Putting into Oven and First Firing

This drawing is an illustration in Piccolpasso’s “Li tre libri dell’arte del vasaio,” a treatise on maiolica production. In the process, the object modelled from clay was subjected to several firing. The first firing (between 750 and 900° C), called biscuit firing, gives the article a considerable degree of hardness, while the subsequent second (at 900-1000° C) and third (between 600 and 800° C) firings serve to fix the glazing and colouring of the object.