Albany Slip and other fun stuff

This simple large bowl, possibly from the Albany area has the traditional materials, the dark choclate looking clay and glaze with lighter slip mixture used for decoration.

Gosh it has been a long time, but again I am delving into the world of Stuff

Looking at Ceramics and I will start with a really fabulous bowl that is a very basic earthenware bowl which is almost a good 24 inches in diameter and looks to be hand formed from clay. It is covered in the deep chocolaty color of Albany slip that reminds me of a Mole' sauce in color. The top is glazed and then bottom is not.

There are a series of much lighter lines in irregular patterns scraped into the surface of the slip that create the look to early 19Th century poetry.

This has no marking of a potter and there is a large crack that may have happened when it was fired? I am wondering the kinds of foods that would be prepared in this bowl and would it be designed specifically this was to accommodate a particular regional dish? It could be used for a variety of uses but I am seeing breading or crumbs and rolling stuff in it.

I am thinking this is early nineteenth century, maybe even from Albany as the clay underneath and the slip and slurry is dead on for the materials and techniques used there with its wonderful clay.