PALESTINIAN POTTERY—KELSO AND THORLEY 369 
to the ware after it comes out of the kiln and thus, like calcimine on 
a wall, it will wash off when water is applied. 
Burnish leaves something of a glazelike finish although it is in 
no way related toa glaze. It is sometimes miscalled polish by careless 
writers. “Burnishing is done by sealing the surface pores of the 
leather-hard clay by pressing them in with a pebble, or a tool of metal 
or bone. This effect is secured either by holding the bow] in the hand, 
or by pressing the burnishing tool against the vessel as it spins upon 
the wheel. In polishing, the surface clay is removed from the ware, 
but in burnishing the surface clay is pressed gently into the ware.” 
The painting of pottery began as early as neolithic times, but was 
seldom used as widely as burnishing. The late Bronze Age was the 
most prolific in its use, and after that period Transjordan was more 
favorable toward it than western Palestine. White, black, and red 
are the most common colors; blue, purple, yellow, and orange are 
rare. The majority of their colors were probably native earths such 
as the umbers and ochres. Ceramic painting presents some special 
problems. The clay surface is absorbent and therefore no corrections 
can be made upon it. The painting “must be spontaneous, swift and 
complete, otherwise the clay absorbs unequal amounts of paint at 
different points, and the accuracy of the line is ruined. A line cannot 
be retouched, for the point of correction will show a blot. Thus the 
painter must have every detail of his composition definitely fixed in 
mind before he puts his brush to the clay. Also since much pottery 
has a circular surface, the design must be so well conceived and exe- 
cuted that the point of juncture is not noticeable.” If the ware is to be 
fired after painting, then the colors will be changed in the kiln and 
the artist must work out his composition with his finished colors in 
mind rather than with the actual colors he places on the clay surface. 
HOUSEHOLD IDOLS IN CLAY 
There is still another important field of ceramics for Old Testament 
students and that is the heathen household gods. These little pottery 
idols are of two types. The earliest is a plaque, which was used by 
the Canaanites before Joshua’s conquest. It is elliptical in shape and 
about 3 inches in length. It portrays in bas-relief the naked Canaanite 
mother-goddess of fertility. She usually holds in her hands the lotus 
blossoms which are one of her symbols. She generally wears an 
Egyptian headdress with long curls over the ears. She apparently 
borrowed this from her Egyptian relative, the goddess Hathor. The 
second type of idol is the “snow-man” type, which came into Israel 
by way of Phoenicia and continued until the destruction of Jerusalem. 
These are the household idols so vividly condemned by the prophets. 
