The effect of firing duration on Mambong pottery

Mambong pottery is a traditional ceramic that originally from Kampong Mambong, Kuala Krai, Kelantan. This pottery comes with unique shapes and designs with various functions that make it different from other potteries such as Terenang and Sayong. In Mambong pottery industry, the firing duration is between 4.5 to 5 hours with the temperature between 800 – 1000 °C. In this research, the effects of firing duration on Mambong pottery was studied by using pressed mold method. The firing durations were set to 8, 10, 12 and 14 hours with a fixed firing temperature of 900 °C by using a carbolite furnace during the firing process. The shrinkage, density, chemical composition (XRF) and bending tests were carried out throughout the experiment. This research shows the improvement in the average force, bending strength break, bending modulus, modulus of rupture, density and shrinkage percentage aligned with the increasing of firing duration.