Stoneware

Stoneware is the name given to ceramic masses of the class sintering apparatus whose shards tightly burns in the fire or glassed or sinters.

- Coarse stoneware not know burning - Porcelain stoneware white or light-firing

Properties

Stoneware porcelain belongs next to the class sintering stuff is almost completely sintered, not translucent and is linguistically often confused with stoneware, earthenware belonging to the class. This is due to the similarity of the word stem.

The necessary firing temperature depends on the composition of the mass, the so-called green body, from and is generally at 1200 to 1300 ° C. Body and glaze are fused together by the fire by means of an intermediate layer. But even without glaze stoneware is virtually waterproof. However earthenware was fired at a lower temperature and must be glazed in order to become tight.

History

Stoneware was produced already over a thousand years ago in China and Japan. Many vessels are coated with a greenish celadon glaze. In Germany stoneware was developed around 1300 in Siegburg and manufactured in the sequence in numerous German (Aachen, Raeren, Langerwehe, Frechen, Cologne Waldburg, Westerwald, Peterskirchen ), English and French pottery places or regions. In the 16th and 17th century stoneware learned by reliefs which one produced by means of matrices by graphical templates his artistic peak. In Raeren and the Westerwald is primarily manufactured cylinder belly jugs of image conditions, including Susanne with the legend or the electors. In Siegburg pottery presented to the Knütgen rapids family, cylindrical drinking pitchers with high rectangular pads, ago. Again prevail mythological and religious subjects. The most famous product from Frechen was the so-called Bartmannkrug.

From the early 16th century and especially in the period around 1580/90 migrated numerous pottery from the Rhineland ( Raeren, Siegburg ) in the Westerwald from, especially in the Kannenbäckerland. There, the pottery underwent a further boost with salzglasierter blue-gray fabric.

The gray shards produced in this case by a reducing firing atmosphere and by fall cooling after the fire. On slow cooling, the surface would oxidize and change color brownish. During the fire, saline is poured from the top of the furnace, which immediately evaporates due to the high temperature and combines chemically with the shards. The salt glaze gives the vessels a protective and beautifully shiny, smooth surface, which makes the vessels in use handy. In addition, the vessels are easier to keep clean.

The blue-gray stoneware vessels came in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially in agricultural dairy farming, in stocking as well as household utensils used. She also served for filling foods (vinegar, oil or mustard), ointments or pharmaceutical essences. Also in the chemical industry stoneware vessels were used because of their acid resistance before they were displaced by glass vessels in the 19th century like. Before we introduced at the Oktoberfest glass jars, each year millions Steins ( Keferloher ) were produced for the Munich show.

The quantitatively almost as important stoneware production in central and eastern Germany dates back to the 14th century. In the first half of the 15th century, the highest quality artistic pottery of the Middle Ages in Europe was made in Bautzen. Other important pottery centers were Schmiedeberg, Waldenburg, Muskau and Boleslawiec.

More pottery centers of stoneware were in the Ardennes, in Limburg, the Münster, and in Hesse.

Three houses stoneware is a specification, which has its origin in Dreihausen, Hesse. Typical is the chocolate - to reddish-brown engobe. Special vessel forms are ringed jugs.