How to care for hand-painted ceramics, alabaster and hand-blown glass

April 19, 2026

Care

Hand-made objects ask, in return for the pleasure they give, a small amount of considered care. The reward for that care is significant. A well-looked-after Fayoum bowl, a hand-blown glass tumbler, an alabaster lamp will all improve with age — developing the small marks of use that distinguish objects that are loved from objects that are merely owned. What follows is a short, practical guide to keeping each of the three principal materials in the condition they deserve to be in.

Hand-painted ceramics

The Fayoum ceramic pieces are made from earthenware clay, painted with mineral pigments under a lead-free glaze, and fired at temperatures that fix the glaze permanently into the body. They are food-safe and robust. They are not, however, indestructible.

The simplest and most important rule is to wash them by hand. Earthenware does not enjoy the prolonged hot soak of a dishwasher cycle; the heat and the alkaline detergents will, over many washes, dull the glaze and may eventually craze the surface. Hand-washing in warm water with a mild detergent — and a soft cloth or sponge rather than an abrasive scourer — will keep the pieces looking exactly as they did the day they arrived.

Avoid sudden temperature changes. Do not take a piece directly from the fridge and put it under hot water; do not put a hot piece directly onto a cold marble surface. Earthenware is forgiving but it has its limits, and the limits are usually thermal.

The pieces are not microwave-safe and not oven-safe. They are intended for serving and display, not for cooking. If you wish to warm a serving bowl before bringing it to the table, place it in an oven set to a low temperature (no higher than 80°C) for ten minutes before serving.

Crazing — the fine network of hairline cracks that sometimes develops in the glaze of older earthenware — is not damage. It is a natural characteristic of the material as it ages. It does not affect food safety and many collectors consider it part of the patina of a long-loved piece.

How to care for hand-painted ceramics, alabaster and hand-blown glass

Egyptian alabaster

Alabaster is a soft stone — significantly softer than marble — and it asks for slightly more care than the harder stones one might be more familiar with.

The most important rule is to keep alabaster away from water. The stone is mildly porous, and prolonged contact with water (or, worse, with acidic liquids such as wine, vinegar or fruit juice) will leave permanent marks. Never use alabaster as a drinks coaster. Never put cut flowers directly into an alabaster vase — always use a glass insert. Never wash an alabaster object under a running tap.

Cleaning is best done with a soft, dry brush — a natural-bristle artist's brush, a clean make-up brush, or a soft horsehair duster. Dust gently in the direction of the natural banding of the stone. For more thorough cleaning, a slightly damp cloth (not wet) wiped quickly across the surface and immediately dried with a clean dry cloth is acceptable; do not allow water to sit on the stone for more than a moment.

Once or twice a year, a thin coat of natural beeswax polish — the kind sold for unfinished oak furniture — can be applied to alabaster pieces, allowed to sit for a few minutes, and then buffed away with a soft cloth. This protects the surface from minor moisture and gives the stone a quiet, soft lustre.

For lamps: avoid placing alabaster lamps in damp environments (bathrooms, basements). Use only the wattage specified on the fitting; an over-bright bulb can, over time, heat the stone unevenly and risk cracking.

Hand-blown glass

Hand-blown glass is more robust than it looks but more fragile than machine-pressed glass. The walls are slightly thicker than industrial glass, but the irregularities of hand-work mean each piece has small variations in stress.

Hand-wash in warm water with mild detergent. Dry with a soft cloth. Avoid the dishwasher; the heat cycle and the rattling against other pieces will, over time, micro-chip the rims.

Avoid extreme temperature changes. Do not pour boiling water into a cold tumbler. Do not put a warm tumbler directly into the freezer. The glass will tolerate moderate gradients (a cold drink into a room-temperature glass is fine, as is the reverse) but not extreme ones.

Store stacked is acceptable, provided you slip a small piece of paper or soft cloth between each tumbler to prevent rim-on-rim contact. Better still, store them upright on an open shelf.

The small bubbles in the body of the glass and the slight irregularity at the rim are not flaws but signatures of the hand that made each piece. They will not change with use.

How to care for hand-painted ceramics, alabaster and hand-blown glass

A general principle

The general principle, across all three materials, is to treat each piece as you would treat a well-made hand-tool: with the assumption that it will last for forty or fifty years if cared for properly, and with the understanding that the small marks of long use are not damage but evidence of a life well-lived alongside the object. A bowl that has fed many people, a glass that has been at many lunches, a lamp that has been switched on every evening for a decade — these are not lesser things than the objects in their original packaging. They are, in the only meaningful sense, more themselves.