Pipkin, tripod pipkin

Yellow-glazed Border ware tripod pipkin (jar-shaped cooking vessel with three feet and one handle). A pipkin has a tubular handle which was made by throwing on a potter's wheel and then attaching it to the body of the pipkin. Pipkins were used for heating food over an open fire. The feet would sit in the hot embers of a fire. Most pipkins have signs of sooting on the outside which show they were heated in this way. This pipkin is very sooty on the side furthest from the handle, suggesting that its owner sensibly kept the handle side out of the fire. The handle is very short, which could have led to cooks burning their hands, though a stick could be inserted into the hole at the end of the handle to move the pipkin off the fire. The glaze is only on the inside of the pipkin - this is to protect the pot from staining and the taste of previous meals tainting the ceramic.