A Rare Slipware Mug, Soil Hill, Ogden, Halifax, England, 19th C.

Description

Hand-thrown on the wheel with the correct amount of clay to hold a pint of liquid when fired, this pot would’ve been larger when first made as all wet clay shrinks considerably from the wet process to dry and then fired.

Once stiffened, the handle will be ‘pulled’ out of a lump of clay and applied. When stiffened some more, the mug would be white liquid-slipped on the inside (hence slipware). When stiffened again after slipping, the attention would be turned to the front of the mug, where a slip ‘bib’ or label would be added. Again, the slip label would be left to dry and when stiffened, a sharp point would be used to write the legend (sgraffito technique), leaving the clay to show through the slip where scratched out, packed into the kiln with many other different pots, cooking pots, bread crocks, etc. and fired in an enormous kiln up to 1000°C. The pot is finally left to dry completely and then ‘raw-glazed’ by immersing the entire pot in a strong rich transparent galena glaze.

So, a lot of processes have gone into making this pot.

This hand-made pottery mug comes with the Yorkshire legend “Sup lad” in a free flowing script, hand written in the sgrafitto style on a slipware label to the front. This was part of a series, which also included “Sup lass” and “Sup it off” (finish your drinks).

A film was made by the Arts Council of Great Britain of Isaac Button and this wonderful pottery for posterity, before it closed down in the mid-1960s, in order to record the last potter of many generations of craftsmen who worked this important site at Soil Hill in Ogden, Halifax making superb country pottery folk art wares for over 300 years.

Date
19th Century

Dimensions
4’’ H x 4’’ W  O/A approx.

Condition
Very good, with only minor wear commensurate with age and use.

Price
£175   $235-USD

Ref Number: 528092A
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