Pot (Pingsdorf)

Potteries started to spring up in the clay-rich areas around the rivers Maas and Rhine from the 11th century onwards. They were soon able to produce and export their wares on a large scale. In Brunssum and Schinveld, in Limburg, kilns and waste deposits from this earliest pottery industry have been excavated. The most characteristic products from this region include small spherical pots of almost white clay, decorated with red paint. The same technique was also used to produce jugs, pitchers and small pots with ‘hook’ handles. Pottery of this kind is often labelled ‘Pingsdorf’, after a place in Germany from which products of this kind originated. The many misfires in Limburg indicate that this pottery was made there. In the 12th and 13th centuries, a greyer type of pottery was made in the same workshops. This type was fired at a higher temperature and was therefore more impermeable to water.