Notes
Though this piece of Chinese export porcelain represents just a small portion of the larger plate that it originally comprised, the rim decoration is identifiable. This rim motif is indicative of Canton wares dating from ca. 1785 to 1853. The term Canton describes porcelains with a blue trellis and cloud rim decoration. The central motif of the plate, missing here, probably featured elements of the Chinese landscape, including islands, boats, bridges, willow and pine trees, mountains, rocks, and clouds. Canton is named after the port in the Jingdezhen province of China that exported a vast majority of porcelain bound for the West.
After the American Revolution, Canton wares became quite affordable and were readily available. Canton represented the lesser of the two types of blue and white porcelains available in the last quarter of the eighteenth century; the other was Nanking/Fitzhugh, which generally had finer decorative painting. Therefore, the table service that this sherd represents was probably utilized for everyday dining. Such wares may have been present on the late eighteenth century table of George and Martha Washington, or possibly even on those of the succeeding family inheritors of the estate in the nineteenth century.
Object Type
CeramicWhere Was It Found?
Project Site: South Grove [more details]
Material
Vessel
Manufacturing Technology
Form
Completeness
Decorative Technology
Decorative Patern
CantonDate
1785-1853
Country of Origin
Dimensions
20.97mm x 0mm x 27.91mm (W x H x L)
Illustration shows object in comparison to the size of a quarter
Weight
2.1 gram(s)
Object Number
2911 CEP v.45
DAACS Number
1694525
Project: South Grove
"Beginning in the summer of 1990, a multi-year investigation of the area known as the South Grove, situated just south of the Mansion and the associated kitchen, was initiated. The site was selected as the result of numerous 18th-century artifacts being found there over the years, combined with its high potential for yielding surface-deposited domestic refuse associated with the Washington household. In addition to providing information relating to the daily lives of the Washington Family, analysis of refuse associated with the plantation household would allow direct comparison with the material culture associated with African-American slaves excavated at the “House for Families” quarter.
An extensive sheet midden was partially revealed and tested in 1990, with two much larger portions exposed in 1991 and 1992. The midden was at least 30 feet in diameter and in excess of 1.5 feet in depth at its center. Excavations yielded enormous quantities of faunal remains, ceramics, wine bottle glass—including three different bottle seals—table glass, tobacco pipes, and a wide range of personal and household objects. Based on the materials recovered to date, the midden appears to have been deposited just prior to the American Revolution.
In addition to the midden, several subterranean brick drains also were revealed. Two of the drains apparently connect with the Mansion basement and with the kitchen larder, and date to a period of Construction and major renovation carried out in the 1770s. A third drain may be associated with the earlier kitchen, built before 1752 and demolished in 1775.
"