Saggar

A saggar is a type of kiln furniture. It is ceramic, boxlike container used in the firing of pottery to enclose or protect ware being fired inside a kiln. Traditionally, saggars were made primarily from fireclay. Saggars have been used to protect, or safeguard, ware from open flame, smoke, gases and kiln debris: the name is a contraction of the word safeguard. Their use is widespread, including in China, Korea,Japan and the United Kingdom. Saggars are still used in the production of ceramics to shield ware from the direct contact of flames and from damage by kiln debris. Modern saggars are made of alumina ceramic, cordierite ceramic, mullite ceramic and silicon carbide.

Staffordshire potbanks

By far the largest number of UK pottery manufacturers were based in and around Stoke-on-Trent in a region known as The Potteries. Their businesses, locally known as potbanks, fired their wares in distinctive bottle ovens. At the turn of the twentieth century over 4,000 of these were in use, although by 2014 only 47 survive, all of which are no longer in production but are listed buildings.