Sea "Pottery"???
by Jake
(SW Honshu Japan)
Sea Pottery - Beach Shards (from file)
Hello,
I currently live in Japan and have been finding a great deal of "sea ceramics" or "sea pottery" - I am not sure if it has a name other than sea glass.
Can anyone tell me the history behind these finds? Is it linked to a Japanese tradition of any sort or is this just "garbage" washing up on the beach?
Thank you
Jake
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David (editor):
Hi Jake, nice to hear from Japan!
Pottery shards are among the beach treasures that many sea glass fans also collect. Finding a nice shard is very exciting. We have a tiny bit of information on this site about pottery shards, but I will be adding photos and more as soon as I get a chance! The above photo is an example.
Shards may be identified generally as to how old they are by certain features, ie, material used, firing methods, and shapes. However, even that is not exact. When you only have a worn shard, it significantly increases the difficulty.
If you find a piece with a signature, trademark, or seal, however, more precise identification becomes possible.
However, SO MUCH pottery has been produced over the ages in all parts of the world, that a lot of information still needs to be gathered. A very interesting site on the web is:
www.potterymarks.co.uk/pottery.html
A suggestion would be to post a photo here and see if any of our viewers can given some ideas. You can submit as often as you want.
Keep on keepin' on...
