A Case for Coexistence of Different Potting Practices – Baltic Ware in Latvia

Baltic ware production. The Baltic ware pots from lower reaches of the River Daugava and from
the Courland region look not just stylistically, but also technologically different. Our paper assessed
the production traces by using macro-observations, Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and
extensive ethnographic material of Slavic pottery production of the 1900s, as well as using modern
replicas as visual aids to assist in the identification of the principal coil attachment methods.
The results showed that potters from the lower reaches of Daugava used the wheel’s rotation
extensively during the shaping process of Baltic ware. The production of the pots required the potter
to possess a level of technical skill which implied a level of professionalisation. Baltic ware from
Courland was less technically complicated and used comparatively more of the methods of handmade
pottery production.