Color scheme for fabrics
Since 2011, the Deventer System has used standard color codes for the individual fabrics within the Deventer System, following their presentation at 'Assembled Articles 4, Symposium on Medieval and Post-Medieval Ceramics' (Jaspers 2011, 93-99). The color codes were developed and are maintained by Nina Jaspers. The colors were chosen as associatively as possible (red for red-fired earthenware, gray for gray-fired, etc.), following the standard abbreviations within the Deventer System ("r" for red-fired earthenware, "g" for gray-fires earthenware, etc.). Using associative colors as much as possible has proven to be a good method for improving the readability of graphs. Moreover, the standard colors significantly facilitate the comparison of graphs showing fabric distributions between different publications.
See Fig. "Color scheme for fabric codes" below for an example of a pie chart showing fabric groups according to the color codes, and see the image below for the complete color scheme with the corresponding RGB values (screen colors). The maximum runtime of the fabric groups as they occur in Dutch and Flemish soil is also shown. The sorting order of the fabric groups is used in creating counting lists and catalogs. The standard sorting order of the fabric has changed since the introduction of the color codes in 2011 compared to previous versions of the lookup scheme. This changed order was chosen because, when determining the standard colors according to the associative method (red for Dutch red-fired earthenware, red shades for imported red-fired earthenware, gray for gray-fired earthenware, etc.), some inconsistencies in the sorting order appeared. Local, Dutch red-fired earthenware comes before all imported red-fired earthenware. The same applies to gray, white, and tin-glazed earthenware. Furthermore, the order of the fabric groups is as chronological as possible. Mayenpottery is therefore the earliest baking group within the Deventer System, and proto-stoneware (s5) precedes near-stoneware (s4) and true stoneware (s1 and s2). Industrial stoneware (s3) is grouped under industrial fabrics.
A completely revised version is available on the Deventer System website since 2020, replacing the previous versions. Several new fabric groups have been added to the Deventer System since 2011, and new color codes have now been assigned for these. To facilitate the use of the standard color codes, an Excel file with a built-in macro has been developed that automatically assigns the defined color codes to the graphs. The Excel file, with instructions on the first tab, can be downloaded below.
Deventer Systeem Bakselcodes kleurenschema 2020 - xls
When using this Excel file you can use the following reference:
Bibliographic references
When using the standard color codes for the baking groups in the Deventer System, you can refer to the article where the color codes were first presented:
Jaspers, N.L., 2011: "Twee digitale toepassingen voor het Deventer Systeem: bladwijzers en standaard kleurcodes voor bakselgroepen". In: Assembled Articles 4. Symposium on Medieval and Post Medieval Ceramics, Zwolle, 89-100.
Fig: pie chart showing color codes/ fabric groups
Fig: table showing color codes/ fabric groups