Bowls in Medieval England

Bowls have been around for an incredible amount of time. You'd think it was easy to document certain shapes for whatever culture, but it's been a little on the tricky side. I think what happens is, especially with pottery, that pieces tend to get handed down or, if they break in use, they are mashed up and used for the garden or whatever sideline the person decided at the time. Broken pottery has a variety of uses, from sharpening knives to using the ground bits to help with paving a road (like sand).

Also, a bowl doesn't really have many different shapes to it. You can belly it out more or have a straighter wall, play with the lip or the foot, but it is pretty much the same more or less.

Here is a Medieval bowl, late 11th-mid 14th century bowl from the Museum of London.



Some of the details on this one.

Material: ceramic; earthenware
Measurements: H 43 mm; DM (rim) 108 mm
Museum Section: Medieval
Summary: London-type ware? flared dish. Splash-glazed internally.