Saggar Saggar A saggar is a type of kiln furniture. It is a ceramic boxlike container used in the firing of pottery to enclose or protect ware being fired inside a kiln. Traditionally, saggars were made primarily from fireclay. Saggars have been used to protect, or safeguard, ware from open flame, smoke, gases and kiln debris: the name may be a contraction of the word "safeguard". Their use is widespread, including in China, Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom. Saggars are still used in the production of ceramics to shield ware from the direct contact of flames and from damage by
Saggar were expected to last for about 40 firings; each potbank made their own in a saggar making workshop. Saggars were made from fireclay, by a "saggar maker" and two assistants: the "framemaker" and the "bottom knocker". The framemaker beat the clay into a sheet on a metal table using a large mallet, the "mow" or "mawl". Using a "frame" he would cut it to size, sprinkle it with "sawdust" and wrap it round a wooden block to make the walls. The framemaker was usually an apprentice in his late teens. The bottom knocker, usually a boy in his early teens,