dartmoor (Devon)
www.davebudd.com
i had a lovely little neolithic cup that I made during my MA. I used it at every show I attended, until some drunk tart trod on it! :( I never deliberately sealed it, but I did make a point of drinkin alot of milky tea in it to begin with and it worked out pretty well ;) Just don't wash it up too vigorously with soap or some of the fat will be drawn out
 

Albus Culter

Maker
Jan 14, 2013
1,379
1
West Yorkshire
Bit scared of hot water in it just yet, but will man up and try it at some point.

Second night of mead for now and it's great

i had a lovely little neolithic cup that I made during my MA. I used it at every show I attended, until some drunk tart trod on it! :( I never deliberately sealed it, but I did make a point of drinkin alot of milky tea in it to begin with and it worked out pretty well ;) Just don't wash it up too vigorously with soap or some of the fat will be drawn out
 

Everything Mac

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 30, 2009
3,112
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36
Scotland
I'd be interested to hear updates further down the line Albus. Sounds quite interesting.

All the best
Andy
 

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