Hand Made Irish Pottery Celtic Knotwork Beer Steins

A traditionally shaped beer stein with a 'pulled handle'. A pleasure to hold and the capacity for a generous pour of your favorite beverage. The beer steins have the Triskele design as well as a Celtic knot border around the bottom.

About Celtic Clays

Celtic Clays is a small pottery studio based just outside the village of Omeath, County Louth, Ireland. They produce for us a select range of pottery, embossed with Celtic knots, and other Celtic designs that is both highly functional and decorative.

Product Features

• Hand made in Ireland
• Available in 4 colors - Blue, Green, Purple or Yellow. See unique color descriptions below
• Dishwasher and microwave safe. Fired at over 2400 degrees makes the pottery impervious to water
• Capacity for approximately 800 ml or 26 fl oz
• Measures approximately 14 cm or 5 1/2 " in height
• These steins make the perfect gift
• They are an expression of Ireland through clay

Colors

• Sliabh Foy Green. A dark mysterious green reflecting the patchwork of trees and fields that make up the omnipresent Carlingford mountain.
• Loch Blue. A rich ultramarine blue with hints of aqua green reflecting the tidal waters of Carlingford lough.
• Cooley Summer Yellow. A soft earthy yellow with hints of 'hazy' blue reflecting the barley fields surrounding Whitestown and Shelling hill during the summer months.
• Corcra Chait. A complex array of purple, red and lavender hues that are found in the heathers that festoon the Omeath mountains especially in an area known as 'The Long Woman's Grave'. Consequently, this 'Long Woman' was called Kathleen (Cait in Irish) and the word for purple in Irish is Corcra!

Symbols

• The Triskele is a symbol that consists of three interlocked spirals. It is one of the oldest Irish Celtic symbols in existence, and is best known to represent the three worlds; the celestial, physical, and spiritual.
• Celtic Knotwork with no beginning and no end represents the Celts belief of the cycle of life with no beginning and no end.

Now The Chemistry

All the glazes are made from scratch with a specific recipe for each one. Using flint, whiting, clay, feldspars and oxides they are formulated to 'react' with the flames themselves in the gas fired kiln. Controlling the firing at certain times creates the 'right' atmosphere inside the kiln where the 'burnt' gas reacts with the glazes. This type of firing is known as 'reduction' firing. It is the interaction between heat, gases and glaze materials that make Celtic Clays unique. In truth you will never get two identical pieces. Therein lies the beauty!

Due to the hand made nature of these items the colors and sizes will vary slightly from product to product. That is the unique nature of something being hand made.