Homes, Trades and Games of Long Ago · Drawing 17 of 40
The potter’s hands
The 19th century
The potter turns the wheel with her foot and shapes a bowl with her hands in the soft clay. Then the bowl is baked in a very hot kiln to make it hard.
Look together
What does she use to turn the wheel?
An idea to try
Your child makes a small container from modelling dough, then decides whether to add a handle. Ask what their object could be used for.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
In the nineteenth century, Québec workshops made bowls, jugs and other household containers. Colette Dufresne documents potters including the Dion family of L’Ancienne-Lorette and the Thibodeau family of Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu. Materials varied: the Dions used nearby clay, while other workshops imported it. Firing hardens pottery. A glaze can make its surface waterproof; it too must be fired, and methods differ according to the ceramics.
The potter drawn here is imaginary and represents no member of those families. For a child, the bowl taking shape links a gesture to a familiar object. Compare a container with a handle and one without: their shape suggests their use.
Sources and illustration notes (2)
A fictional potter; no member of a documented pottery family is portrayed.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Colette Dufresne — La poterie au Québec, une histoire de famille, note de recherche muséale (in French)Exhibition research on Québec potter families and workshops in the 19th century, bowls, jugs and other household objects. An imaginary craftsperson, not a portrait of a documented person.
- Victoria and Albert Museum — An A–Z of CeramicsThe roles of firing and glazing; processes vary with the type of ceramic.
Page prepared on September 15, 2026. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.
This drawing is from the book Life in Old Québec to Colour
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