Description:Thrower's rib made from fired white earthenware. Roughly 9cm in length.
A hand held pottery-making tool used for smoothing the outside shape of a pot while it was being thrown.
There is a hole to hang the tool up when not in use.
It is inscribed with the user and maker's name.
J Machin
Ribs are usually made from pottery, metal or slate by the thrower for his own use.
They are believed to be called a ribs because they were originally made from animal's ribs.
Taken from the Gladstone Pottery Museum Tools Collection.
This object is now part of the collections at Stoke-on-Trent Museums.