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Saggar - A fireclay box used to protect pottery while it is being fired.

Salt-glaze - Thin glaze produced by throwing salt into the kiln. The salt vapourizes and produces a fine 'orange peel' texture to the surface of the pot.

Sand - Coarsely ground pebbles (silica).

Sang-de-boeuf - Ox-blood. Used to describe deep red colours in glazes.

Sedimentary clay - Clay formed by the decomposition of igneous rock.

Sgraffito - The technique of scratching through a coating of slip to reveal the contrasting colour beneath.

Slabbing - A building technique where flat sheets of clay are formed and jointed. Used to good effect by Troika and by Bernard Rooke.

Slip - Fluid clay in a creamy texture used for decorating, joining and as a material for casting.

Slip decoration - The application of slip to a pot. This can take the form of an all-over or partial coating, or a trailed, feathered, combed or brushed design

Slip trailing Method of decoration where slip is trailed onto a pot through a fine nozzle.

Slipware - Slip decorated earthenware pottery.

Slurry Slip with a thick consistency

Soaking - Keeping a steady temperature in the kiln.

Sprig - Decorative pieces, usually press-moulded, applied to pot when it is leather hard.

Spur marks - The marks left by the stilts used to support pottery in the kiln. Usually seen as three dots in the form of an equilateral triangle.

Stacking - Loading a kiln with pots. Large and small items are carefully positioned to use the space most efficiently.

Stoneware - Pottery fired at high temperature which is inherently non-porous. The clay vitrifies during firing and the surface will not absorb moisture. Stoneware can be left unglazed and still be usable for holding water, but it is more usual to glaze the inside of the vessel, at least. Stoneware is more durable than earthenware, and capable of resolving finer detail.