RERAMIC STUDIO 
17 
and mixed together. It is first kneaded, then made into rolls. 
These arc placed above each other on a round platter which 
serves as a base. The clay is then manipulated till the desired 
shape is produced, more strips being added if a greater height 
be required. Then the superfluous clay is removed from the 
outside, and the surface is smoothed with a small scraper of 
flat wood. As soon as it is dry, the w^ork of decoration begins. 
First it is burnished with a pebble, after moistening the surface 
with water. It is then painted, three small brushes being 
brought into play, one for laying on broad washes, the others 
for putting on narrow bands and various patterns. Only three 
colors are used, namely, red, white and black, and these are 
obtained from lumps of native earths b\^ grinding them in a 
stone with the aid of water. 
After the pot is painted it is fired. A heap of \vood is 
built up in the air, the pots being placed in the middle, and the 
wood is then set on fire. The process takes only about twenty 
minutes. The pots are then 
taken hot from the fire and 
nibbed over with a yellow resin, 
which has the double effect of 
varnishing and fixing the colors. 
The Chawia pottery, as 
alreadj^ stated, is far inferior to 
that first described, probably 
owing to a lack of inventive 
skill. Indeed, this class of pot- 
tery is confined to forms of the 
most primitive order: e. g. a 
bowl with a simple kind of 
handle and perhaps a spout. 
From this form a cup was 
evolved, the latter may be hav- 
ing- two handles — and this is 
about as far as they have ad- 
vanced in the art. 
As in Kabylia so in Chawia, 
all potteiy is hand-made by 
the women. Taking some 
coarse yellowish clay, the 
woman moistens it with water, 
kneading it with the palm and 
edge of her hand. A lump of 
the clay is then placed on a 
piece of an old crock, for a base, 
and with her thumb she presses 
a hollow in the center of the 
lump, fashioning both outside 
and inside till the required form 
is obtained. After it is dry, the 
pot is fired in much the same 
way as among the Kabyles, 
being afterwards, while still hot, 
rubbed over with a red resin 
called Luk. — probably a raw 
shellac. The form in soine of 
these pots is almost identical 
with that seen in Egyptian pots 
of prehistoric periods; and, 
strange to say, they also reveal 
a very close likeness to early 
European and Italian models, 
and also to pottery found in 
the Torres Straits. 
To make anything hke a 
complete studj^ as to how far other countries in more modem 
times have absorbed these elementary ideas in pottery-mak- 
ing, would require much time, and doubtless the subject will 
receive due consideration at the hands of those best ciualified 
to in\estigate such matters in detail. 
There is no doubt that the forms and designs which have 
been alluded to in this article, found their way later into the 
land of the Moors, whence they spread, through the interme- 
diary stage of Majolica ware, to different parts of Europe, and 
also in post-Columbian times to Mexico and South America. 
An English paper says tliat the Queen of England has 
revived the fashion of amethyst jewelry. She has chosen 
almost exclusively mauve and gray gow^ns for court and even- 
ing wear, frequently Avearing with them the splendid set of 
old amethysts she owns. 
