[Ansteorra] a question for any potters... a new one...

[Sir Lyonel Oliver Grace]

Salut cozyns,

I've been looking for references on lead in clay (as opposed to lead in 
glazes and paints) since the issue was first raised yesterday. I can find no 
references to support such a claim. The only toxicity problems I've seen 
referenced for pottery have been due to metal oxides in pigments: lead 
white, Scheel green (arsenic), vermilion (mercury), cadmium yellow, Naples 
yellow (arsenic again), and so forth.

As for the unglazed pottery poisoning tale--no. You could drink from a lead 
chalice every morning and *might* develop neurological symptoms after 
several years, but it probably wouldn't kill you. Now, a thalium-impregnated 
mug would be a different story.

As I tried to say in the first place, I don't think an unglazed bisque salt 
cellar poses any health threat. Laszlo (I think it was Laszlo) mentioned the 
abrasive nature of salt crystals. No doubt, but a bisqued clay won't grind 
down by any noticeable amount in a given evening. We put salt in glass 
containers all the time, and we do see some damage after prolonged use. 
Still, I've never heard any suggestion that we're ingesting ground glass 
from our salt shakers.

Fill the salt cellar before feast. Empty it afterwards. No problem.

Lyonel
_________________________________
Dum doceo disco




>From: "Jennifer Jackson" <dagmarandowen at cox.net>
>Reply-To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." 
><ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
>To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
>Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] a question for any potters... a new one...
>Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 05:41:39 -0500
>
>My understanding is that the lead which has been such a problem in some old
>pottery is in the glaze.  Lead free glazes are now available, but not all
>glazes are.  The lead apparently sets the colors very well.  Glaze, like
>many art supplies, is not meant to be ingested when being used for
>decorative items.
>
>As to the murder of the husband, I will have to add that one to my
>prospective list. :)  Though I have been told that even with leaded glaze, 
>a
>person would have to drink orange juice, or some  other acidic drink,  from
>the same piece every day for a while to do any damage.
>
>
>Genevria
>original Message -----
>From: "Michael Silverhands" <silverhands at sbcglobal.net>
>To: <ladydeirdre at sbcglobal.net>; "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc."
><ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
>Sent: Friday, October 27, 2006 12:17 AM
>Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] a question for any potters... a new one...
>
>
> >
> > On Oct 27, 2006, at 12:03 AM, Deirdre wrote:
> >
> >> I find myself unable to resist asking a completely ignorant question -
> >> There's really no way to ask without it sounding totally ignorant,
> >> either,
> >> so here goes...
> >>
> >> Why can't we take the lead out of the clay or ceramic or whatever?
> >> People
> >> MAKE this stuff, right?  So make it unleaded.... I mean, does ALL
> >> clay have
> >> lead in it? Is there no way to remove it?
> >>
> >> Wow - I think my lightbulb just dimmed - I don't think it will
> >> recover from
> >> this one.
> >>
> >> Deirdre, whose hubby just told her a story about a woman who was
> >> convicted
> >> of murdering her husband by making him a mug, and leaving a small spot
> >> inside unglazed - he died of lead poisoning. Wonder how many years
> >> that
> >> took...
> >
> > M'lady Deirdre, I'd never thought about that. Great question!
> >
> > A quick search of Google for "lead-free clay" provides several hits.
> > It appears that there is such a thing, and some makers of stoneware
> > and cookware use it in their products.
> >
> > For example:
> > <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3676/is_200401/ai_n9389826>
> > "A local riverbank provides the lead-free clay, which is perfect for
> > use as dinnerware and is microwave-, oven-, and dishwasher-safe."
> >
> > I hope this helps.
> >
> > Michael Silverhands
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
>
>
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