Notes
This is a fragment of a tin-glazed earthenware bowl, or possibly small punch bowl, with a hand painted decorative band adorning the rim. This ware is often referred to by archaeologists as delftware. The white coloration of the glaze was obtained by adding tin-oxide to a lead glaze. Against this white field, delft was most often decorated with hand painted cobalt blues. These wares mimicked more expensive Chinese export porcelain in both the white color of the glaze and the use of hand painted blue decoration. Ceramics such as these were produced in numerous locations in both Britain and Holland beginning in the seventeenth-century, though production continued through the end of the following century. Generally, delftware was supplanted as a fashionable ceramic as the eighteenth century wore one, being replaced by both porcelains and newer British ceramics, such as white salt glazed stonewares and eventually refined earthenwares like creamware.
Object Type
CeramicHas it Been Conserved?
No
Where Was It Found?
Project Site: House for Families [more details]
Material
Vessel
Manufacturing Technology
Form
Completeness
Decorative Technology
Decorative Notes
Botanical, unid. on exterior.
Date
1600-1775
Country of Origin
Dimensions
15mm x 0mm x 30mm (W x H x L)
Illustration shows object in comparison to the size of a quarter
Weight
1.2 gram(s)
Object Number
1722749. TG V.9
DAACS Number
1722749
Project: House for Families
The structure identified as the “House for Families” on the 1787 Vaughan plan likely housed the majority of the enslaved population living at the Mansion House Farm for much of the second half of the eighteenth century. The building was in existence from circa 1760 until it was demolished in late 1792 or early 1793. The archaeological evidence for the structure consisted of a brick-lined storage cellar (44FX762/40-47) measuring roughly six feet by six feet. Historically the cellar served as a handy trash receptacle once it ceased to be used for its original storage function, and through extensive excavation has yielded an extremely rich assemblage of household refuse. The analysis of these remains offers the opportunity to study important aspects of the daily lives of Mount Vernon's enslaved community.
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