ed pottery vessels known as
_buccaros_ was extensively made both in Spain and Portugal. The body of
the ware is unglazed, whitish, black or red, according to the special
kind of clay. The curious point about this ware is that, if we may
believe contemporary documents, the vessels were delicately scented,
like a ware imported from Mexico; and the soft vessels are said to have
been eaten--a custom common enough in certain parts of Central and
Southern America. (See M.L. Solon, _The Noble Buccaros_, 1896.)
(W. B.*)

ENGLISH POTTERY FROM THE 16TH TO THE 18TH CENTURY[21]

[Illustration: FIG. 50.--Saxon cinerary urns; the stamped patterns are
shown]

[Illustration: FIG. 51.--Common forms of medieval pottery; the upper
part of the slender jug is covered with a green vitreous lead glaze; the
other is unglazed with stripes of red ochre.]

The course of pottery manufacture in England followed, generally rather
in the rear, that of France, Germany and other northern countries.
Before the coming of the Romans much pottery of the late Stone age and
the Bronze age was made in Britain. The Romans introduced their more
advanced technique, and, besides importing Italian and Gaulish pottery,
they founded numerous centres of pottery manufacture, as at Upchurch,
Castor, Uriconium, &c. With the departure of the Roman legions their
simple, yet comparatively advanced, pottery vanished, and Saxon and
early Norman times have left us little but wares resembling those of the
Germanic and Frankish productions (fig. 50). The early middle ages
passed without much improvement, and, though rare specimens--like the
ewer in the form of a mounted knight in Salisbury Museum--proved that
glazed wares were made in this country, the general run of our medieval
pottery vessels never soared above the skill of the travelling brick or
tile maker.[22] The monastic tile-makers, with their strong, Gothic tile
pavements, produced artistic work of a very high order; but the patrons
of the common potter remained content with his rudely made and simply
glazed pitchers, flagons, dishes and mugs (see fig. 51). Even in the
16th century the excellence of English pewter probably acted as a
barrier to the introduction of finer pottery, and it was only the
importation of foreign wares--Italian, German, Dutch and French--that
stirred up our native clay-workers to the possibilities of their art. In
early Tudor times there was some importation of Italian majolica as w