English slipware is one of the art forms that comes closest to folk art in this country, a vibrant and inventive art form that speaks across the centuries. Although the origins of slip-decorated red earthenware date back to Roman Britain, it was not until the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that this method of trailing or pouring different coloured slips under a clear lead glaze was fully exploited. Made over a period of some 300 years across the country, regional centres developed in conjunction with suitable clays and means of transport for marketing the ware. Early centres included Wrotham in Kent and Staffordshire, while much of the so-called 'Metropolitan' wares were made at Harlow in Essex. Other centres appeared later including potteries in Devon, Sussex, Essex, Derbyshire, Hampshire and Yorkshire. Much of the production consisted of pots for everyday whether for use in and around the home or on farms, though relatively few remain today, mostly because they were used and broken. What has survived is the often magnificent decorated ware made for special occasions, be it ornate harvest jugs to celebrate a successful crop, magnificent commemorative dishes or chargers featuring a popular contemporary figure or a biblical story, many of which bore the name or initials of either the potter or the recipient. Two-handled posset pots, owl jugs, mugs and pie plates were also common. More novelty items range from miniature cradles given on the christening of a child, children's whistles in the form of birds, money boxes and model houses for marriages.
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