RERAMIC STUDIO 
243 
Vov cover l^ats 
Clay of DiL'ux 21 
Clay of Retourneloup 21 
Very coarse grog 5(S 
The clay of Provius is bought at Provms (Seine et Mariie)- 
from Mile. Chevallier-Baillat, 25 francs ])er 1000 kilos (S,S a 
ton) : the clay of Sezanne from Madame \'ve l^arisot, a Sezanne 
(Ahu-ne), 16 francs per 1000 Icilos ($3.20 a ton): the cla\- of 
Dreux from Mr. (lassehn-Chgan a Brissard, connnnne d'Alion- 
dant, arrondissement de Dreux (Eure et Loir), 100 francs per 
1 001) kilos ($20 a ton), higher than bread. The clay of Retour- 
neloup is bought from Mr. Charles Collet, of Retourneloup, 
40 francs per looo kilos ($8 a ton). 
After each firing, there is a certain quantity of ])lacing 
material broken so that it cannot he used any more. The 
fragments and debris are ground in a mill and if the selection of 
these fragments has been carefully made, one will obtain grog 
for each kind of clay mixture, which can be used either as 
powder or in grains the size of wheat or the size of peas. 
These technical details will enable the reader to realize the 
complication and expense of a careful manufactory^ like that of 
Sevres, and also the impossiljility of an ordinary and especially 
an isolated ceramist adopting this perfection of material. 
For my part, having no mill at hand, 1 use, after many 
trials and failures, a grog made of all kinds of saggers, which is 
sold to me by the Ducouroy firm, 50 rue Nationale, Ivry-Port 
(Seine) for 60 francs per lOOO kik)s ($12 a ton). And the only 
fornuda for my placing material is: 
Pow-dered clay of Provins 60 
I)uc(Hnx)y grog 40 
At the beginning of my work 1 liad fixed to the ground 
in a corner of my studio a cast iron plaque with checkered 
surface, and with a i)estle 1 crushed the sagger fragments to 
make grog, but it was a slow and painful process which l^egin- 
ners should avoid. 
The different phases of the making of saggers are the same 
as for porcelain, but with less care. Some are cast, others 
shaped on the wheel. 
Before using, the paste nmst be carefully manipulated by 
hand and beaten. If the wheel is used, it should not be the 
same wheel which is used for porcelain so as to avoid any 
mixing of so different materials. The thickness of the sagger 
must be the same at every point, but the inner angle should be 
slighth^ rounded (Fig. 54). The bats are fashioned in lens 
sonde, ow- pig's 
f'S--^^ 
i'r ^<' 
shape with a shght depression toward the circumference (Fig. 
53). The thickness is tried with a small instrument called a 
pricker (Fig. 55) . It consists of a point stuck in a round wood 
handle i inch in diameter. 
It is very important to watch the drying of saggers, the 
edges losing their moisture more qtiicklj^ than the centre. 
After being left two or three days in a draft, or sul)jected to a 
very mild heat, as soon as they can l)e detached from the jjlaster 
discs which support them, they must be turned upside down, 
to avoid the warping of the edges, as the regularity of saggers 
and rings is the main condition for a good setting of the kiln. 
In m\' own work both saggers and rings are thrown, onl\- 
bats are cast. This casting is done in plaster moulds which 
differ from porcelain moulds only by their simplicitj^ and 
thickness (Fig. ,s6). They are held by iron braces in their 
thickness to increase tlieir strength, and on the upper rim to 
diminish the wear caused by scraping. 
After ha\ing fashioned a thick pla(|uc of chiy well beaten 
by hand and of the size of the mould, it is pressed in this mould 
with a pad made of old sponges enclosed in a piece of sheep- 
skin (Fig. 57). This ]xid fixed to a wooden handle is kept 
constantlj^ wet. To make the loosening of this disc of soft 
paste easy the inside of the mould is first sprinkled with sand 
ground to an impalpable powder. 
1 insist on the special care necessary for the making of this 
placing material. 
Before being used it must l)e thoroughly dry, and even 
have received a beginning of firing. It is then baked at the 
same time as porcelain pieces are baked, when there is no bak- 
ing chamber in the kiln, or it is placed in the baking chamber 
if there is one, during an ordinarj' firing. 
The placing of porcelain constitutes an important opera- 
tion which requires the greatest amount of attention. It is 
in no w^ajf as simple as the placing of faiences and gres, and is 
peculiar to the kaolinic claj' which must be preserved from 
contact with the flame. It consists in setting in the kiln the 
pieces already enclosed in saggers, and no one setting will 
resemble another; at each firitrg, everything varies according 
to the number and especialty the size of pieces. To a piece of 
each size corresponds a certain size sagger, which of course will 
make necessary a different arrangement of the bungs, unless 
one executes the same pieces repeatedly or does not make am' 
piece which exceeds certain dimensions determined in advance. 
But, in any case, the setter will have to employ skillful modifi- 
cations and unexpected arrangements every time in order not to 
waste any room, to well balance the pieces, to safely superim- 
pose the saggers w^ith the help of a plumb line, to lute them 
solidly to each other, and to know from the decoration of pieces 
what part of the kiln is most suitable for them. 
The operation of placing in saggers and setting go together. 
The placing should be done on a table arranged as close as 
possible to the door of the kiln. As soon as a piece is placed, 
the sagger is at once set. 
1st. Placing is easy when the piece is in the shape of un- 
glazed biscuit. In this case it is sufficient to rest it on the fire 
clay bat (Fig. 58). And to be sure that there will be no ad- 
herence betw-een the two, the bat should be covered with a thin 
coat of infusible wash. This wash is a very refractory powder 
made of 
Pure calcined alumina 50 
AA'ashed kaolin 50 
2nd. Placing is somewhat complicated when, notwith- 
standing a broad and solid base, the piece is glazed. The part 
of the bottom w'hich will rest on the bat should be carefully 
scraped and brushed to remove any glaze which may ha\'e 
