Category Archives: Pottery

Here’s another case in which a particular pot stamp is distinctive enough to identify a specific potter or workshop. J.N.L. Myres identified this one as the “Planta Pedis” workshop (Latin for the sole of the foot) and while the shape of the stamp is highly simplified compared to the elaborate sandal-clad feet in Pannonian examplesContinue reading “Planta Pedis workshop”

While a lot of the stamps found on British pottery in the Anglian or Saxon style use common, simple motifs like rings, quartered circles, or various shapes divided into grids, there are many that are quite distinctive. Today’s project was a grouping of three stamps based on a pot found at Lackford in Suffolk (justContinue reading “Three stamps from Lackford”

A lot of the stamp dies I’ve made so far are of motifs that are pretty common and pots often have stamped patterns that just use one or two motifs in repeating bands. In some cases, the pattern may involve a more complex arrangement of stamps, and this particular pot is one of them. ForContinue reading “The Vellmar Pot”

For the most part, my focus is on making stamping dies and learning more about the underlying technology and craft. Making the actual pots is often secondary – I make the pot because I need something to test out the stamps on. In this case, though, I saw this little pot go by in aContinue reading “Rhenen 193 B”

I was intrigued when I saw this Frankish pot from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden go by in the museum database, since the decorative stamping was unusually minimalist compared to many others. This shape is called “biconic” in English, the form is essentially two conical portions, although if you are searching in databases in other languages,Continue reading “Rhenen Grave 562 E”

This was a special request and part of a two-part project done to fulfill my end of a trade. The other party had travelled to Brescia and had a number of photos of pieces of Langobard pottery from the museum at Santa Giulia. He requested a pair of these beakers and a jug based onContinue reading “Beaker from Santa Giulia”

As a surprise for two reenactors who focus on what is now Switzerland in the 6th century CE, I did some digging (figurative, of course) to find some stamped pottery motifs that would be appropriate for that time and place so that I could make them some little beakers. I ran across a couple ofContinue reading “Kaiseraugst”

When Otto von Hessen published his 1968 book on Langobard ceramics from Italy, he included two examples of this type of ceramic canteen, sometimes referred to as a “pilgrim flask.” One of them, from Biella, was completely covered in stamped decoration, so I decided to reconstruct a set of stamp dies to use on aContinue reading “The Biella Flask”

As a reenactor, I mostly portray a late 6th/early 7th century CE Langobard from what is now northern Italy. In my “normal” life, I started making pottery again in 2014 after a long hiatus, and was often puttering away making teapots and mugs on a kickwheel in the garage. More recently, while researching Langobard clothingContinue reading “How it all started”