- The Art of the Potter -
coarse and haphazard and is best assigned to the repertoire of rustication techniques
or whether it is light and well-executed, when it is best described as 'scoring'.
The distinction is, perhaps, irrelevant, being only a matter of degree. The difficulty
of definition serves only to illustrate the multiplicity and versatility of the technique.
Compare, for example, the finely and lightly scored cross-hatching of Durotrigian
Wares (technically a cross between incision and burnishing) (Figure 19.4A) with the
concisely and deeply executed cross-hatching of Glastonbury ceramics (Figure
19.3A). Similarly, its use can be singular, forming simple motifs in a single technique,
or complementary, forming areas of contrast to undecorated or burnished zones
or indeed defining zones decorated in other techniques. The best illustrations of this
latter usage were presented forty years ago by Professor Grimes in his discussion
paper on 'The La Tene style in British early iron age pottery' (Grimes 1952).
Arguably the floruit of the potters' art in pre-Belgic Britain is to be found in the
curvilinear decorated bowls of southern Britain (Figures 19.4D; 19.5B; 19.6C; 19.8).
On these ceramics the decoration is usually by incision, with some circular impres-
sions frequently forming dimples which augment and complement the design. The
motifs can be formed by either single curvilinear lines, as in the case of the Hunsbury
bowls, or by larger areas of curvilinear incised infilling commonly found in vessels
of the Glastonbury or South-western style. Both styles play roughened against
smooth surfaces to contrast light and shade and thus to highlight these non-plastic
two-dimensional motifs (Figure 19.5B). Finding clear parallels in the metalworking
art of the period, the frequently raised or embossed designs of the metalwork become
translated into the two-dimensional planes of the pots' surfaces.
A study such as this cannot do justice to the complexities and quality of the art of
the iron age potters. Great varieties of patterns, motifs and effects are produced from
a limited repertoire of techniques and tools. Not all the pottery can be claimed to be
,
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OODOOOO OOODODQv.oOOP~J:'" ': ...Figure 19.8 Hunsbury bowls from Hunsbury, Northamptonshire. Seale = 10 em. (From
Gibson and Woods 1990.)