For many years, a large proportion of our handmade terracotty has been manufactured in our production plants in Vietnam. Using a centuries-old tradition, clay is processed into decorative ceramic articles for the garden there. Under natural conditions, high-quality ceramic products with the special character of Impruneta terracotta are fired in large cupola kilns or dragon kilns that are up to 65 metres long and named for their shape.
As in Italy, the potters use the so-calledmoulding technique, in which the clay is pressed into plaster moulds. In contrast to turning on the wheel, this method makes it possible to produce a very large range of shapes. Important: Decorative features are not added later, but rather are part of the clay body. As a result, there are no spaces where water can gather. This is a dicisive factor for frost resistance. The production of a pot takes about four weeks, depending on the drying period. Firing at up to 1,100°C takes more than one week alone.
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| Slabs of clay are cut out of the block with the string. |
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The slabs of clay are rolled out and cut to size on the table |
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A piece of clay is placed in a prepared plaster mould section. |
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| The clay is shaped by smoothing and pressing it with the ball of the hand. |
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The working mould sections are joined, the planter has now been shaped. |
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High containers are shaped in two steps. |
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| After being unmoulded, the containers dry for two to three weeks. |
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Eschbach's trade mark - the "kissing mouth" - is applied. |
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Two of the huge cupola kilns that are built of bricks. |
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| The firing grid in the "door" of the kiln. Rice chaff is used as fuel. |
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After burning for one week, the kiln is unloaded through the broken-down door. |
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