RERAMIC STUDIO 
249 
made or there will surely be necessary alterations and conse- 
quent trouble. To begin with the bottom. Is it to be round 
or square, domed or flat? Here a word on bases in general. 
In order to stand well a vase must not have a flat base. The 
center should always be set up a little so that the piece may 
rest on the edges of the bottom and thus accommodate itself 
to slight inequalities of shelf or table. This may be accom- 
plished in three ways. 1. The bottom may be domed. 2. 
A raised edge may be built on. 3. Feet may be modeled. 
1. The domed base. Suppose it to be a circular base, 
three inches in diameter. Procure a piece of thin pasteboard 
and cut out a number of discs, making the largest two inches 
and three-quarters and decreasing by one-eighth of an inch 
each time. The smallest may be half an inch wide. Place 
these in regular order upon each other with their centers co- 
inciding and drive a carpet tack through them all. The coiled 
base can now be set upon the pyramid of cards and when dry 
will retain the domed shape. 
2. The raised edge. To make this the base must be stiff 
enough to bear handling without losing its shape. It may be 
made before the walls are begun, but it will save time to put 
on the first building, as base and walls will stiffen together. 
When hard enough the piece is turned over and a coil laid 
round the edge beneath. If the clay be well moistened, the 
new coil will adhere closely. The important point in this 
added coil is the line. It must not interfere with the form of 
the vase, but when the piece is completed must appear as part 
of the design and not as an afterthought. This may be ac- 
complished either by having the raised edge continue the 
outline of the vase, or by allowing it to constitute a welt or 
swelling at the foot. The vase should be turned back to its 
rightful position while the added coil is still soft, so that the 
weight of the piece will press the clay to a level edge. 
3. Modeled feet. This method of base finish is much 
more difficult to accomplish than either of the others, and to 
produce a good result requires some skill in modeling. Feet 
of various design are common in pottery. A simple ball is 
easy, but somewhat weak. A conventional rolled or folded 
foot is perhaps the best. The feet should be modeled and 
set to harden. Then, when of the same hardness as the base 
itself they are joined in place by a little very soft clay or thick 
slip, about the consistency of summer butter. It is always 
best to use three feet. A piece standing on three supports is 
always steady, but one with more, never. 
There are two ways of constructing coiled pieces. One 
is to lay the coils together, moistening and pressing for the 
sake of adhesion only, the other is to work out the lines of 
the coils as the building proceeds. The former is by far the 
easier, and will be that described here. After a little experi- 
ence the modeler may select another method, or cling to the 
old one. 
The base having been coiled of the required size, the 
building of the wall begins. It is conducive to regularity if 
one coil at a time be raised and the clay broken off. A con- 
tinuous spiral is more difficult to handle, and it is highly prob- 
able that one side will grow faster than the other. A close 
watch must be kept on the shape as the work proceeds. If 
the coils are kept uniform in thickness and the circle' of the 
vase kept true, there will be no serious trouble, but the real 
difficulty lies in the outline or profile. The whirler or turn- 
table comes in useful here. By its use the work can be raised 
to the level of the eye and, being turned from side to side, a 
close watch can be kept upon the form. Six or seven coils 
are about as much as can be kept in shape by a beginner, and 
as soon as the work begins to get out of hand it should be 
straightened up as much as possible and set aside to harden. 
Kept in a cellar over night, the bat being quite damp, the 
clay will have set firmly by morning and the building may be 
resumed. The piece on completion looks as if built of rings, 
and is now ready for caulking. This consists in filling all the 
divisions between the coils with soft clay. The work must be 
quite firm, and when moistened with a sponge the new clay 
will adhere closely. It is pressed in, a little at a time, with 
finger and thumb, the inside as well as the outside should be 
caulked, unless the former is quite invisible. Once more the 
work is set aside to harden, and again carefully looked over. 
New cracks may have opened by the shrinking of the clay, 
and these must be filled. The work is now ready to be fin- 
ished. Upon the question of finish opinions differ, and per- 
sonal taste must be the guide. If a very rough quality be 
preferred, the clay need not be touched, but it is highly prob- 
able that there will be numerous ungainly lumps which do 
n,ot add to the beauty of the vase. A sharp knife may be 
used to cut off the more prominent of these, but the best fin- 
ish is given with a steel scraper such as was described in the 
article on plaster. Any thin flexible piece of steel will do, by 
bending between the fingers it will accommodate itself to the 
line of the vase, and a little practice will give the necessary 
knack of manipulation. While the clay is damp but not plas- 
tic, is the time to polish it. A steel paper cutter, an ivory 
knife handle, any hard smooth tool may be used, and by close 
rubbing over the damp clay a beautiful polish may be given 
which will remain after burning and render glazing unnecessary. 
& i? 
ROYAL BERLIN POTTERY 
THE royal porcelain factory at Berlin is well known by 
students of the potter's art, but there had never been an 
exhibition of the wares in this country. R. H. Macy & Co. 
recently made an arrangement with the factory by which a 
large quantity of the porcelain was sent to this country, and 
is now on exhibition at the Macy store, under the supervision 
of Mr. Weisenburger, who is an officer of the royal business 
concern. 
Among the notable things in the collection on exhibit 
here is a dinner set like one which the German Emperor gave 
to Queen Wilhelmina for a wedding present. This set is for 
twenty-four persons, and cost about $800. 
A cup and saucer of the kind often given by the Emper- 
or to visitors as a souvenir, show on the cup the entrance to 
the park at SansSouci, Potsdam, Frederick the Great's favor- 
ite residence, and the royal crests; and on the saucer the ini- 
tials A. V. (Augusta Victoria) and the crest of the German 
Emperor, coats of arms of the Emperor and the King of Prussia. 
A square vase, decorated by Wenzel, is one of the most 
beautiful pieces in the collection, and is valued at $370. An- 
other vase of equal value, decorated by Trzaska, was pointed 
out as one of the factory's masterpieces. " The delicate 
coloring," said Mr. Weissenburger, "is a specialty of the fact- 
ory, for which we are indebted to Professor Kips, who was 
the manager of the art department." 
One of the notable products of the factory was a great 
centerpiece for a banquet board which was presented by 
Frederick the Great to Catherine, Empress of Russia. Re- 
productions of many of the groups in this piece are in the 
collection and attract much attention. There are also repro- 
ductions of pieces presented by the Emperor to the Pope, to 
Count Waldersee and other notable persons. 
