IV Craft, clay and kiln · Plate 043
Wire, needle and sponge
A potter's basic kit includes a cutting wire, needle, sponge and other modelling tools. Most are cheap and last for years, polished by use.
The Barcelos pottery specification lists the small kit of a wheel potter, with the local names used there. The agueiro is a vessel, usually of clay, holding the water for the potter to wet the hands. The canivete is a rectangular metal piece for smoothing pieces and pulling up the clay. A cloth smooths the rims and sometimes makes incisions. The mosca is a sharpened stick used to mark the bases of pieces.
Two more tools from the same list are cutting and pricking tools. The espicha is a small wooden handle with a long metal point, used to prick air bubbles in the clay and also to mark and cut off excess clay. The cortador is a fishing line with a little cloth at both ends, used to cut the pieces when they are taken off the wheel. A potter pressing tiles in plaster moulds describes a wire tool to remove excess clay and a wooden ruler to scrape the tile flat, and the glossary lists a gauge for checking that thrown pots are uniform.
This is a general description, not confirmed to a single source.
Source: cearte.pt, en.wikipedia.org, ceramicartsnetwork.org
AI-generated illustration in the manner of the tradition, not a photograph of a specific object.
