Glossary of pottery terms

This is a list of pottery and ceramic terms.


 * Definitions in Wiktionary are noted as "(W)".

A
Absorbency:

Alumina:

Ark:

Atmosphere:

B
Backstamp:

Ball clay:

Ball mill:

Band:

Batt:

Batt wash:

Bentonite:

Biscuit:

Biscuit porcelain:

Biscuit firing:

Bloating:

Blunging:

Body:

Bone ash: (W)

Bone china: (W)

Bone-dry:

Brongniart's formula:

Bullers ring:

C
Calcine:

Candling:

Carbonizing:

Casting:

Celadon:

Ceramic:

Chamotte:

Chemical porcelain:

China Clay:

China stone:

Clay:

Clay body:

Coiling:

Cone:

Crackle glaze:

Crawling:

Crazing:

Crock:

Crocker:

Crockery:

Crystalline glaze:

D
Deairing:

Deflocculate:

Delftware:

Devitrify:

Dipping:

Dribbler:

Dunt:

E
Earthenware:

Electrical porcelain:

Enamel:

Eutectic:

Engobe:

F
Faience:

Fat clay:

feldpsar:

Fettling:

Filler:

Filter press:

Fine Fireclay:

Fire clay:

firing:

Flambé:

Flatware:

Flint:

Flocculate:

Fluidity:

Flux:

Frit:

Fusion:

G
Potter's gauge:

Glaze:

Glaze fit:

Glost firing:

Greenware:

Grog:

Gum arabic:

H
Hard-paste porcelain:

Hollowware:

I
Iron oxide:

J
Jigger:

Jolley:

K
Kaolin:

Kidney:

Kiln:

Kiln furniture:

Kiln spurs:

Kneading:

L
Lawn:

Leather-hard:

Loss of Ignition:

Lustre:

Luting:

M
Magnesia porcelain:

Maiolica:

Majolica:

Matte glaze:

Maturing temperature:

Maturity:

Metal release:

Modulus of Rupture:

Muffle kiln:

Mullite:

O
Once-fired, green-fired:

Opacifier:

Orton cones:

Overfired:

Overglaze:

Oxidation:

Oxidising firing:

P
Paper Clay:

Penetrometer:

Pinholes:

Plasticity:

Porcelain:

Potsherd:

Potter:

Potter's clay:

(Potter's) Wheel:

Pottery:


 * Published definitions of Pottery include:
 * -- "All fired ceramic wares that contain clay when formed, except technical, structural, and refractory products."
 * -- "China, earthenware and any article made from clay or from a mixture containing clay and other materials."
 * -- "A class of ceramic artifacts in which clay is formed into containers by hand or in molds or with a potter's wheel, often decorated, and fired"
 * -- "The term pottery includes many varieties of ware from the crudest vessels of prehistoric times to the most beautiful decorated porcelains, stoneware and earthenware; it also includes many articles such as large grain-jars used in ancient times for storing corn and other dry materials, wine-jars and modern sanitaryware and the large tanks for containing corrosive acids. Many kinds of earthenware, stoneware and porcelains are used for scientific and experimental purposes as well as electrical apparatus, insulators, switch-bases, sparking plugs and bases or frames for electrical heating appliances."

Production pottery:

Pug:

Pyrometer:

Pyrometric cones:

Q
Quartz: Quartz inversion:

R
Recipe:

Roller-head machine:

Raw:

Raw glazing:

Reduction porcelain:

Reduction:

Refractory:

Rib tool:

S
Saggar:

Seconds:

Short:

Single-fired:

Sintering:

Slip:

Slip casting:

Slipware:

Slop:

Soaking:

Soda ash:

Soda sil.:

Soft-paste porcelain:

Sprigging:

Spraying:

Stilt:

Stoneware:

Seger cone:

Slumping:

Slurry:

Spangling:

T
Terracotta:

Tin-glazed:

Tow: Coarse fibre used to fettle unfired ware. Traditionally natural materials, such as flax or hemp.

Thermal shock:

Throwing:

Tile crank:

U
Underfired:

Underglaze:

V
Viscometer:

Vitreous:

Vitreous China:

Vitrification:

W
Wad box:

Water Absorption:

Wax resist:

Wedging:

Whiteware: