Material characterization of pagerjurang clay as a raw material for pottery

Abstract

Various functional and decorative pottery articles are produced of Pagerjurang, Klaten. The articles are made of raw material which are processed, shaped, dried, and burned in traditional kilns. In this study, a raw material of Pagerjurang Clay was characterized using XRD (X-ray Diffractometer) and SEM/EDX (Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray). The results showed that Pagerjurang Clay was contained bentonite (24,87 %), quartz (37.08 %), feldspar (9.46 %), and illite (28.57 %), that consist silica 46.51% (w/w) and alumina 17.34 % (w/w), respectively. Pagerjurang Clay is red-browns color; very fine size; easy to break while dry, but very tough and sticky while wet; and easily made into the desired shape and elastic (not easily to be broken)