The rise of purple glazed pottery in fifteenth-century England represented a major change in the character of domestic material culture. These wares typically evolved from the orange bodied, green glazed pottery of the later medieval period and were produced by a number of centres. This paper examines the technological advancements made by potters working at West Cowick (East Yorkshire) as they navigated the transition from green to purple glazed Humber wares. While it well known that recipes and firing regimes can be manipulated by potters to modify and enhance their colour pallet, the change exacted by West Cowick’s potters has been overlooked, dismissed by archaeologists as the result of over-firing. Through a range of analytical techniques (thin section petrology, scanning electron microscopy microstructural analysis, chemical characterisation of fabric and glaze by portable X-ray fluorescence analysis and scanning electron microscope–energy dispersive spectroscopy), we reconstruct the glazing practices employed by these potters, revealing innovative artisans, skilled in controlling glaze recipes and firing regimes, and able to effect major intentional changes in their product.

十五世纪英国紫釉陶器的兴起代表了国内物质文化特征的重大变化。这些器皿通常是从中世纪后期的橙色釉面陶器演变而来，由许多中心生产。本文探讨了西考威克（东约克郡）的陶工在从绿色釉面到紫色釉面亨伯器皿的过渡过程中所取得的技术进步。虽然众所周知，陶艺家可以操纵配方和烧制方式来修改和增强其颜色调色板，但西考威克陶艺家所做的改变却被忽视了，考古学家将其视为过度烧制的结果。通过一系列分析技术（薄片岩石学、扫描电子显微镜显微结构分析、通过便携式 X 射线荧光分析和扫描电子显微镜-能量色散光谱对织物和釉料进行化学表征），我们重建了这些陶工所采用的施釉实践，展示富有创新精神的工匠，擅长控制釉料配方和烧制方式，并能够对其产品进行重大有意改变。