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How did Greek pottery makers use molds to create ceramic figures?

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traditional ceramics Stages in the slip casting of a thin-walled whiteware container. Clay powder is mixed in water together with a dispersing agent, which keeps the clay particles suspended evenly throughout the clay-water slurry, or slip. The slip is poured into a plaster mold, where water is drawn out by capillary action and a cast is formed by the deposition of clay particles on the inner surfaces of the mold. The remaining slip is drained, and the cast is allowed to dry partially before the drain hole is plugged and the mold separated. The unfinished ware is given a final drying in an oven before it is fired into a finished product.

Greek pottery makers utilized molds made of fired clay to produce ceramic figures, a process that evolved in complexity over time. Initially, figures were modeled by hand, but as techniques advanced, potters began using molds to create entire figures at once.1

Eventually, the process became more sophisticated, with components such as arms, legs, heads, and torsos being molded separately. These individual parts were often treated as interchangeable, allowing artisans to construct a wide variety of models from a limited set of components. This method of manufacture was highly effective and remained a standard practice for creating figures in European porcelain factories well into the 20th century. The Tanagra figurines from Boeotia are among the most well-known examples of this molded earthenware tradition.12