Philippine clay work

Media

Part of Philippine Craftsman

Title: Philippine clay work
Creator: Crowe, Clifford H.
Language: English
Year: 1913
Rights
Fulltext: I The Philippine Craftsman 11 t VoL. I JANUARY, 1913. No.7 II PHILIPPINE CLAY WORK. CLtnv~u H. CRo\\t·, J~ strucl<>r in (;<'ramie•, Philii>Joinc School of Arts un<l Tm<J•·· T HE object of this article is to state briefly what clay work has been done in the Philippine Islands, what is being done, and what may reasonably be expected in the future. I\luch crude pottery is made throughout the Islands. The output in 1909, consisting principally of pots for holding water and for cooking food, was estimated at l"400,000.1 These ate made in a most primitive manner. The clay is not refined, no potter's wheels nor molds are used. no glaze is applied, and no kilns are built. The manufacture of pottery is principally a Plat• \, An lgorol woman of the Mouo•lain Pro•inee beginning a pol. household industry and is confined to localities where clay is found or where there are facilities for its transportation. AI' PhiEppine Pottery, by George I. Adams and Wallace E. Pratt. Philippine Journal of Sdence (HllO), \'ol. V, No. 2, p. 143, l\lanila, P. I. 11617T"" 7>11 512 1'1/E t~HtLIPPJ.\'E CllAF'1'S.II.IN most every province has some town or barrio noted for its production of pottery. A common sedimentary clay is used. This is sometimes so plastic that an addition of as much as one-third sand is necessary P l•te 111. Making lht rim. PHIUPPINE CLAY WORK 513 to prevent cracking. Stones and sticks are removed by hand and then the clay is thoroughly mixed by tramping. A Jump of clay is placed on a small board or block that can revolve more or less easily on another beneath it. The clay is made into a Givmg the pot a 1rnooth finiah. PhotolfraJ>h by llu .... Ru or Sc!~ne~. Manila, P. T. Pl•to V. T,.nl(lodin(l pottory In lht Mounl•ln Pro•lnce. 514 1'JJE PHJI.lf'PISI~' CUAF'J'S.Jf.-!.\' crude cup-shaped article and then set away till it becomes of a tough leathery consistency. This is then given a second shaping by holding a smooth stone inside and beating the pot with a wooden paddle. Sometimes Jo make the article more smooth the ware is painted with a fine-grained red slip (probably ochre) and then polished with a piece of a large shell. When the pots are dry they are piled on a layer of bamboo sticks and rice straw, covered with more of the same fuel, and burned in the open. The firing is completed in a few minutes. The women and the children make the pots, while the men carry them to market on their backS;, on horses, or in bancas. An interesting local industry has been establio<hed at Piddig, Plate VI. Using jaro to carry water. Mountain Pro•ince. !locos Norte, where small clay pipes are used, mainly as cigar or cigarette holders.~ These pipes are molded from the clay by the use of the hands and two small pointed pieces of bamboo. These pieces of bamboo have one end pointed for making the hole in the stem and cutting the design. The other end is flatter and is used for forming the bowl both inside and out. To moisten the clay as it becomes dry it is necessary for the makers to use the grea:;e and sweat from their noses. They belieVe that the quality of the pipe is improved thereby. The pipes are burned in rice straw. After they are burned 'The information on Piddig pipes was furnished by E. J. )!urphy, Division Superintemlent ol Jlocos Norte. PHIL!Pl'IN£' CL.-1 Y li'OHK 515 and wh;JesWI hot they [ i d are covered with a preparation of rice chaff and c a r a b a o - ~ ~; dung. The heat of the pipes sets the mixture on fire, but as the com· bustion is imperfect, ~ .;...-... a deposit of carbon =--=--'-!! forms on the pipes Plate VII. Vauo and trays dulgned and mod<led by firl tand turns them black, yur studenll. giving them a glazed effect. The people know nothing, however, of real glazing. The decoration always consists of two designs. One is called "Sinicirilo," or face of man, and the other is "Siguemguem,'' or hand of man. Large quantities of thege pipes are used by Jlocanos. The price runs from three to ten centavos each. There are a few factories in the Philippines and these use kilns. The Spanish introduced the dome·shaped beehive kiln, which was used to fire Spanish roofing tile so much in vogue before galvanized·iron roofing was introduced. This type of kiln is now used for firing brick. The usual type of a pottery kiln is a long semicylindrical structure introduced by the Chinese, in which are produced the large tinajas and sugar pelones. The kilns are fired with wood. The temperature attained is low, but the clay is very fusible and a semivitrified p1·oduct often results. A Japanese kiln has lately been intl·oduced. This consists of two ovens-the first for glazing and the second for firing biscuit. Four of these are now being operated--one in San Pedro Tunasan, Laguna, owned by a Japanese; one in Pagsanjan, Laguna, built by two boys who studied a year in the pottery school while it was in Laguna; another in the primary school at Lumbang, Laguna; and a fourth in the ceramic department of the PhilipPlat• VIII. AT:~~~·~;:;.;:~'."~~= :~~o;l•n•:.uet. of model- pine School of Arts and Trades. A fifth is being built for a pottery school to be organized in Libmanan, Camarines. 516 THE PlflLIPPJXE CRAF"TS.IJAN About 700 years ago clay work in Japan was in approximately the same stage of development as is the industry in the Philippines to-day. The Japanese obtained their knowledge from China and proceeded to develop their industry. To-day thousands are earning their living by working in factories. Pottery is also conducted as a household industry. Whole cities are devoted to the manufacture of some clay product and one sees father, mother, and children engaged in modeling, firing, glazing, and decorating. Japan is well known for its excellence in porcelain and faience. In contrast, in the Philippines one sees crude articles made in a desultory and primitive way. With the same efforts intelligently directed, more and better articles could be produced, resulting in greater earnings and a higher development of clayworking. The city of Seto, Japan, has a population of about 30,000. It is a center fot· porcelain manufacture and was the first place in Japan in which a glaze was applied to a burned clay. A "fiesta" is held every year in honor of Kato, the man who introduced the art of glazing. The kaolin, feldspar, and quartz deposits are near and there are plants for refining these. There are about one hundred kilns, each containing from three to seventeen ovens. One family may own from one-fourth of an oven to five or six ovens and produce enough every month in the home or factories to fill these ovens. The expense of firing is divided according to the amount of space occupied by each charge. Sometimes other families buy the glazed dishes, toys, etc., decorate them with color (china painting), and fire them in muffle kilns in their back yards. An old man with a doll in one hand and two brushes in the other will dash on the black for hair and eyebrows, red for cheeks and lips, and pass the doll on to his granddaughter, who will apply the other colors. Large factories often order great amounts of the unglazed ware and ship them to be glazed in theil' own kilns. Thus in Seto we see a city devoted entirely to clay work, with its pottery school, factories for refining materials and for manufacturing finished articles, household manufacture, and the allied work of packing and transportation. Plate X. Siouemouem or hand·detignpipe fromPiddio, llocosNorte. PHILIPPINE CLAl' li'ORK This is greatly in contrast to the Philip· pine pottery industry, but it is possible to develop a similar stage of the industry in this country. Throughout the Philippines there are found deposits of common clay. Much of this can be used for brick, hollow block, fire proofing, roofing tiles, vitrified brick, etc. There are deposits of fire clay and 517 kaolin (China clay). In Paracale and Pl~t• XI. P~::~~/ipe of fern in Baguio there is found the pure quartz necessary for glazes and porcelains. In llocos Norte there is a granulite dyke 3 which compares favorably with the Cornish stone of England. This Cornish stone or pegmatite rock is much used in glaze and porcelain composition. Thus we can find mate1·ials for terra cotta, faience, fire-clay products, stoneware, and porcelain. As the geological investigation of the Philippines continues there will undoubtedly be discovered many other deposits of ceramic materials. The Bureau of Education has recognized the opportunities for advancement in clay work, and in accordance with its industrial policy organized a pottery school in 1910. This school was started in Laguna Province but was later moved to Manila and became the ceramic department of the Philippine School of Arts and Trades. The students of the woodworking course consb·ucted the building for this department and the following equipment was made in the school: One blunger of 40 gallons capacity, a settling tank of 120 banels capacity, one kiln 12 by 24 feet (containing two ovens), a test kiln, a frit kiln, eleven potter's wheels, kneading table, modeling table, brickmaker's table, drying racks, and a filing case for clay samples and tests. The equipment includes the following power machines: A cup machine, a saucer and plate machine, a lathe, a ball grinder, a glaze mill, and a polisher. This equipment accommodates about sixty pupils, and with it terra cotta, faience, stone· ware, porcelain, and all other classes of Pial• Xl~.id~;ot:;: •. type 01 clay products can be made. 'Asbestos and Manganese Deposits of llocos Norte with Notes on the Geology of the Region. By W. D. Smith. The Philippine Journal of Science, Vol. II, Sec. A, June 2, 1907, Manila. 518 THE PHJUPP!Xf." CRAFTS.ll.lN The ceramic department aims to train boys so that they will be able to equip and operate a factory. Jn the first year of the course the students construct the kilns and make common brick, fire brick, decorated tiles, and common glazed ware of various colors and designs. Sixteen provinces have submitted samples of clay and on them one hundred tests have been made. Fifteen samples of grayish and white clays, commonly called "yeso," have been received. or these eight burned a white color, six gray, one red, and two buff. White clays from Los Baiios, Laguna, from Plole XIII. Throwln!h.:l.tinoio on • notive Nasugbu, Batangas, and from Santa Cruz, Zambales, have been received in bulk and have been used separately, mixed together, and mixed with common clay, in each case with good results. Further experiments with the white burning clays will be made for stoneware and porcelain. Twenty-nine clays and mixtures have been tested for vitrified brick. Of these, three warped slightly, five cracked, one swelled, fifteen showed too short a range between vitrification and viscosity, and five, with a slight variation of mixture, would apparently make a good serviceable brick. The most successful experiments were those on refractory ware. F i r e bricks, fire-clay tiles, and posts have been made Plo\o XIV. Finl1hlng the tina)o. t..nd used in the kilns and have in every way sernd as well as the imported article. P111LIPPINE CL.-lY' II'ORK 519 Bathroom til~• made by firot.year students at the Philippine Sohoo\ of P\oh XVI. Terra..:ot\a decorative lite, for at.year work, «J .. IVI::.K~ 1 v OF THE PHiLLP"PIN£tl LIIRARY 520 THE f'HIUPPJ.VE CRAFTS.11.4.N Kiln b~ill by •tudenh of the deparlmenl of ceramics, Philippine School of Plate XVIII. Clan in ceramics at work in the Philippine School of Atl• and Trades. PHILIPPINE CLA l' WORK 521 Practical tests are made to show shrinkage, color, hardness, warping, cracking, etc., from which the usefulness of a clay can be determined. Below are some results of these experiments. Clays. Sal.•<>na,ll<><osNorte SantaCruz,Zambale• Nasugbu.Batangaa. L<>!l Ba~<>$. Laguna l LooBallos, Laguna J San !'edroMacat\ Lil<>an,Cebu l Loa Ba~o•.· Laguna Zambales Ol•' PIL\(.'TIC.\L 'J'E~ TS OF CLAYS. ,.,.,,, l'l"c! B > ' ' " ' ' . Wllite White ~~i:~ l '" 'I 10' Gray . ' n:~~~-=---. __ :I __ . .\Silica Statistics for 1911 show that in 460 cities of the United States there were laid 30,000,000 square yards of paving. Of this 21 ~ per cent was vitrified paving brick and an estimate for 1912 shows this to have increased to 27-} per cent. The vitrified brick highway is smooth but not slippery, economical in main· tenance, and sanitary. Judging by the unsatisfactory paving material used in Manila, it would seem that a brick plant would be a paying proposition. 522 The city of l\hmila uses a great quantity of vitrified sewer pipe. Other cities will need this as water and sewer systems are installed. Vitrified brick is also needed in connection with sewe1· construction. There is a ready market for these products. The material used for a vitrified clay product is shale, impure 1 fire clay, or a common clay. All of these are found in the Philippines and a vitrified brick and pipe factory could easily be started. Every steam boiler installa~ tion of any consequence has the fire box lined with fire brick, and wherever sugar is made, fire brick is needed. Crucibles and muffles are used. Thus there is a market for refractory ware which could be made here. There is a growing demand for glazed ftoweJ'pots, vases, and other decorated clay wa1·e for home and garden adornment. The demand is also growing for table dishes and for crockery for stori11g and presening foods. In Europe much terra cotta and glazed tile are used for the dec~ oration of concrete buildings. The United States is beginning to use more and more of these decorations. The use of a com~ mon clay and a simple method of manufacture would enable tile to be made here at low price with considerable profit. Floor tile, bathroom tile, sanitary ware, and roofing tile can be made Pl~te xx. Pipes ~;~.o~~~m• modo by II•• here more cheaply than it can be imported. •. The annual reports of the Jnsular Collector of Customs for fiscal years ending June 30, 1909, 1910, and 1911 show the fol~ lowing importation of clays and clay products: 1909, 1"'289,944; 1910, '.1"330,826; 1911, 1"442,534. These sums show the invoice price of the ariicleg, to which must be added wharfage duties /'lf!U/'1'/NE CtA Y !rORK 523 and the merchant's profit to represent Philippine values. The greatest part of the imports is earthenware and stoneware which are made of a crude clay and do not require much skill in the manufacture. Pl•le XXII. Poltery hano~orhtion on the Puio River. It is evident that all kinds of cia~' products hm·e a market here and that there are materials here for all classes of clay 524 THE J~HJLIPPI1YE CRAf'TS.IJAN work. The natural conclusion is that effort should be made to supply the demand from the material at hand. But people must fh·st be interested and instructed in this line of work and then taught how to make a living at it. The stable industries of a country usually grow from a humble beginning. A large factory could be successful if it were organized by people having practical knowledge of the industry, of the resources of the country, and of the customs of the people. However, the ceramic department of the Philippine School of Arts and Trades aims to instruct students so that they will be able to organize and manage small factories for themselves. If a boy goes to his home and makes a success, other people will soon learn clay refining, glazing, firing, etc., and an industry will have been started. In the following bibliography are listed the principal publications relative to Philippine pottery. The Occurrence, Composition, and Radioactivity of Clays from Luzon. By Alvin J. Cox. Philippine Journal of Science (1907) Vol. II, A, p. 413, Manila, P. I. Laguna Clays, Ibid., 1908, Vol. III, A, p. 377. Philippine Pottery. By Geo. I. Adams and Wallace E. Pratt. Philippine Journal of Science, 1910, Vol. VIII, No. 3. Elements of Ceramics (Pottery !!laking). Philippine Education (1911). Vol. VIII, No.3, l\lanila, P. I. Philippine Clay Work. By C. H. Crowe. 1\lineral Resources of the Philippines, Division of Geology and 1\Iines (1912), 1\lanila, P. I. Philippine Potter}". By C. H. Crowe. T1·ansactions of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. XIV, 1912, Columbus, Ohio. What is the money value of an education? The average reduced to individual cases, would be something like this: Two boys, age 14, are both interested in mechanics. One goes into the shops, the other into a technical school. The boy in the shops starts at $4 a week, and by the time he is 18 he is getting $7. At that age the other boy is leaving school and starting work at $10 a week. At 20 the shop-trained young fellow is getting $9.50 and the technical graduate $15; at 22 the former's weekly wage is $11.50 and the latter's $20; and by the time they are both 25 the shopworker finds $12.75 in his pay envelope while the technically trained man draws a salary of ~1. These figures are based on a study of 2,000 actual workers made by the Massachusetts Commission for Industrial and Technical Education.