Where a jigger and jolley is not available, plates and bowls may be duplicated as follows: Place the plate bottom up on a well-soaped surface or a piece of glass. Should the plate not lie quite flat, caulk the apertures with clay, then all round and distant one and one half inches from the rim, build clay walls, or fix a containing band of linoleum, of sufficient height to allow plaster being poured in an inch and a half above the base or foot of the model. Mix fairly stiff plaster and pour in. Let it set, and then remove walls and the model. This gives a mould of the reverse of the plate or bowl. The mould is
thoroughly dried before using and then sponged with clean water. Clay of the desired thickness is then rolled out as described and applied to the mould and dabbed flat with a sponge or dabber. The finish is imparted with the fingers and the surplus at edges trimmed with a knife. When tough, the press is slipped out and reversed to dry on a piece of sanded glass. Where there is a rim to the plate or bowl, this should be filled in cleanly with clay before the whole is pressed. It is of course impossible to mould thus bowls that possess a deep or under-cut foot.
Fig. 25
Fig. 26
