Middle Earth Ranger Forum

So Yule 2020 I was quite taken by theowl's gift of a mug to caedmon and the design elements used to decorate the pieces. Last year I had a bit of money left over and decided to reach out to theowl for the source of his gift. He graciously sent the name of the craftsman and after talking to the artist, he assured me that he recalled caedmon's gift and could reproduce the motifs in some pieces of my own. We decided on -

1.) A single cup - matching the bowl
2.) A handled bowl- matching the cup
3.) A more upscale goblet for feasting with decoration that didn't match the other two but could theoretically be from the same cultural artistic conventions.
4.) A modern coffee mug with the same motifs at the bowl and cup. Not for use in kit but as a nice way to have a little Middle-earth in my daily life.

Well, I received the items last October so I'm finally getting around to posting about them.

So a couple thoughts.

1.) I love the cup and bowl. Comparing them to caedmon's set, the motif is clearly different but plausibly (I think) could come from the same source. I don't know how others might feel but I really like the designs. The glaze is a little too modern to my eye but as I understand it, medieval glazing techniques could sometimes be hazardous to your health. I'd rather be food and drink safe, thank you.

2.) The goblet is disappointing in it's execution. Far too LARPy and "fantasy" for my tastes. It doesn't seem to match the rest of the set in tone. Most likely will not be part of my kit.

3.) The coffee mug is great except there seems to be a bit of a mix-up as the design elements were left off. It's just a plain mug now. Still nice though.

They're all well made bits of pottery. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. Time will tell how lugging heavy-ish pottery on the trail goes.

Functional Mud - Etsy

Fun!

I quite like the bowl especially. It looks like it would make a nice little pipkin.

That was the idea for sure! I've yet to use it for more than just morning oatmeal and soup so we'll see how it does over a fire. The lack of feet might prove troublesome but I'm sure I could rig up a stand to keep it out of the flames.

Those are awesome!

Rob

Cimrandir wrote: ↑Fri Mar 18, 2022 1:43 am That was the idea for sure! I've yet to use it for more than just morning oatmeal and soup so we'll see how it does over a fire. The lack of feet might prove troublesome but I'm sure I could rig up a stand to keep it out of the flames.

The "out of the flames" worried me on a gut level, but I don't actually have experience hearth cooking with ceramic. I did find this though which might help -

Ability to put directly on fire straight away – You cannot put a ceramic pot on the fire straight away like iron can be. You have to gradually warm the pot up (by putting it on the edge of the fire and gradually moving it in. Ingrediants go in the pot while it’s still by the edge or before it goes on the fire. Particularly if you precooked the meal and it’s still quite cold, this inital stage must be done gradually and carefully to avoid thermal shock). Similarly, the pot must be put on a trivet, or on a wooden board when pulled out of the fire, it must not go onto cold ground while still hot.

https://companyofthestaple.org.au/campf ... symposium/

.. so it looks like the trick to cooking with ceramic is avoiding sharp temperature differentials. Not unlike canning, I suppose.

A friend of mine lost a really nice Wars of the Roses Period living history cooking vessel because her boyfriend splashed red wine on the pot roast cracking the ceramic.She'd had it for several years and that was one of her favorite meals...... He nearly became an Ex at that event.

I like the beaker and the handled bowl, I think its a pity that the mug missed out.
I don't like the goblet at all, I think they missed the brief on that.

Somewhere around here I have a Reproduction Medieval mead pot, its a copy of a find from Ruthin in Wales

those look really nice

Thank you to you both! If you find that mead pot ForgeCorvus, I'd love to see a picture!

I'll see what I can do.

It doesn't hold much (it is more goblet then tankard), so I'm assuming you'd of used it for the stronger stuff rather then smallbeer (or rather smallmead)

The two pieces that hit the mark REALLY hit the mark. They look awesome! I'm quite interested to hear how they feel being carried on the trail.

Greg wrote: ↑Sat Mar 19, 2022 10:40 pm The two pieces that hit the mark REALLY hit the mark. They look awesome! I'm quite interested to hear how they feel being carried on the trail.

Yep this. The handled bowl in particular, lovely little thing. It's these touches that make a kit and not a costume

That bowl is awesome! I had him make me a pipkin a few years ago ( viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4436 ) and it's served me well. I was hesitant to put it over a fire a first, but a few dozen times later it's still doing its thing

I firmly believe that many foods taste better cooked in a pipkin. I threw caution to the wind and used one at a historical event this last week and I regret nothing!!!!!

theowl wrote: ↑Mon Apr 11, 2022 4:22 am That bowl is awesome! I had him make me a pipkin a few years ago ( viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4436 ) and it's served me well. I was hesitant to put it over a fire a first, but a few dozen times later it's still doing its thing

Thank you so much for the recommendation and information for Sean. I think all things considered, it turned out great!

Eofor wrote: ↑Mon Apr 18, 2022 3:54 am I firmly believe that many foods taste better cooked in a pipkin. I threw caution to the wind and used one at a historical event this last week and I regret nothing!!!!!

Very nice! Did you just throw it in or was there a gradual warm-up acclimation?

Cimrandir wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 11:43 pm Very nice! Did you just throw it in or was there a gradual warm-up acclimation?

Soaked it in water for several minutes before starting. Keeps the food very moist.